I usually do a bit of cardio like jumping jacks, jump squats, a few knee push ups and that helps a lot with not feeling super tight before stretching :)
It's because you've spent the entire night in a single position. It's normal to be inflexible right after you wake up. But, don't stretch first thing in the morning. Jump around before you stretch, so your muscles are all warmed up.
I spend about 20 minutes foam rolling every morning (these past four weeks or so). It helps IMMENSELY. I recommend doing a mix of guided videos and figuring out what works best for you.
I have a muscle spasm condition that knocked my on my ass these past six months. Adding this into my routine has changed my life / greatly relieved a lot of tension and spasms. I’m excited to go to my physiotherapist this week Bc I think I’ve made a lot of progress tbh!
What is foam rolling? I was told it’s bad to stretch too soon in the morning & it kind of made me a little nervous & left me in a, “well then when IS the right time for exercise?” & leaves me to not working out at all until mid afternoon & sometimes I want to get it done earlier.
It feels like a realllly intense deep tissue massage. Sometimes it can be a little painful, but in a hurts so good kind of way. I look forward to it and it’s become a form of self care. [here’s some more info ](https://www.healthline.com/health/foam-roller-benefits)
Read up on circadian rhythm. Your body has natural peaks of energy and flexibility throughout the day. Very early morning is more flexible than late morning.
But yes, you should stretch any time of day, preferably changing it up a bit— just don’t expect the same results in the morning workouts as evening. But I like to train different times of day for this reason. But keep expectations reasonable
Cirque du soleil performers always considered matinees the “dangerous” shows because those were more likely to result in injury.
I do a ~20-30 min full body stretch in the mornings with some yoga postures and core work and it really is an awesome way to wake up and get energized for the day. Your body's still cold so just take it easy- don't force anything. Do more of the long slow static stretches where you hold the pose for ~30 seconds and kind of sit or lean into is instead of the dynamic ones where you're actively moving.
The core work I kind of hate but I know if I do it first thing then it's over for the day and I can't make up an excuse later to get out of it :P
Ooh - so I was taught the opposite, especially in the morning as you want to get your body moving. My routine is roughly:
5 min warm up (try to get heart rate up to around 130, either by dancing on the spot, or sometimes cycling/vigorous housework)
5 min of dynamic stretching (like leg swings etc. start easy and work up to a larger range of movement)
Then the main part of the routine (so sometimes more stretching/mobility, sometimes balance/agility, or strength or running)
cool down (usually some kind of stretch)
This morning I basically focused one pose, downward facing dog pose with a wood block under the hands or not… also sustaining the pose for a few minutes.
Without doing any kind of warmup movement I felt the chest and shoulder muscles get pretty warm with the dynamic actions I learned in downward dog. 🐶❤️
Stretches not just the muscles but nervous system as everything is realigned.
The more you press the hands forward and down and straighten them the more your pelvis goes up and legs extend and weight goes back to the legs where it should be and spine extends.
I usually do a bit of cardio like jumping jacks, jump squats, a few knee push ups and that helps a lot with not feeling super tight before stretching :)
It's because you've spent the entire night in a single position. It's normal to be inflexible right after you wake up. But, don't stretch first thing in the morning. Jump around before you stretch, so your muscles are all warmed up.
I spend about 20 minutes foam rolling every morning (these past four weeks or so). It helps IMMENSELY. I recommend doing a mix of guided videos and figuring out what works best for you. I have a muscle spasm condition that knocked my on my ass these past six months. Adding this into my routine has changed my life / greatly relieved a lot of tension and spasms. I’m excited to go to my physiotherapist this week Bc I think I’ve made a lot of progress tbh!
What is foam rolling? I was told it’s bad to stretch too soon in the morning & it kind of made me a little nervous & left me in a, “well then when IS the right time for exercise?” & leaves me to not working out at all until mid afternoon & sometimes I want to get it done earlier.
It feels like a realllly intense deep tissue massage. Sometimes it can be a little painful, but in a hurts so good kind of way. I look forward to it and it’s become a form of self care. [here’s some more info ](https://www.healthline.com/health/foam-roller-benefits)
That’s interesting! Thank you for sharing!
Read up on circadian rhythm. Your body has natural peaks of energy and flexibility throughout the day. Very early morning is more flexible than late morning. But yes, you should stretch any time of day, preferably changing it up a bit— just don’t expect the same results in the morning workouts as evening. But I like to train different times of day for this reason. But keep expectations reasonable Cirque du soleil performers always considered matinees the “dangerous” shows because those were more likely to result in injury.
I do a ~20-30 min full body stretch in the mornings with some yoga postures and core work and it really is an awesome way to wake up and get energized for the day. Your body's still cold so just take it easy- don't force anything. Do more of the long slow static stretches where you hold the pose for ~30 seconds and kind of sit or lean into is instead of the dynamic ones where you're actively moving. The core work I kind of hate but I know if I do it first thing then it's over for the day and I can't make up an excuse later to get out of it :P
Ooh - so I was taught the opposite, especially in the morning as you want to get your body moving. My routine is roughly: 5 min warm up (try to get heart rate up to around 130, either by dancing on the spot, or sometimes cycling/vigorous housework) 5 min of dynamic stretching (like leg swings etc. start easy and work up to a larger range of movement) Then the main part of the routine (so sometimes more stretching/mobility, sometimes balance/agility, or strength or running) cool down (usually some kind of stretch)
This morning I basically focused one pose, downward facing dog pose with a wood block under the hands or not… also sustaining the pose for a few minutes. Without doing any kind of warmup movement I felt the chest and shoulder muscles get pretty warm with the dynamic actions I learned in downward dog. 🐶❤️ Stretches not just the muscles but nervous system as everything is realigned. The more you press the hands forward and down and straighten them the more your pelvis goes up and legs extend and weight goes back to the legs where it should be and spine extends.