Ideally, you will stretch right before you begin to walk on your treadmill and again afterwards. Stretching before your workout will help with your flexibility, and stretching afterward will also help prevent injury.



Here are some stretching tips to help you prevent injury to your muscles:

1. The first mistake many people make is to try and stretch too far. If you are in pain then you have stretched too far! It is much better to stretch to a position that you find comfortable, and then hold this stance for between 15 - 20 seconds.

2. Breathe through your stretches. Some people hold their breath during their stretch routines, but when you practice deep breathing exercises, it helps you perform a deeper stretch for your muscles.

3. Warm up your muscles before you stretch. Some people believe that stretching is the warm-up. But you should walk or jog for a few minutes to get the blood flowing and then begin to stretch.

4. A warm bath or shower and a stretch are excellent ways to end an exercise session. The warm water of the bath or shower will help to relax your muscles and the stretching will help avoid injury and will feel great!

5. Don't bounce during your stretches. You may have seen many athletes on TV bouncing while they stretched their muscles. This can actually cause injury rather than prevent it.

The most important muscles that you need to stretch are not always your leg muscles. Of course, it is important to stretch your calf muscles, quadriceps, and hamstrings, but you also need to stretch her shoulders, abs, neck, and back. Believe it or not, walking on a treadmill provides a full body workout.

Try to be a bit more creative than just bending over and trying to touch your toes. Add in some other stretching exercises such as the splits and lunges. You can even work in some calf stretches by standing on a step and then dropping your heels - be sure to stop before it becomes uncomfortable though.

Whenever you stretch, make your movements slow and precise for the best results. You want to keep some tension on the muscles to help them stretch, but never stretch to the point where you're in pain.