I started an afrocarribbean dance class saturday and have been sore ever since?

Question

its been 10 yrs since I danced and i saw how awful my flexibiltity is. So I've been stretching, but how far should I push the stretch and how long should I hold it? What does a good (not dangerous) stretch feel like. Like whats the level of pain on a scale of 1-10

Answer 1

streching is supposed to hurt. however it isnt supposed to kill. you should probably hold streching for 20 - 30 seconds depending on how much they hurt. Just remember if you feel like you are going to injure yourself stop and you are also only sore becasue your body isnt used to this yet, but overtime it will get better. good luck

Answer 2

Push it until you feel the stretch. You don't want it to be excruciatingly painful, but you do want it to stretch because that's the point. Try going to a certain point and if you think you can handle more then go a little further. How long you hold it really depends on what stretch you're doing. Be careful and know your limits; don't go too far. You know your body better than anyone else and don't jeopardize it. And when you're sore that means that you're building muscle and becoming more flexible, so it's kind of a good thing. But just because you're sore, do stop stretching; it will ruin what your work.

Hope this helped! =)