You Need to Stretch!

Stretching may seem like a boring extra step to your already tight schedule, and more often than not we choose to skip out on it and jump straight into exercise.

You may be thinking, how much good can it really do to your daily health?

The answer is – a lot!

Why Stretching is IMPORTANT

Particularly in our hips and in our shoulders, being hunched over a computer and sitting for hours at a desk can really tighten up our muscles, and make it difficult and even painful to walk and move sometimes.

Stretching can help to keep your muscles flexible, strong and healthy as we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in out joints to carry out daily activities. Having tight muscles puts us at greater risk for joint pains, strains and even muscle damage if we move too fast too quickly.

Additionally, when we stretch, it improves the blood flow to our muscles and overall better blood circulation. Greater circulation improves recovery, enhanced removal of waste products and helps to keep your organs healthy.

Loosening your muscles can also help to relieve pain caused from the tightness. Try it out right now! Instant relief can turn into permanent pain-free days!

How to Stretch

There are 2 types of stretching that you can put into your exercise routine.

First, before exercise or even starting our day, we can engage in dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching is stretching while in movement. Examples are arm swings, leg swings, hip circles and more! Dynamic stretching is great for warming up to prepare the muscles and joints for the exercise ahead!

Second, we have static stretches. which as the name suggests, is stretching without movement. That includes tricep stretch, quadriceps stretch, hip flexor stretch et cetera. Static stretches are great for post-exercise recovery to ensure that your muscle don’t tighten up for maximal recovery!

At Active Zone, we always start our classes with a proper warm up using dynamic stretches before diving right into it. After class, we ensure a section of static stretching to end off. Your wellbeing is our top priority! If you would like more information on our classes, follow our social media pages or contact us using our contact details below!

Name:    Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     info@activered.sg

Phone:    8363 5661
Website: www.ActiveZone.sg

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

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Stretch Before or After Your Workout?

There is a lot of information flying around out there about stretching. Should you do it before your workout? Should you do it after? Or maybe both?

Well to figure that out, we need to know what stretching actually does for us.

What is Stretching?

Stretching is the action of stretching out your muscles that keeps it flexible and strong, allowing you to maintain and even increase the range of motion in the joints.

When you go about your days without stretching, your muscles will eventually shorten and tighten up, making it difficult to fully extend and engage in physical activity. In fact, it increases the risk of injury when you do!

So now that we know that stretching is good for us, should we be doing it before or after our exercise?

Well the answer is, both!

However, there are 2 different types of stretching, and it is an important distinction to be made between the type of stretching done before a workout, and the type of stretching done after a workout.

Active or Dynamic Stretching

Active or dynamic stretching is a type of stretching where the stretch is accompanied or done using a movement. Some examples of dynamic stretching are leg swings, jumping jacks, high knee run and arm circles.

This added movement causes blood flow towards your muscles, and teaches and accustoms your body to stretch the muscles (stretching) even during contraction (movement). This “stretch and move” combination if you notice is actually what makes up most of our workouts. So if your body is not used to it, it can result in muscle strains when forced to do a movement it is not prepared for.

Not only that, doing passive or static stretching before an exercise has actually been proven to lead to a decrease in strength, power and explosiveness. As such, it is the type of stretching that you should be doing before your workout.

Passive or Static Stretching

Passive or static stretching on the other hand is a type of stretching that is done without movement or while stationary. Some examples include the shoulder stretch, triceps stretch, quadriceps stretch and butterfly stretch.

Static stretching, while unfortunately does not help with delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS), can still help with recovery. It helps to improve blood flow to the limbs and delivers nutrients and oxygen which helps speed up the recovery process.

Not only that, the time spent static stretching can help to lower your heart rate and help you recover from your workout more quickly than before. Over time, it can decrease your heart rate variability, which is the rate at which your heartbeat returns to normal post-exercise.

Lastly, it can help to maintain and improve the flexibility of your muscles and joints, which plays a huge role in our everyday lives. As such, passive or static stretching should be done after our workout.

If you are still unsure about what you can do, you can head on down to Active Zone!

Our trainers always ensure that you do sufficient warm up and cool down stretches before and after you do any exercise to minimise injury.

Want to know more about our classes? Check out our details below!

Name:     Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     ActiveZoneSG@gmail.com

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page

The best things to do post workout

If you’ve been following our blogposts, we’ve more or less mentioned about different types of sports and gym workouts, their benefits and also given healthy lifestyle advices. If you’re confused by the above sentence, maybe it’s time you checked out our other posts! With that out of the way, today’s article will be a little different since we’ll be discussing about some of the best tips you should do post workout.

Cool down and Stretch

As straightforward and simple as it sounds, many people actually neglect the importance of a good cool down stretch after exercise. Simply spending 10 to 15 minutes doing so can help to reduce the concentration of lactic acid in specific muscle spots, reducing the feeling of soreness the day after. Stretching also helps to speed up the recovery process, since you’re essentially giving your body ample time for your body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure to return return to normal levels. The next time you have the urge to just sit down and scroll your phone after a workout, think about the importance of cool down stretches and just spend 10 minutes doing them!

Refuelling Time!

Getting nutritious food after a good workout is vital in both our body’s recovery and overall adaptation process. It is recommended for one to consume foods containing carbohydrates and protein post workout, like greek yoghurt mixed with fruits or energy bars. This will also help in muscle recovery since you’re essentially providing your body with more energy, allowing yourself to feel more energized and less lethargic after a certain period of time.

Hydrate, Always

Unless you go on strolls or walks, we usually find ourselves drenched in sweat after a good, productive workout. This is why it’s always important to replenish mineral salts and fluid loss in your body by drinking more water after exercising! It can be just plain water or electrolyte drinks like H20 or 100 Plus – this allows you to prevent dehydration, especially in Singapore’s hot and humid weather!

If you like our content, feel free to check us out via the details listed down below!

Name:     Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     ActiveZoneSG@gmail.com

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page

Why Stretching is so important

You may think that stretching is more important for gymnasts or dancers. However, Stretching is important not only when you are working out but it is also important to do it daily. It may seem like a simple process, but stretching can make a huge impact on your overall health.

Why Stretching is IMPORTANT

Stretching can help to keep your muscles flexible, strong and healthy as we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in out joints. One study found that both static and dynamic stretch are effective when it comes to increasing your range of motion. This will help you especially as you age and your joints are not as good. Without flexibility, your muscles shorten and become tighten. They are unable to extend all the way and becomes weak, putting you in risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.

Stretching also helps to improve blood flow to your muscles. With better blood circulation, you would have shorten recovery time and reduce muscle soreness. It can also help heal and prevent back pain. With tight muscles, the likelihood of straining your muscles in your back is higher. Thus, Stretching can help heal existing back pain or prevent them.

Where to Start?

Stretching daily might seem overwhelming and time consuming. So, with limited time, where do we stretch? Well, fortunately, it is not necessary for you to stretch every muscle on your body. The areas of mobility such as your lower extremities should be your main focus. They are your calves, hamstring, hip flexors and so on. Stretching your neck and back will also be beneficial. Aim to at least stretch 3 to 4 times a week, just a short 15 minutes can make a difference!

At Active Zone, our class make sure you have a proper warmup before diving into class. After the class ends, there will be a cool down, where everyone would Stretch together. This is so that we could prevent straining ant muscle. So you don’t have to worry about getting injured during class. Follow our social media pages for more information on our classes.

Name:    Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     info@activered.sg

Phone:    8363 5661
Website: www.ActiveZone.sg

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page

The Importance of Stretching

Whether it’s warming up before your workout or cooling down afterwards, stretching should be a vital part of both your exercises and your daily life! Most of us are guilty of sitting at a desk, slouched over for hours of school or work, so it’s vital for us to undo those hours through stretching.

Muscle and Joint Support

Stretching will help keep your muscles flexible, which will maintain the range of motion in your joints. Stretching helps to loosen them and keep you limber. This is especially important to maintain mobility. When your muscles and joints are tight, you might strain them while moving. To prevent strain during your workouts and to prevent injury after, you should stretch the appropriate parts of your body.

A Daily Habit, A Lifetime of Change

While the effects of stretching might not be seen overnight, the strain and stress that you put on your muscles when you don’t stretch can show up at any time. Maybe you’ve been sitting poorly in a chair at your desk, or maybe you don’t move around too much during the day. Over time, you might experience pain in parts of your body such as your lower back or neck. As such, it’s important to stretch and keep yourself flexible and lessen (or prevent) these strains. Stretching can help you gain better posture, too!

Improve Your Physical Performance

Dynamic stretches as a warm up can be greatly beneficial for your muscles. Warming up your body can help prevent injuries from strain, and might help improve your performance during that workout. These are active movements where the stretch is not held in its final position. These can include lunges and leg swings. Static stretches, such as touching your toes, are more suited for cool downs.

At Active Zone, we make sure that all our classes start with a great dynamic warm-up, while including a relaxing cool down stretch and the end. Join us today for a fitter, stronger you! Our group fitness classes are for women only. You can find us in the heart of the city along Beach Road! Get in touch with us today to find out more about what we do!

Name:     Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     ActiveZoneSG@gmail.com

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page

Exercise Myths That Just Aren’t True!

There are always certain myths or stigmas surrounding anything.

Unfortunately it is usually those untruths that spread and everyone end up believing in, even scaring them enough to avoid it completely or causing frustration when they do not see results.

Here are a list of myths from self.com that we’d like to clear up!

#1: Strength Training Will Make You Bulky

Many women tend to shy away from strength training as they do not wish to look bulky from building muscles.

However, unless you go on a hardcore strength training programme, it is very difficult for women to bulk in the first place as they do not have as much testosterone as men.

In fact, doing strength training can actually help to make you lean, as you are then able to burn more calories at rest!

#2: You Can’t Lose Fat From A Specific Part Of Your Body

Even though there is always a certain area we’d like to lose fat from, spot-training (only training that specific area) won’t help slimming that area down.

As fat cells are distributed among your entire body, losing overall body fat is the way to go!

Doing full body High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts is a great way to burn calories and fat (and strength training too!)

Myth #3: Doing cardio is the best way to lose weight.

While it is true that doing tons of cardio will help you to lose weight, but more than just cardio needs to be done.

It is important to supplement your cardio workout with not only strength training, but with a proper nutrition meal plan as well!

Myth #4: The workout was ineffective if you do not feel sore

While muscles feeling sore after a workout does mean that your workout has effectively strengthened your muscles, it does not mean that if they aren’t, your workout was ineffective.

Your muscles feeling sore just means that there was significant stress applied during your workout.

Having proper recovery post-exercise can minimise the soreness you feel despite an equally effective workout.

Myth #5: You should go 100% every workout.

While it is true you should always try to be 100% focused during your workout, you should not be pushing at your max every time you exercise.

Especially when you feel sore everyday, it can mean that you’re on the road to overtraining which would mean you are not having enough recovery time.

This can even set you back on your training and lead to injury.

Myth #6: Strength training means using machines and heavy weights.

Everyone has the idea that strength training can only be done in the gym with heavy weights. But that’s not true!

Strength training just means using resistance to work your muscles – which can even include bodyweight exercises, so don’t skip out on it even when you’re home.

Myth #7: Sweating a lot means you had an effective workout.

The external environment plays a very important role in how much you sweat.

Here in Singapore, we sweat a lot due to the daily 30+ degree temperature. Not only that, our humidity also makes it seem like we are sweating a lot more because the sweat cannot evaporate.

So be careful! A 10 minute walk is definitely not so effective even if you do sweat.

Myth #8: You have to do at least 20 minutes of cardio to make it worth it

You can get in a great cardio working with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

HIIT challenges the respiratory system to work efficiently in delivering oxygen to working muscles.

Not only that, it creates the after-burn effect, which means that you continue to burn calories after the workout.

One example would be the Tabata workout, a 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest routine of 8 exercises (usually 2 rounds of 4 exercises) which makes up a 4 minute workout!

Myth #9: You need to stretch before a workout.

Don’t get confused by dynamic warm-ups and static stretches.

While both are important, knowing when to do which is very important.

Stretching should be done after your workout, not before!

Doing a dynamic warm up instead will help to improve the mobility and elasticity in the muscles which prepares them for the strenuous activity later on.

Myth #10: You should exercise every day.

Recovery is important!

Exercising everyday, especially at high intensity, will continuously break down your muscle fibers without giving it the time to repair and rebuild to become stronger.

You can leave a few days a week for recovery by doing something that does not put your body under stress, such as some stretching or a leisurely walk.

How many of these myths did you believe?

Correcting these misconceptions will not only help you to more accurately and effectively achieve your fitness goals, but also help to keep you safe and healthy.

We hope that you’ve learned something new from this list!

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Contact Us

New online classes: http://activelife-shop.weebly.com/online-classes-new.html

For more information on our group classes, contact us at:

Name:     Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     ActiveZoneSG@gmail.com

Phone:    8363 5661
Website: www.ActiveZone.sg

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page

How Important Is Flexibility?

Not everyone is trained in flexibility since young.

Being able to do a split or a complicated yoga pose is what many of us would consider to be flexible, but when do we really need that kind of flexibility?

As a result, it is cast aside in favour of strength or cardio.

While these are important aspects of our physical fitness, flexibility is often overlooked.

So why is it important to work on our flexibility when we work out?

Benefits of Flexibility

Reduce injury

Having more flexibility would mean that your body is able to withstand more physical stress.

In addition your body will be rid of any muscle imbalances by strengthening the under-active muscles and stretching the overactive ones, reducing the chance of straining and injuring yourself when exercising.

Reduce pain

Improved flexibility lengthens and opens up your muscles, causing them to be looser and less tense.

As a result, you will be less likely to experience muscle aches or muscle cramps, reducing any overall pain that you feel in your body.

Improved posture

Along the lines of correcting muscle imbalances, focusing on flexibility will allow you to have better alignment.

A greater range of motion would also make it easier for you to sit or stand in certain ways, improving your posture especially when sitting or standing for long periods of time.

Improved state of mind

Have you ever felt relaxed after stretching out your body after being sedentary for a period of time?

That feeling of relaxation can extend to your mind and help you to unwind after a long day at work.

Improved performance

Flexibility improves the movement in your body, allowing the muscles in the body to work more effectively, and thus perform better physically.

Your strength will also increase in order to support the larger range of movements, allowing you to be more physically fit.

How Can I Become More Flexible?

Just like any other exercise, regular practice is necessary. Every time before we workout, we should engage in dynamic stretching.

Dynamic stretching is the performance of active movements of muscle that lead to a stretch but are not held in the end position. This helps you to warm up your muscles and increase your flexibility.

After we do our workout, we should engage in static stretching.

Static stretching is staying in a stretching position and holding for at least 10 seconds. These stretches should be done only when your muscles are warmed up so as to not strain them.

Keeping up with this routine will help you to slowly improve your flexibility and help you reap all the benefits listed above.

Start with mores stretches today! We guarantee you will be feeling and moving better in no time!

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Contact Us

New online classes: http://activelife-shop.weebly.com/online-classes-new.html

For more information on our group classes, contact us at:

Name:     Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     ActiveZoneSG@gmail.com

Phone:    8363 5661
Website: www.ActiveZone.sg

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page

Ways To Ease Upper Back Pain

With everything being online nowadays, we are constantly sitting in front of our computers, probably hunched over and clicking away.

It is not uncommon to start feeling some pain in your upper back from the hours of facing a computer screen.

However, for every problem, there is always a solution. Here are some of the different ways that you can do to ease the pain, and help you feel better as you do your work.

Massage

Sounds like the obvious, yet it is not something that you can go find a professional to do for you now, nor is it easy to get someone else from your household to do it for you.

One thing that you can do is use a foam roller.

Using a foam roller will help you massage the areas that you cannot reach by yourself, and helps to relieve muscle tightness, soreness, and inflammation.

Change Up Your Workspace

Working from home has it’s perks, being able to do your work on the couch, or make a call while playing with your pet on the floor. Some will even do work on their beds!

While it may be more comfortable for a short while, it can take a toll on your upper back when you have to constantly look down to do your work.

Even those with desks, proper posture is easily forsaken after long periods of time. Adjustments need to be made to ensure that you are looking straight when doing your work, and not downwards to avoid causing any strain.

Exercise

There is usually no quick fix to solving any kind of pain. To really target the cause of the pain and prevent it from coming back in the future, we need to regularly exercise and strengthen the areas that we have pain in.

We need to ensure that we are constantly strengthening our bodies so that we can have better posture to avoid any pain in the back.

Areas to Target

1. Shoulder blades

By strengthening the muscles around your shoulder blades, you will be able to move your shoulders with much more ease than before and ensure that your upper back will not be in pain.

You can start but squeezing your shoulder blades together, holding for a few seconds for a few times a day. This will relieve some of the soreness and help you to focus on your posture a little more as well.

2. Stretch your Chest

Open up your arms straight out and stretch your chest out. Chances are if you have a tight back, you have a tight chest as well.

Focus on stretching your chest for about 10-20s for a few times a day to really open it up and improve your posture.

3. Strengthen your trapezius

A weak trapezius can cause quite a lot of pain to the upper back. However, you can strengthen it using this exercise:

Lie flat on the floor face down, and extend your arms out to the sides with your thumb pointing upwards. Raise your arms off the floor by squeezing your shoulder blades together and paise at the top before lowering them slowly.

3 sets of 15 reps will help you to really strengthen your back and help to prevent back pain in the future.

4. Stretch your Middle Back

It’s important to stretch the areas around your upper back as well, and your middle back is rarely targeted as an area to stretch.

You can do so by putting your hands behind your head and arch your upper back upwards. Do this 10 times a few times a day.

Super easy and simple exercise that you can fit into your daily work from home schedule.

We should always remember to do our best to take care of our bodies before anything happens, and not wait until we feel pain before we start to act.

Be safe, and be healthy!

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Contact Us

New online classes: http://activelife-shop.weebly.com/online-classes-new.html

For more information on our group classes, contact us at:

Name:     Active Zone by Active Red
Email:     ActiveZoneSG@gmail.com

Phone:    8363 5661
Website: www.ActiveZone.sg

Online Store: www.activelife-shop.weebly.com

To find out more about Active Red, read about us here.

To choose an Active Kickboxing Programme, read about our different Kickboxing Programmes here.

Book your introductory workshop at Active Schedules

To be a Certified Active Kickboxing Fitness Trainer, click on WAKO logo below:

Remember to follow us on Facebook at:

“Like” Active Zone Facebook Page

“Like” Active Red Facebook Page

“Like” Active Life Center Facebook Page

“Like” WAKO Kickboxing Singapore Facebook Page