{"id":2346,"date":"2025-02-08T22:29:35","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T22:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/can-stretching-aid-in-calorie-burning.html"},"modified":"2025-02-08T22:29:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T22:29:35","slug":"can-stretching-aid-in-calorie-burning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/can-stretching-aid-in-calorie-burning.html","title":{"rendered":"Can Stretching Aid in Calorie Burning?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you generally feel lighter after a good stretching session, you might wonder, \u201cDid I just lose weight? Does stretching burn calories?!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of all the other unconventional ways to shave off a few calories, stretching seems to be the most useful.<\/p>\n<p>Read on to find out how stretching can benefit you beyond\u00a0burning calories (since that\u2019s not really the point of stretching), plus how to build it into your day.<\/p>\n<h2>How Many Calories Does Stretching Burn?<\/h2>\n<p>The goal of stretching should\u00a0not\u00a0be to burn calories, says\u00a0Dr. Nicole Lombardo, PT, DPT, CSCS. That said, it may burn some depending on the type of flexibility work you\u2019re doing and for how long.<\/p>\n<p>There are the two main\u00a0types of stretching:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Static:\u00a0<\/strong>This is the type of stretching you likely learned in gym class, where you elongate a muscle and hold that position for a couple seconds to release tension. Think: touching your toes or a side bend.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dynamic:<\/strong>\u00a0These kind of stretches are active, moving your limbs and joints through full ranges of motion to prime your muscles for action. Think: walking lunges or trunk rotations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIf you are doing dynamic stretches or a yoga flow \u2014 which can include various stretches \u2014 you may burn some calories when compared to not moving at all,\u201d Lombardo says.<\/p>\n<p>The American Council on Exercise estimates\u00a0that a 150-pound person could burn around 85 calories stretching or practicing\u00a0hatha yoga\u00a0for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Should I Add Stretching to My Routine?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Adding some quality stretching to your day not only helps your body prepare for and recover from exercise but also helps your body function outside of the gym, especially as you age.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStretching is important to do in order to maintain a level of flexibility and allow us to remain functional,\u201d Lombardo says. \u201cFor example, many older adults lose the ability to touch their toes, which makes activities such as putting on shoes and socks difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Can Stretching Change the Shape of My Body?<\/h2>\n<p>Nope, not really. \u201cIt may change how your body moves, but stretching really\u00a0can\u2019t change your muscle or fat composition,\u201d Lombardo says.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a good way to recover after workouts that do those things, however.<\/p>\n<h2>5 Tips to Start Stretching<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-163913\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/15122111\/does-stretching-burn-calories-600-tips.png\" alt=\"Woman Stretches in Front of Laptop | Does Stretching Burn Calories\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Take a quick stretch break\u00a0every hour or two at work.<\/li>\n<li>Stretch while watching TV.<\/li>\n<li>Figure out a time that\u2019s usually open during your day, and then block it off on your calendar for stretching.<\/li>\n<li>Ease into your new stretching routine. It might take a while for you to build mobility and flexibility, so be patient and allow your body time to adapt.<\/li>\n<li>Try our\u00a0XB Stretch\u00a0or\u00a0Yoga52\u00a0programs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The moral of the stretching story: Stretching itself isn\u2019t some magical\u00a0calorie-torching\u00a0weight-loss tool, but it\u2019s an important way to help you prep for and recover from workouts and move through your day with more ease.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Stretching Exercises<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for relief in some of the most commonly tense areas of your body, try these stretches:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you generally feel lighter after a good stretching session, you might wonder, \u201cDid I just lose weight? Does stretching burn calories?!\u201d Of all the other unconventional ways to shave off a few calories, stretching seems to be the most useful. Read on to find out how stretching can benefit you beyond\u00a0burning calories (since that\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-2346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}