Personal experience: how stretching classes helped me get in shape

Long dreaming of a good stretching routine, but think these workouts are ineffective for weight loss? I have good news for you. Stretching is a great option not only to show off your twine, but also to keep yourself in shape. Tried and true.

They say that the youthfulness of the body can be assessed by its flexibility. If you bend over and easily reach the floor without bending your knees – great. If not, don’t be lazy to take care of your muscles to gain ease and feel much more awake.

Unfortunately, stretching in the morning won’t be enough to gain elasticity. And all my attempts at home torturing my body were to no avail. My muscles ached, but they wouldn’t stretch. All this led me to the conclusion that for proper and quality stretching I would need the help of a professional trainer.

The ideal solution for me was small group classes, and now it’s not a problem to find a suitable studio. It’s amazing how over time stretching has evolved from a purely workplace discipline and a supplement to group fitness classes into a full-fledged hour-long workout. Moreover, today there is a real boom in stretching studios: in Russia they are opening almost in villages, so there was plenty of choice. I decided on SM Stretching, the brainchild of Samira Mustafaeva, a Russian and world champion in rhythmic gymnastics.

Imperceptible weight loss

Naturally, my main goal was to get the perfect twine, like in the photos of the phytonians from Instagram. But after the first class it became clear that with such intensive warm-ups before training, a minus of at least a couple of kilograms is assured. What was my surprise when in the locker room I heard shocking figures – for a month of training the girls lost both 5 and 10 kilograms. How is it possible?

As it turned out, regular stretching exercises help to activate metabolism. This is extremely important, because the better the metabolism, the faster the weight loss process goes.

For an untrained person, high-intensity workouts can not only be impossible, but also harmful. From high tension, the muscles will start to ache, and dizziness – dizzy, not allowing you to fully lay out in the classroom. And it is physical activity – the main key to a slim figure. Stretching has a huge advantage in this. Intensive load is used only in the first 10-15 minutes of training to warm up, which means that even with unaccustomed overstrain will not work. In addition, the relaxation stage follows, and all further exercises are performed at the slowest possible pace.

Coach’s advice: start practicing your body with stretching, and over time you can add it to other workouts. This way you will avoid injuries, overstretching and hammering of muscles. In SM Stretching you can additionally choose two more directions – Barre and TRX.

What else is stretching useful for?

During the working day we often stay in the same postures for a long time – we sit in front of the computer, curve our posture and do not think about the consequences. In the evenings, as a rule, we come home with head, neck and back pain.

Stretching will help you avoid these unpleasant feelings. After just a couple of training sessions, your muscles will relax and then become stronger, and the feeling of tightness will occur much less often.

Stretching leads to optimal blood flow to all the organs in the body, and this helps us get rid of accumulated stress. During the class, I notice that it’s as if my thoughts are completely absent. The diary in my head, frantically scheduling appointments, calls and trips, shuts down and turns into a gramophone playing a pleasant tune. During this hour, I don’t think about my phone at all and have the opportunity to completely legally not check my email and inbox.

After a few workouts, the result is noticeable – tightened muscles in the areas where cellulite is most often formed (on the abdomen and inner thighs), which means that I am no longer afraid of it. In addition, my body became visibly more relief. Progress in twine is obvious, and I can safely say: “Paul, I’m close”.

How much training do you need to do to get the result?

Exactly as much as you can do. My choice is one or two high-intensity workouts and one or two stretching sessions a week.

The most important thing in this business is to watch your physical condition. And, although SM trainers are always interested in your well-being, don’t forget to warn you about injuries and sharp pains.

Remember that flexibility is feminine and beautiful. And after even the most difficult training you will feel lightness and flight. This makes it doubly pleasant to sit on the twine.