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Group: General Fitness & Exercise

Flex and Stretch

BRETTO Posts: 201 Joined: 2002/05/25	2002/08/02, 10:49 AM The exercise descriptions on this site always say how important it is to get the stretch at the beginning of a movement and the hard flex at the end of a movement if you expect any real gains. I think someone here claimed Arnold S. said that as well, so this is probably a stupid question: in your own personal experience, how important is this? I only ask because I always seem to have trouble identifying (flexing) the specific muscle(group) when I'm working out, like flexing chest muscles during bench presses. I guess it's just because I'm such a beginner. Are they saying I can lift for months and never see any significant gains until I learn to flex properly? Or am I just the only person in the world with this problem and need to get a life.
rpacheco Posts: 3,770 Joined: 2001/12/13	2002/08/02, 10:55 AM That could be well true. It is critical to have proper form during your workout. It's not so much the heavy weight, but more on the form. My advice would be to do each exercise slowly in the beginning. Use an empty bar (no weights) and practice contracting the target muscle(s). From there, start putting on plate weights until you can no longer do them in a controlled manner. Hope this helps... -------------- **_Robert_** Pain is temporary; glory is forever!
CJFit Posts: 58 Joined: 2002/07/26	2002/08/02, 11:18 AM Proper form is the most important thing in weight training and it MUST be learned from day 1. Also, one should always consider all the various angles involved in different exercises because this is what stresses the muscles differently.