Stretching muscles is an important component of strength training. It helps muscles recover faster, and also get them an elastic look. This article will look at stretching the pectoral muscles, as well as the exercises that work best.
Why do you need stretching?
To answer this question, you need to consider what happens to the muscles during strength training. During work, muscle fibers contract. After the exercise, they remain compressed for some time. After training, the muscles can be in this state for a day. How does stretching help?
Stretching your muscles after a workout helps to relax muscle fibers and unclench them. Thus, the body needs less time to regenerate muscles, which means that recovery will be faster. That is why, after strength training, it is desirable to perform several stretching exercises of the muscle group that was subjected to work.
Pectoral muscles
The chest is a fairly large muscle group, so it can take a lot of time to recover from a workout. Exercise for stretching the pectoral muscles after a workout will help improve the quality of recovery, as well as reduce the time that will be spent on regeneration.
The chest works actively in the following exercises:
- Bench press lying.
- Wiring on an inclined bench.
- Push-ups on the uneven bars.
- Pushups.
- Reduction of hands in a crossover.
If the training consists of exercises, mainly involving the chest in work, then all its departments should be stretched. The following are exercises to help you do this.
Stretching exercises
The first exercise is performed using a doorway or two other supports. It is necessary to stand in front of the opening, raise your hands to the sides and rest them against the supports. Then take a step forward so that the hands remain in the same position. Thus, they are led back. Move as far as the elasticity of the muscles allows. If tension is felt, then it is necessary to linger in this position for 20-30 seconds. If it is not enough, then you can go forward a little more.
For the second exercise you will need the same doorway or crossbar. It is necessary to stand so that the support is behind at a distance of 30-40 centimeters. Taking your hand back, you need to grab the support and turn the torso in the opposite direction to create tension. Having felt the stretch, you should also hold in this position for 20-30 seconds, then stand up on the support with the other side and repeat with the other hand.
The third exercise for stretching the pectoral muscles is performed without any adaptations. Need to stand up straight. Keep your hands behind the castle and gradually raise them up behind your back, keeping your elbow joint straightened. You need to raise it to such a level until you feel a stretch in the pectoral muscles, as well as biceps. If there is not enough elasticity to raise to the desired height, you can resort to the help of a partner or do an exercise with a towel. But you need to focus on your own feelings: if you feel pain, you must stop doing it. This exercise is great for stretching the pectoralis minor muscle.
Tips
- Do not stretch if the muscles are not warmed up. Of course, if the exercise is done after training, then this item can be removed, but if it is performed on a separate day, then you should warm up well, otherwise you can be injured.
- For one muscle group, no more than two stretching exercises should be done after training. The most optimal option is one exercise after training for a specific group for 20-30 seconds.
- Stretching the pectoral muscles can be very painful. If there is pain during stretching, it is better to stop the exercise or loosen the tension so as not to get injured.
Conclusion
Few people know, but stretching is really important after weight training. It will help to restore muscle faster, which means that the next workout will be more effective, respectively, you can quickly achieve the desired results. Spending 3-5 minutes after training to stretch the muscles, you can significantly reduce their recovery time.
Stretching the muscles of the thoracic region can be carried out with the help of any devices, or without them. The effect will be the same if you hold the muscle under tension the same amount of time.