Exercise Advice and Tips

• It results in improved performance, particularly in activities that demand a wide range of motion, such as a tennis serve, a freestyle swimming stroke, or many strength-building moves. The fuller the range of movement, the more power and speed that's likely to be applied.

• It keeps your muscles younger. Muscles and joints stiffen with age and lose their flexibility, and thus become less powerful and effective. Stretching helps counteract this.
  

• It helps prevent injuries, and speeds recovery from exercise and injury. Keeping muscles and tendons supple reduces injury risk and assists the body's repair processes.
  

Note: recent investigations tell us (see here) that we shouldn't do much intensive prior to engaging in serious or competitive aerobic or sports activity as it's been shown to use up a lot of energy. A warm-up - something far less intensive on the muscles - is what we need prior to competitive activity. This should gently simulate the movements of the intended activity to an extent that, well, warms up our muscles and joints. Slow jogging for instance, or very gentle stretching.

Intensive stretching of the muscle-extending type should be done for both strength-building and cardio performance, but independent of, and not prior to competitive activity. Certainly it's wise to stretch after exercise as well.