proper jogging

Question
I am seventeen years old.I heard that jogging helps to improve our brain's memory. I had started jogging one week ago. Can I know is it a good thing to listen to music while jogging? What are the important stretching before and after exercising?

Answer
Hi, Paige

Well, you've got a couple of questions for me here.  Let's see what I can do for you.

Listening to music while you run is a completely personal decision.  Also, you have to be mindful of your surroundings.  So, depending on where you're running, be careful to make sure that you can hear what is going on around you and stay safe.  Also, be sure to listen to music with a fast tempo.  Studies show that this helps to keep your tempo high as well.

I think you're asking what stretches are important before and after exercising.  If that's what you're asking, I'm going to say that you don't really have to stretch before you workout.  Unless you do a great warm up, you're muscles won't be ready to have a good stretch.

For stretching, wait until after you cool down and make sure you hit all  of your major muscles groups.  So make sure you stretch your hamstrings, quads, arms, and back.  Make sure that you do not bounce while you stretch and you'll want to hold each stretch for about 15 seconds (longer if you had a hard workout).

I hope that helps.