Warming up and cooling down are two essential parts of any martial arts training session. A warm up prepares the body for the physical demands of training whilst a cool down allows the body to return to its normal resting state. Stretching is an essential part of any training and should be incorporated into warm-up and recovery routines.
Stretching prior to class increases your flexibility, allowing you to a better range of motion during your training sessions. This is particularly important for martial arts training as the techniques practiced involve a variety of movements such as striking and kicking. These practices heavily rely on muscles throughout the whole body, particularly in the arms and legs. It is necessary that these muscles be correctly warmed up and stretched before the beginning of a martial arts class to maximize your range of motion.
Stretching before and after a training session can significantly reduce the risk of injury. Coaches will generally allow 5 to 10 minutes before class to allow participants to either stretch themselves or participate in a guided stretch and warm up. By stretching before a training session, it loosens your muscles and increases blood flow throughout the body reducing the risk of injury during training. Likewise, coaches will recommend that you participate in a cool-down stretch after class to reduce muscle soreness. By gradually letting your body return to its normal state you are allowing it an opportunity to remove lactic acid. This can be built up during a training session and can contribute to muscle fatigue, hence the removal of it is a necessary part of recovery.
Once completing an intense martial arts training session it is not uncommon to experience muscle soreness and stiffness. This is particularly common amongst beginners whose body is yet to be conditioned to the specific styled training sessions. Unlike other sports training, martial arts involves a large amount of physical contact combined with intense cardio training. Hence, stretching is beneficial to minimize muscle pain and soreness allowing for a faster recovery post workout. This is essential if you are looking to train on a regular basis as you don’t want muscle stiffness to impact your training schedule.
No matter what style of martial arts training you are participating in, it’s important to know that stretching is an essential recovery technique to implement into your warm-up and cool-down routine. Not only to reduce the risk of injury, but to also increase flexibility and range of motion during a workout. To learn more about how to get the most out of your martial arts training read recovery techniques for martial arts training.
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