Fatloss LifeStyle Stretching System for Gaining Muscle & Losing Fat

When & How Should I Warm-Up, Stretch, Exercise, and Cool Down?

I get tons of questions about this topic. There seems to be a lot of confusion about stretching. We all seem to not have enough time in the day for all that we need to do. So it is logical that most of us skip stretching. But that is a big mistake. I know it seems counter intuitive but more time not working out intensely will get you to your goals faster. You will become more flexible and lower your risk for injury. You will be able to stay more consistent to your work out schedule thus obtaining better results.

The proper sequence of an intense work out should be:
• Warm up
• Light stretching
• 40 – 50 minutes of intense resistance training
• Intense stretching the last ½ of the intense resistance session
• Cool down

Warm Up-
It is very important to transition into an intense work out with 10 minutes of a low level cardio vascular activity. Some modes of exercise that work well are jumping jacks, jump rope, martial art kicks, squat thrust, or any full body callisthenic type exercise.

However my favorite mode is power walking on the treadmill. Starting speed is nice and slow. I (I am 5’9”) start at 3.5 mph and increase the speed by .1 mph every minute. Over the course of the 10 minute warm up I will go from 3.5 mph to 4.5 mph.

Why – The 10 minute warm up increases your core body temperature and gets your juices flowing. This is very important to stay safer during the intense exercise segment. It gets synovial fluid moving and oils the joints. Mentally it is a nice transition into clearing your mind and getting ready for the intense work out. You need to treat the exercise session like a meditation and work on the mind muscle connection during each contraction. That is hard to do when you are thinking about 5 things during the work out. Plus the warm up is a great time to visualize, goal set, and incantate (say out loud what you want.

How – Jump rope, calisthenics, including jumping jacks, side bends and kicks. My personal favorite warm up activity is power-walking on a tread mill or out side.

Mild Stretching- It is very important to implement some light stretching before the intense exercise session. One light stretch per body part for about 5-10 seconds is usually sufficient. Doing so increases blood flow to muscles and also increases synovial fluid in the joints (a type of self lubrication process). Mild Stretching increases the range of motion of the muscles and is a nice transition from the low level warm up into the intense exercise session.

Intense Exercise-

If you want to gain muscle and lose fat you must incorporate resistance training with free weights, kettle bells, functional exercises, and plyo-metrics. You must go to failure in the 10 -15 rep range for 2 or 3 sets per exercise.

Intense Stretching- The last ½ of the intense exercise session you should stretch out each target muscle after each exercise. Each stretch should last 4-5 seconds as you let your breath out and elongate the lose muscle. Increase the stretch a little bit on each progressive stretch up to 6 times.

Why- To elongate and relax muscles. Each exercise shortens and tightens the muscle up; so it makes sense to stretch. Stretching the muscle helps bring fresh blood to the muscle. This process brings nutrients to the tore down muscle to immediately start the recovery process. Stretching the muscle aids in removing lactic acid which is a negative byproduct of the muscle going to failure. It is like the exhaust coming out of an engine. Too much lactic acid accumulation and the muscle is slower to heal. Stretching during and after an intense work out means the muscles will not get as sore and they will not stay sore as long.

Cool Down –

How— 10 minutes of slow walking on a treadmill is ideal.

Why — For the same reasons why we perform intense stretching during and after intense exercises. The cool down not only brings fresh blood into area to help with lactic acid removal. But also brings heart rate down to resting pulse quicker. A proper cool down also helps lower a raised heart rate down to resting heart rate safely. A proper cool down simply makes you feel recovered after feeling like a whipped puppy after intense exercise. It kick starts the recovery process as well.

Getting the body and the life of your dreams is not about consistent intense work outs.
You should only be working out 3-4 hours per week. During intense work outs you are tearing the body down. Little tiny controlled micro tears in the muscle. You are also depleting your energy reserves.

Improving your fitness level is more about learning how to recover. This special report covers the basic of your first line of defense in the recovery process. Nutrition, rest, sleep, and healthy lifestyle choices are imperative in a well rounded recovery program.

You do have the power to change. Get a Better Body, Get a Better Life!

Your Healthy LifeStyle Coach,

Darin L. Steen. Please give me your feedback in the comment section below. Did you find this post
helpful?