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COPYRIGHT 2001 Vegetarian Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
Want to stay limber? Then extend, flex and stretch those muscles!
After New York City banker and marathoner Danielle Klemow runs her daily four miles, she always takes time to stretch her feet, calves, hamstrings and upper body. "I know if I don't stretch, I'll suffer the consequences [tight, sore muscles] the next day," she says. Klemow learned about stretching the hard way two years ago, when she developed painful plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the heel and bottom of the foot, a common problem that's triggered by a tight Achilles tendon. Today she never fails to stretch out after exercising--and even keeps a special foot and calf stretching device at home and at work. "I use it whenever I'm talking on the phone," she explains. "It makes it easy to stretch regularly."
Like Klemow, many athletes, as well as casual exercisers, have learned the importance of stretching after exercise to keep the body in prime form and prevent injury. If you're going to stretch prior to exercising, you only need to do a light warm-up since it's easy to injure cold muscles. To help you better understand the basics of stretching, we've answered some of the most common questions below.
Q What happens to a muscle when it's stretched--and why is that so important?
Muscles are held together by bundles of fibers, which can either contract (get smaller) or elongate (stretch out). Contracting occurs immediately after exercise or...
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