Oh, What Peace We Often Forfeit

Welcome to this week's edition of Fit Tip Friday!This week we have a double fit tip, where we will look at the warm-up and cool-down functions of flexibility training. But before we jump into that, a word of encouragement.Flexibility training is mundane. It's often neglected and avoided in training sessions. It's easy to shave off a few minutes before and after your workout by not stretching. There's nothing flashy about flexibility training. And oftentimes it can be painful. But stretching is critical for physical performance. It can function as a stimulant for performance by loosening your muscles (a warm-up) as well as a restorative practice for your muscles after they are worked (a cool-down). Flexibility training is one of those physical practices and habits of fitness, that if avoided, could cause injury. We skip this at our own risk. It's hard not to see parallels between flexibility training and spiritual disciplines, especially prayer.  

When you are crunched for time in the morning, it's easy to skip time in prayer and head off for the day. Throughout the day, it's easy to be busy and focused on the tasks at hand, and neglect to pray "without ceasing". At the end of the day, when you are tired and your body and mind feels worn and spent, it's easy to dip into bed early without bending the knees. You might be able to operate like this for a while. But then you might be headed towards other types of injuries:Like the hymn says -  

"Oh, what peace we often forfeit,Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry,Everything to God in prayer". 

When we neglect to pray, we neglect to find strength for our day and recovery for its challenges. In God's mercy, He is a kind Father who knows what we need (Matthew 6:32), and welcomes us to ask Him for it (Matthew 7:7-11). And in our challenges, difficulties, and trials, our encouragement is to come to Him in prayer, and "cast your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you" - 1 Peter 5:7. Prayer is more than just a good habit. It's an essential connection to God the Father, where we can come to Him with anything. Oh Praise Him!With this in mind, let's jump into our double Fit Tip.  

Fit Tip #1: Warm-Up with Dynamic Stretches

Flexibility training is typically divided into *two categories:

1. Dynamic Stretching

2. Static Stretching

*Technically, there's a 3rd category called "Active-Isolated Stretching", but since it's so similar to Dynamic Stretching it's often included in that category.  

Dynamic Stretching is the active extension of a muscle(s) that moves the joint through a range of motion. Think of arm circles. Arm circles actively stretch several muscles: your shoulders, lattisimus dorsi (muscles on the side of your back), chest, neck, triceps, etc..., all while moving your shoulder through it's full range of motion. That's the idea with dynamic stretching. Flexibility by motion. Sometimes dynamic stretching takes a muscle through a partial or mostly full range of motion (this partial motion is called Active-Isolated Stretching), but regardless of what you call it, your muscles around your joint location can be stretched through joint movement.Dynamic stretching is best used before you exercise. It functions best as a warm-up. I wrote an article several months back on a recommended warm-up routine, which utilizes dynamic stretching (plus a bit of cardio) for your pre-workout routine. It takes 10 minutes to do, but it is time well spent.  

The 10 Minute Warm-Up