Stretching- Tips, Benefits And Methods

STRETCHINGEdit Posts

How many of you can honestly say you have a good stretch as part of every workout? And by stretching I do not mean a cursory bend at the hips to see if you can touch your toes. Let me explain a little bit about stretching and maybe then you will see why it is crucial part of your workout.

I don’t normally like to do the negatives to begin, but there are a couple of things I have to say NEVER do with stretching, and if you take nothing else from this article, please read and digest the following points:

NEVER BOUNCE A STRETCH - Bouncing stretches should stay right back in the 70s with your lycra and headbands. This is a dangerous, out of date technique and is a quick and easy way to bounce straight into a muscle tear.

NEVER STRETCH A COLD MUSCLE – think of your little muscles as a plasticine like substance, when they are cold they are inflexible and easy to snap, warm ‘em up and hey presto....they stretch without the snapping bit....get it?

Benefits:

· Stretching will help relieve muscle tightness and stiffness.

· It increases localized blood flow to the muscles being stretched, thus improving circulation.

· Evidence suggests it will relieve muscle soreness after intense physical activity and help to reduce the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) i.e. the aches and pains you may feel for a couple of days after a hard workout.

· Helps prevent injury as tight muscles can easily get strained or torn

· It can help postural imbalances – for example if you have tight hamstrings these can pull the pelvis out of its normal position, creating lower back problems!

· Stretching can be very relaxing and is a good way to relieve stress

Stretching exercises can easily be integrated into a cool down following a training session, when the body is warm.

The stretching I am going to focus on is the one that is universally beneficial for gym users, known as static stretching. There are several other types of stretching which tend to be more sports specific and I will explain more about these in future articles.

Method:

Yeah, yeah so you think who the hell needs to be told how to stretch? Well, judging from some of the sights I have seen over the years in the stretch area of most gyms, around 90% of gym users could do with a quick idiot proof stretch guide. A quality stretch needs to be done correctly, technique counts for everything.

A stretch is found in the relevant muscle and held for a set length of time. Each stretch is held for a MINIMUM of 30 seconds.....not the standard “count to 5ish seconds and move on” technique which most people seem to think adequate. Stretches can be held up to two minutes for developmental stretching.

Stretching should be pain free, it may feel slightly uncomfortable sometimes if you have very tight muscles, but if you experience pain stop!

Oh and don’t forget to breathe freely throughout each stretch.....yep I really am reminding you to breathe, trust me lots of people really do forget.

I would recommend that if you follow a programme in the gym you allow 10 minutes at the end of every workout for a good, quality stretch. Few people allow themselves time to do this which is why it gets neglected. Long term the benefits of stretching definitely outweigh the risks of not doing so.

Thanks,

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