What Stretches Reduce the Muscle Size?

No amount of stretching will change the overall shape and size of your muscles. Stretching only temporarily lengthens your muscle fibers between the muscle's two points of attachment. The aesthetics of your muscles are determined by factors such as body composition, fiber type composition and exercise.

  1. Fast or Slow

    • Your muscles are composed of fibers that are classified by their physical attributes as fast-twitch or slow-twitch muscle fibers. Generally speaking, your muscles are composed of 50 percent fast-twitch and 50 percent slow-twitch – however, the actual composition of your muscles depends on genetics. Fast-twitch muscle fibers have a penchant for sprint type activities that require a great deal of power. Due to those characteristics, fast-twitch muscle fibers tend to take on a bulkier appearance. Slow-twitch muscle fibers have a greater capacity for prolonged endurance events, which contributes to an overall slimmer muscle appearance.

    Lose the Fat

    • Body fat is useful as insulation for our body organs, energy and a myriad of other processes – however, too much body fat can camouflage muscle definition and add to your body mass. Daily cardiovascular exercise helps to burn the layer of fat that conceals your muscles and helps you achieve a leaner appearance. Strive to engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardiovascular exercise per week. If you are unable to complete a consecutive 30 minutes of activity, try spreading out your exercise into frequent bursts of 10 minutes throughout the day.

    Lift to Lose

    • Resistance training helps to increase the amount of lean muscle mass your body is composed of. Because muscles require more calories to operate, even while at rest, they help to aid weight loss efforts. Depending on your training aim, building muscle strength or endurance, your method of training will differ slightly. To build muscle bulk, choose a weight that is challenging and cannot be lifted more than eight to 10 times. Complete eight to 10 exercises that work the major muscle groups of your body for one set of eight to 10 repetitions. Muscle endurance relies on a lower amount of weight and a higher amount of repetitions. Choose a weight that is challenging but can be lifted at least 12 times. You should also complete eight to 10 exercises that target all of the major muscle groups of your body – however, complete two to three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.

    Stretch for Success

    • Consistent flexibility training improves your range of motion. Since flexibility decreases with age, it should be an important part of your fitness regimen. Pick a type of training that works best for you. Static stretching and dynamic stretching can both be done without assistance or extra equipment. Static stretching involves a consistent stretch of the muscle for a certain period of time. It is recommended to stretch to the point of gentle discomfort and to hold for 15 to 30 seconds and to repeat two to three times. Dynamic stretching imitates more functional movement and works to improve flexibility through a routine of controlled swings, circles and rolls. Since dynamic stretching uses movement, it helps keep the muscles warm by increasing blood flow to the active area.