Why not stretch!?

I have been amazed since becoming a fitness professional about 6 years ago, at the number of people who lack flexibility or who omit this important part of their workout. Our daily lives have become more sedentary in the fact that we're constantly driving in the car, sitting at our desk, sitting watching TV, sitting at the computer etc... where our muscles are inactive. On the other side of things, our stress levels are higher than ever because of the "go, go, go" mentality of our world.

Stretching allows our muscles to remain flexible, maintain range of motion (ROM), and even better yet - allows our body to relax! It's funny when you mention to a client the importance of good stretching activities, and they ignore it or figure it's not worth they're time. Yet if I told them that they should go have a 10-15 minute nap everyday so they can relax, they'd probably do it, right?

When we stretch after a workout, it allows the body to cool down. It creates awareness of your body (how you feel? where are your strengths and weaknesses? how did your workout go? etc...) The best thing of all - you feel great and you feel relaxed! That's part of the point! Yet, still too many people ignore the benefits of this important aspect of our health.

It only takes 5-10 minutes at the end of your workout to stretch the entire body (more if you want to though). 5 minutes! That's it!