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Flexibility

Believe it or not, being flexible is a vital part to any weight loss plan, or physical fitness plan. As you become more physically fit, your muscles will naturally become stronger and tighter. This is a good thing, but you want to make sure you can still move those muscles!

When you incorporate stretching into your fitness plan, you will become more flexible, therefore allowing you to do all of your other exercise more effectively and achieve the results you are going after all that much faster!

Just as with the other components of exercise, you can get essential stretching techniques from a variety of resources. There are magazine articles, books, and videos all available. Use whatever method that is most enjoyable to you.

Three important factors to remember while stretching are to never stretch to the point it hurts, hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds, and remember to breathe deeply while stretching. If you go beyond your stretching comfort zone, you can pull a muscle and be out of commission for a while; you don’t want that!

Plus, when you stretch, you want to get a good, solid stretch, so hold your pose for anywhere between 15 to 30 seconds. And when you breathe deeply, you allow your breath to reach the muscles you are stretching, which is incredibly beneficial for them. When you regularly stretch your body, you will feel the strong, yet tension free muscles in your body. It is very empowering!