Stretching as well as warming up the body and cooling it down is extremely important to a workout. We need flexibility in the muscle and range of motion in the joints to keep our bodies healthy. Tight muscles can make you more prone to injury and limit you during your exercises.

Important tips:

- Stretching helps with range of motion in your joints by keeping the muscles healthy, flexible, and strong.

- Without stretching pre and post workout, your muscles become short and stiff which will limit ROM and cause your muscles to weaken.

- Dynamic stretching should be done BEFORE a workout to warm up the muscles and increase blood flow, and static stretches should be done AFTER a workout to help the muscles not get tight.

- Tightness in your muscles increases your risk of muscle strains, damage, and pain in your joints.

- Stretching isn't something you do for a week, it must be regular and should be apart of your fitness routine

- Daily stretching is the ultimate goal, but if that's too hard at first, try to shoot for 3-4x a week.

- Stay committed and consistent to stretching and you will see a huge improvement in your flexibility.  But it does take time!

- Stretches should be held for about 30 seconds 
Never workout on “cold” muscles!  Stretch/warm up for 5-10 minutes before any activity.

- Sitting for long periods of time, such as working at a desk, can cause your muscles to become chronically tight.