Let's face it, most of us have a pretty sedentary lifestyle. If you work at an office job chances are good that you are sitting for almost eight hours at work for five days a week. If you rarely stand up to stretch your legs and the rest of the muscles of your body, your muscles will become weak. Your legs will get used to a position that will result in tightening of your leg muscles. It is highly recommended you take a few minutes out of your day and do some leg stretches.
Even if you work a job that involves more physical activity, doing some stretching exercises will be beneficial to you too. If you are on your feet a lot or do a lot of lifting and carrying, you are relying on your legs a lot more than the average person. By doing some leg stretches you can help to prevent soreness and you can also potentially avoid injuries, by taking the time to properly warm up and strengthen your leg muscles.
If you do any type of regular exercise, you should also add leg stretches to your routine. There aren't very many types of sports or exercises that don't require you to rely on your legs for some aspect of the exercise. This is especially true for biking, aerobics, jogging, weight training, kickboxing, etc...
When you do leg stretches, you are helping your muscles to loosen up. Your leg muscles will stay healthy despite the work that they have to do. This kind of stretching can be included in your daily warm up or in your regular workout session. Just bear in mind that stretching must be done slowly and gently.
One of the most common types of leg stretches is to sit on the floor with your legs spread apart. Then reach forward and try to touch your toes with both hands. However, it is important that you keep your legs straight while you do this. Whatever you do, don't force it. If you can't comfortably reach your toes just stretch out as far as you can. Stretching is not supposed to hurt, so if you feel pain stop immediately. Eventually, you will gain enough flexibility to touch your toes.
Other examples of leg stretching exercises are hamstring stretches and quadricep stretches such as with biking and running. As you do this stretching, do not hold your breath and do not bounce. You have to keep this in mind to avoid injury.
Strong legs are an advantage, you rely on them every day. They're even more reliable if you keep your muscles supple. Keeping them healthy and strong will definitely pay off you in the long run.
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