In many exercise programs, be it weight lifting for building and toning muscles or cardio vascular exercises for increasing stamina or balance and, to lose weight, most people really do not perform enough stretching exercises even though, stretching exercises can be performed by anyone at any age unless that person has some physical restriction to stretch. And even with restrictions and a Doctors supervision, even then certain stretching exercises can still be performed. What is worse, many people do not even stretch before and after exercising. This can cause great harm to your body that could have far reaching affects that you may not notice for some time. Unknown to most people, stretching also has anti aging benefits.

Let’s talk a little bit about what the benefits of stretching exercises can do for your muscle growth. Stretching is an important aspect of exercising and should be a part of any exercise routine and or program. There are a great number of wonderful benefits you will get when you perform a regular stretching routine. Stretching exercises will not only help you to warm up and cool down before and after your workouts, but it can and will actually help your muscles to grow bigger and stronger too. This is a great thing to help you lose weight and have a better more healthy body. Don’t believe me? Then keep reading on.

Stretching exercises helps with the muscle growth because stretching lengthens your muscles and thus gives your muscle fibers a greater range of motion when lifting weights. By the muscles having a greater range of motion this will help to prevent any damage being done to your muscle groups. So in effect, simply said it recruits more muscle fibers and thus causing your muscles to grow stronger and bigger from your weight training. By stretching your muscles after an intensive workout it will also help to reduce muscle soreness commonly known as DOMS (delayed onset muscle sore) which usually occurs a day after your workout.

Performing stretching exercises before your workout or before a physically demanding sporting activity will also decrease your chances of sustaining injuries and muscle cramps which will certainly destroy the joy of your activity. You can do severe damage to your muscles that may have long lasting effects and you probably will not even notice it for some time down the road. This is the most common reason why Doctors and trainers tell you it is so important to do your stretching exercises first. When you stretch regularly, it will help you to gain agility which will make your daily chores much more pleasant because it may not be so hard to pick things up any more and your overall health improves greatly. Also if you play sports, you will notice your agility is much better than others who do not stretch. This will put you in a more beneficial position against your opponents and give you a greater advantage of being on the winning team.

Another aspect to talk about is the Anti Aging Benefits that Stretching Exercises can have on your body. If you are a baby boomer and age is catching up, this agility will make your life so much easier in so many different ways. First you will be able to avoid stiff muscles and stiff joints unlike your peers who do not stretch. This is such a common ailment with people who are approaching the middle age threshold. In many cases this is the time when arthritis and many other such things start to get a hold on your body. However when you keep a good stretching routine in place you will be more mobile, agile and suffering from less pain associated with aging and stiff body parts. The sooner you get started with a good program the better your body will feel when the time does come. You may even be able to be well into your golden years before you even begin to feel the effects. These anti aging benefits from stretching regularly are priceless. What is more, you can stretch anytime and anywhere, as and when you like.

Stretching exercises need not be limited as a pre and post workout activity, but it is important that you do make it a part of your daily routine. The more you stretch the better your body will feel and the more healthy that you will also feel. It will help you to be more agile so that you will have better balance in all that you do as well as helping to keep the stiffness and aches at bay that so often accompany middle age. So start a stretching exercise routine soon and make it part of your everyday lifestyle. You will surely enjoy the pleasures and anti aging benefits that a regular stretching routine can bring you.