Pre-exercise, I’ve found the best place to start isn’t with stretching, it’s with flexibility exercises such as yoga movements and some of the stretches that can be performed more dynamically – i.e. with movement.

These accomplish two things:

1) You can get some blood flowing into a muscle that hasn’t warmed up.

2) You reduce the risk of injuring a muscle by trying to stretch it before it is ‘warm’.

As a martial arts instructor I find flexibility warm ups absolutely critical – even more so if you’re training in a cold environment.

There are half a dozen flexibility yoga exercises that I include before martial arts training and four specific exercises I like to use before running.

Performing these exercises prior to training reduces the risk of injury and performing them after training assists recovery and strength development.

It’s this last point that is worth examining - the stretching motion will push all the waste out of your muscle after its development so that you can stimulate improvement in the recovery time.

One of the reasons a muscle can cramp is when it literally grows too big for the muscle fascia and no longer moves freely ie it sticks to the fascia. This is called Compartment Syndrome and it’s another reason why sportspeople of all levels should add a flexibility program to their training routine.

Stretching and flexibility exercises will help to lengthen the muscle fibres.

A stretching and flexibility program will also help sufferers of night cramps and people who aren’t athletes and are prone to cramping.

If you suffer frequent cramps in your calves and you sit for long periods of time during the day, try resting your feet on a block (or a couple of phone directories) and perform calf lowering and raising exercises repeatedly throughout the day placing special emphasis on the downward stretch. This will help develop strength and flexibility in the calves.

I’m sure there’s also a lot of athletes out there who stretch faithfully before and after they train or race and yet still suffer from cramps.

Well, the good news is that you can probably rule out flexibility as a cause of cramping. There’s other factors involved here – especially nutrition and that would be my recommended starting point; especially if you get them when you’re well hydrated and not too fatigued.

Copyright: Running-Cramp-Relief.com www.Running-Cramp-Relief.com

Paul Newland is a health and nutrition consultant, trainer, martial arts instructor, commercial helicopter pilot and author. His running-cramp-relief.com Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide is one of the internet’s leading health information books and is the definitive guide to preventing, treating and curing cramps associated with exercise. In the running-cramp-relief.com Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide Newland speaks with 6 health, sports, nutrition, medical and complimentary health care professionals and explains why you get cramps, the best ways to treat them and how to prevent them from happening again. In the book you’ll find detailed pictures and information on stretching and flexibility routines.

Reproductive health problems are increasing dramatically.

Breast cancer has reached epidemic levels in the U.S. and is increasing globally. Fibroids, cysts, endometrial cancers, menopausal problems and PMS are everywhere increasing.

Estrogen dominance is not just a women’s health problem. Men, believing themselves exempt from the above, are actually equally at risk.

A large number of men, (and their women) are dissatisfied with declining male sexual performance. Ads everywhere promise renewed vigor: Viagra is a $1 billion producer.

In recent years, scientific evidence has accumulated concerning hormonelike effects of many common chemicals in animals and humans.

Birds, panthers, turtles, fish, and people have turned up with deranged sex characteristics.

Perhaps the best known of these studies involves the alligators in Lake Apopka, Florida.

Now, being a male alligator was never real exciting, but now it’s intolerable. These dudes have a bad case of what may be politely termed “shrinking gonads.”

A pesticide, now demonstrated to be a powerful xenoestrogen, was dumped into the Florida lake.

But the ‘gators had it better than the fish in the Potomac River, where fishermen found male bass laying eggs.

Xeno is the Greek root word for foreign, and Estrogens are a group of female defining hormones found in most vertebrate creatures. Xenoestrogens are external chemicals that enter the body, attach to receptor ports on cells, and assume control over growth and development. Estrogens are growth stimulants: tumors, fibroids and general swelling are the result.

This hormone imbalance, now affecting nearly everyone, of both sexes, is called “estrogen dominance.” Other names for these active chemicals are “estrogen mimics”, “hormone imitators”, and “endocrine disruptors.”

Natural hormones are subtle, needing only tiny concentrations to work. They are short lived, easily metabolized when their job is done.

Xenoestrogens are strong and long-lasting. These chemicals bind permanently to receptor sites and accumulate in fat tissues. Over a lifetime, levels build from what seem like inconsequential exposures.

Hormones come in matched pairs, each opposing the other, in balance. Progesterone, the natural balancer of estrogens, has no power to match the persistent synthetic estrogens, and is soon depleted.

Most xenoestrogens are petroleum derivatives.

Hormones are fed to livestock raised in feedlots or factories. Xenoestrogens are in all conventionally raised meat and dairy products. Estrogenic insecticides are applied directly to the animals, often by machines.

Pesticides are dumped on vegetables and fruit many times in a growing season.

Birth control pills and “Hormone Replacement Therapy” (HRT) estrogen are synthetic hormones, just more xenoestrogen added to the excess. Could this contribute to the incredible percentage of surgical births and hysterectomies (both 30%)?

A high fat, carbohydrate rich diet and resultant weight gain increase estrogen levels. An enzyme in fat cells changes adrenal hormones into estrogens. Caffeine intake from soft drinks, coffee, and tea is associated with higher estrogen levels. Coffee may contain additional xenos.

Soft plastics, made into everything from food wrappers to baby bottle nipples, contain estrogenic chemicals. Plastic coatings, used to protect canned goods from heavy metal contamination, contain hormone like molecules. Plastic cookware, Teflon-lined pans, and kitchen storage gizmos, test positive for the xenos.

Plastic wrapped food, heated in a microwave oven, has some of the highest xenoestrogen levels.

Most people now drink water from plastic bottles. The big five gallon polycarbonate plastic bottles used for water coolers are especially high in bishpenol-A, a potent xenoestrogen.

Detergents, carpets, furniture, insecticides, wall paneling, hot computers, and other electronic gadgets outgas hormone mimics. Estrogenic detergent and fabric softener makes laundromats, freshly washed clothing, and dishwasher vapors so sexy. Dry-cleaning chemicals are inhaled and absorbed through the skin. You guessed it: X-rated.

Lotions, sunscreens, shampoos, makeup, and other cosmetics, often contain Methyl Paraben, an estrogenic preservative.

Perfume, hair spray and room “air fresheners” are suspects. Nail polish and removers are loaded.

Indoor insect sprays are often estrogenic.

Reducing xenohormone levels is a long term process. It involves getting rid of all the sources above and many more.

Guys, I know lots of us are using male-enhancing vitamin formulas to increase virility and build muscle. Do we really want high estrogen levels doing the opposite?

Women smell and look better without hairspray, painted nails, and petrochemical based scents. Natural soaps with subtle traces of real flowers are much more attractive. To maintain feminine health, natural progesterone can accompany xenoestrogen avoidance.

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