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When you were a teenager you could just dive right into an exercise or sports routine without giving much thought to the preparations involved. After all at the age of 17 most people have bodies that are very forgiving when asked to perform some extreme moves such as jumping, twisting or bending. Those youthful muscles are strong and resilient, and this means that stretching exercises are frequently overlooked or omitted.
However things are quite different when you join the ranks of aging athletes. Proper stretching exercises for aging athletes are not only going to be a critical part of the fitness regime, they are essential for anyone over the age of 35 who wants to avoid damaging their muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Knowing the correct way to stretch will provide an aging athlete with optimum flexibility, strength and endurance. Muscles that have been safely stretched and conditioned will help you boost your performance in swimming, jogging, long distance running, biking or dancing. Following a routine that includes stretching exercises for aging athletes will also help you avoid muscle cramps, torn muscles and other sports related injuries.
There are different stretches that target each muscular group in the body and even if you are only going to be performing a lower body workout routine you should still stretch all of your muscles. Full body stretching routines are essential for maintaining flexibility. When you exercise all of the major muscle groups you are also helping improve your natural balance, symmetry, strength and posture.

Holding a single stretching pose for at least 30-45 seconds is essential for athletes, particularly aging athletes. It takes this much time for your muscles to become fully activated from each stretch. Many people try to zip through the warm-up stretches instead of commit to the necessary length of time that is required. Follow these suggestions for the best results with stretching routines.

Stretch those muscles before and after any type of physical activity.

Allow at least 15-20 minutes for warm-up and cool down stretches.

Allow your muscles to be gently and fully stretched during each of your stretching routines.

Hold each of the stretching positions for a minimum of 30 seconds before moving on to a different stretching activity.

Do not try to immediately force your body into any pose or stretching routine that is beyond your ability.

Take it slow and easy with the stretching routines so that your body has time to adjust to each movement.

Every year kids and adults find themselves hurt because of full contact sports. Emergency rooms will find a number of people coming in with head injuries, leg injuries and even broken bones. In order to prevent contact sport injuries there are precautions and tips that can help alleviate the chance of having one.

One of the most common injuries is a pulled muscle or cramp from playing full contact sports. It is always a good idea to stretch out each muscle group before engaging in sports.

To help prevent head injuries in contact sports it is a good idea to wear a helmet when it is appropriate to wear one. If the sport does not call for a helmet, then it is a good idea for the person playing the game to not lead with their head when making contact with the other person.

Before playing in contact sports it is important to be in good physical shape. Injuries occur because of a lack of preparation and because the body is not ready to be used in the desired way. Training and exercise is a good way to prevent injury in sports.

Always play by the rules. When an injury occurs it is often because of foul play or incorrect methods in the sport. For instance the NFL has a rule that states a player may not hit the head of another player with their helmet when tackling them. At times players have ignored the rule and found out the hard way with a concussion and they have to sit out of the sport for awhile.

Make sure to check with your doctor if there is any question about possible injury. Sometimes people will sprain an ankle in sports and fail to have it checked out by a doctor. They feel that they can continue only to find that they make the injury worse by not having it fixed.