Stretching Myths

Stretching to Relieve Stress and Increase Productivity

If you’re stressed out and can’t seem to wind down, stretching may be a great solution for you. Taking as little as five minutes to do gentle stretches will not only help you feel younger and more flexible, but will help you relieve stress and be more present in the moment. Whether you roll out a yoga mat on work breaks, stretch out before bed, or after your workouts, the time spent listening to your body as you ease it through a stretching routine will help you enjoy your life and improve your focus.

It is important that you warm up before you stretch, especially in the mornings. Warming up your muscles (we literally want to increase their temperature) improves their performance and decreases pain while stretching. Do a few jumping jacks, a light jog, dynamic stretching where you move your joints through their comfortable range of motion repeatedly.

Knowing the anatomy of your muscles can make or break your stretch. Each stretching position can stretch multiple muscles depending on how you set up the stretch. 

Remember: A muscle that is too flexible can contribute to pain. If you are stretching to relieve pain, ask your chiropractor, PT, or masseuse how to make a stretch target areas that bother you, more effectively, or if you should be stretching at all. 

Myths

The longer I stretch the more flexible I’ll be - 30 seconds is the minimum amount of time to hold a stretch to see results. After 60 seconds there isn’t a significant increase in results. It is better to hit each muscle for 30 seconds daily. The optimal stretching routine hits each muscle for 5 minutes per week (2 30-second holds 5 days a week)

No pain no gain - Gentle stretches, without pain, performed consistently overtime have actually been shown to increase flexibility faster than pushing a stretch. 

You should stretch before you exercise - Dynamic stretches where you are actively moving your muscles through a stretch can improve your performance, but holding a static stretch before physical activity decreases performance and increases injury in most people. A warmup is what you want before working out- light exercise to literally increase the temperature of the muscles you are about to use. This makes them able to contract stronger, with better form, more flexibly, and recover faster during your workout. Ideally your warmups simulate the movements you will do in your workout so you can remind your body of good form 

Join us on Tuesday July 16th at 4:30 to learn a comprehensive stretching routine you can do every day to feel loose and young.

A Comparison of Two Stretching Modalities on Lower-Limb Rang... : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (lww.com)

Wyon, Matthew; Felton, Lee; Galloway, Shaun. A Comparison of Two Stretching Modalities on Lower-Limb Range of Motion Measurements in Recreational Dancers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23(7):p 2144-2148, October 2009. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b3e198