There are days when you feel as stiff as a stake, even a little rusty.
Often forgotten but always useful, stretching, also called stretching, puts oil back into the machine and is a precious ally of the athlete, and even of the Sunday jogger.
Parisian sports halls, like the Episod studios, now even devote full-fledged courses to it in which you learn to massage and gently activate the muscles using resistance bands or a percussion pistol.
If you're still balking at the task, count on your body to bring you to order.
Overview of the telltale signs of the lack of stretching, and advice from professionals to remedy them.
To read also »
True or false?
Six misconceptions about stretching after exercise
Your movements are limited
If you don't necessarily need to put your leg behind the back of your neck on a daily basis, certain sports activities still require a certain flexibility to allow you to progress. “If you never stretch, neither do your muscles, deplores sports coach Lucile Woodward. The latter will then pull too much on the tendons, these fibers which fix them to the joints ”. "When it has been overworked, the tendon retracts, thickens and creates a feeling of stiffness in the joint", specifies Amina Fouzai, sports doctor and head of the Sport Uni'med health center in Neuilly- Pleasure.
This gives, in practice, a significant lack of range of motion.
Sports performance inevitably suffers.
“In climbing, stiffness in the shoulders or hips will prevent you from going far in the holds, observes the coach.
In the race, same thing, the strides will be less flexible and therefore smaller. ”
In video, five stretching exercises to relax before starting the day
You have severe body aches
The day after a session of intensive squats, it's soup to grimace.
Your legs are making you pay the price for your sweat with a lot of stiffness.
If these muscle micro-lesions are quite trivial and generally disappear after two to three days, excessive and unusual exertion causes muscle contraction which can be accompanied by pain, explains Amina Fouzai, sports doctor.
"Stretching acts preventively on this phenomenon by stretching the muscle fibers, and will limit contractions", she explains.
To read also »
Why are the aches and pains stronger two days after the effort?
Be careful, however, not to bet everything on these exercises.
"This can be soothing at the time because the movement stimulates blood circulation, but it will be more effective if they are combined with a massage of the area, a hot shower, good hydration and quality sleep", qualifies the coach Lucile. Woodward.
15 objects and accessories to finally sleep better
Ocho tandem blanket - Wopilo
It is very difficult to fall asleep when you are cold.
Especially when the other is constantly pulling on the blanket.
To facilitate household peace and not disturb everyone's sleep, Wopilo offers the tandem ocho pack, two individual duvets and their covers linked by ties.
Results ?
More comfortable nights and fewer micro-awakenings due to the movements of the partner.
Wopilo tandem ocho pack, including two Oeko-tex 100 certified duvets and two GOTS certified duvet covers, available in three sizes and two different weights.
From € 298.
More information on wopilo.com
Wopilo
Recovery Pillow - Blackroll
If you suffer from neck pain, the ergonomic shape memory pillow is ideal.
The Recovery model from the Blackroll brand offers the neck all the support and comfort possible, without the disadvantages of synthetic material (known to make you sweat), since this cushion contains ventilation channels.
Recovery pillow, Blackroll.
Made in Germany according to Oeko-Tex standard 10. 89.90 €.
More information on blackroll.com
Blackroll
"Night Essentials" gift set - Oh My Cream
Who says quality sleep says rested mine.
So many reasons that have pushed the cosmetics brand Oh My Cream to launch a box bringing together the best of aesthetic supplements to perfect their nights.
It all starts with an Indie Lee Sleep List pillow mist, enriched with essential oils of vetiver, chamomile and lavender.
Next comes an organic plant elixir against Atelier Nubio nervousness, with lemon balm and lime extracts.
The final touch of this kit is a Venus & Gaia silk night mask, which leaves no traces, for a rested look when you wake up.
Oh My Cream "Night Essentials" set, for all skin types.
€ 86.
More information on ohmycream.com
Oh My Cream
Zen Morpheus Pebble
In line with its predecessors, the Morphée Zen pebble reduces anxiety and invites a return to calm.
This device contains 72 audio sessions of meditation and sophrology divided into six themes, to be listened to by loudspeaker or with an audio headset.
Small and light, it will never leave you, even on vacation.
Galet Morphée Zen, € 59.95.
Sold exclusively in all Nature & Découvertes stores and on morphee.co
Morpheus
Sleepbuds II headphones - Bose
Eye pads - Chin Mudra
Hybrid mattress - Emma
Sweet Night Box - Huages
Withings Sleep Analyzer sleep sensor
Phyto-acupressure pen - Ylo
Weighted blanket - Nap Lab
HoomBook
Aloha awakening light - Terraillon
Kumo diffuser alarm clock - Aromasound
Night Box - Stones Club
See the slideshow
15 photos
You hurt yourself
You were running at a brisk pace when suddenly a sharp, sharp pain surprised you in your lower limbs. "When you stretch a muscle too brutally without having warmed it up a few seconds beforehand, you risk tearing the muscle," says Dr Amina Fouzai. This painful injury, which requires a medical consultation, is of variable severity, ranging from elongation, to "strain" with partial injury of muscle fibers, to the total tear of the muscle and its tendon. "
"It often occurs in acceleration activities such as football, athletics or which involve large gaps, as in gymnastics", underlines the sports doctor.
You are also exposed to it when you always use the same muscle area ”.
To limit this risk, coach Lucile Woodward favors stretching at a distance from the effort, a few moments before.
"In this way, we will learn to return to a less contracted state, to regain elasticity and ultimately increase muscle resistance," she sums up.
You are anxious at night
While relaxations cherish our limbs, they also take care of our mind.
“After an intense activity, a very basic stretching promotes a return to calm, notes Dr Amina Fouzai.
Practiced in the evening, it will slow down cardiac activity and alleviate the stress of the day ”.
How to stretch properly?
The two specialists recommend stretching for a few seconds before practicing a sports activity.
"We come to activate the thighs, the abs-glutes by doing a few squats, gentle lunges and then we jump a little in place," suggests Lucile Woodward.
To guard against traumatic accidents, we should not forget to rotate the hips and ankles either, recalls Dr Amina Fouzai.
To fully benefit from the benefits of stretching, the sports coach advises a weekly session of in-depth exercises of 30 minutes to 1 hour, affirming that it is necessary to devote at least 20% of his sports practice to this complementary activity. “We can do passive stretching, where we keep the same posture, flexing the bust for example, for a few minutes and we let gravity play to stretch well,” suggests Lucile Woodward. If yoga doesn't put you off, a yin session will meet these needs.
According to the specialist, the most complete stretch, mobilizing the muscles of the hips, glutes, lower limbs and the entire spine, is the low squat.
“In practice, it consists of slightly spreading the thighs and then bending the legs, as if you were going to sit down,” she describes.
To straighten the back, we will push back the knees with the elbows.
If you are comfortable, you can place your arms above your shoulders. ”
Finally, if you want to accentuate the movement, the coach invites you to repeat the same stretch by contracting the limbs to stretch the opposing muscles.
The editorial team advises you
Tips for exercising on an empty stomach
Still water or sparkling water?
What you really need to know before choosing
Four stretches to relieve the body (even the less flexible)
