Stretch, Stretch, and Stretch Some More

Over my time spent in multiple gym facilities attending classes and observing personal training sessions, stretching and flexibility conditioning is not a focus and rarely taken seriously. Stretching is a major factor in both before and post any physical activity. It allows your muscles to warm up, cool down and recover while limiting injury risks.  Flexibility like anything else takes time and hard work. If you casually stretch and put minimal effort in it, no progress is achieved.  It requires will power and patience to gain results. Through my effort stretching has enhanced my performance and enabled efficiency and power in training and specifically in kicking.  Dedicated time to stretching helped me prevent injuries, recover and train at a higher performance level. On average, a stretch needs to be held for at least 20 seconds in order for the muscle to relax and for flexibility to increase.