Stretch yo’self before you wreck yo’self!

We all know we need more of it. Very few of us overdo it. So let’s talk about how to do it right.

I could write about the intricacies of this topic for days, but I'm gonna try to make this more of an overview of the key points to know.

WHY SHOULD I STRETCH? I FEEL FINE

First of all, tight muscles pull on your joints in ways you may not even feel, but over time that wears out your joints and can cause permanent or chronic injury.

Plus, by increasing our range of motion, we put less strain on our body and actually make it easier to move throughout our day. Even if you don’t “feel” tight throughout your day, your muscles have to work against any tightness in their counterparts. So with a proper stretch routine we can not only ease the stress on our joints, but actually make ourselves stronger by giving a particularly tight muscle’s counterpart an easier workload to work against.

ACTIVE vs STATIC

There are 2 types of stretching. Active (also called Dynamic) and static.

ACTIVE stretches are what you generally do in a warmup. Repeatedly moving in and out of a stretch. When our muscles are cold, they are more restricted. By doing dynamic stretches like we do in our dynamic warmup series, we are opening up our muscles to the ranges they already have but can’t access till warm.

STATIC stretches are how we GAIN length and increase our range of motion. Static stretches are when you hold a stretch for 30sec (or longer).

You are not going to make lasting improvements to your range of motion with active stretches alone. This is why boring old static stretches are CRUCIAL. However, you can make your static stretches more effective if you do some dynamic stretches (or a whole workout) beforehand.

BUT WHY 30 SECONDS?!
This is important.

When you bring a muscle to its end range, its instinct is to tighten up. This works as a safety mechanism so as to not overextend a joint.

For instance, if you go to swing your leg to kick a soccer ball, when your leg reaches its end range, your hamstring will tighten up real quick to pull the leg back in before you even have the thought to pull your leg back. Hip joint saved!

However, since our bodies are adaptive systems, our muscles are constantly trying to figure out what range of motion we need. If your daily patterns don’t ask much range out of a muscle then your muscle will tighten up and trigger that safety response much earlier. Perhaps too early.

The way we override this safety mechanism is to bring a muscle to that end range and hold it there. Somewhere between 20-30 seconds (upwards of 60 seconds or more for elderly folks) a receptor in that muscle's tendon tells the muscle to relax. In that moment you may feel the strain of the stretch ease up just a bit. THAT’S THE STRETCH! Do this often and you can continually improve your range of motion.

“Stretching” is kind of a misleading term. You’re not actually ripping the muscle into length. You are simply bringing it to its end range and waiting for it to loosen itself up. It requires patience. It also requires that muscle that you are stretching to be relaxed. This can require some mental relaxation which is why I find static stretches to be a great time to meditate.

YOU KEEP THE LENGTH YOU USE

After stretching, it’s good to go through those motions with some dynamic stretches. Simply because you did a stretch one time does not mean you now have that range forever. If you aren’t going to regularly use that new range, then you’re going to need to make stretching a regular thing and regularly exercise those ranges throughout consistent dynamic workouts. Otherwise, your muscles will simply tighten back up to the motions you use in your daily life.

SO STRETCH BEFORE OR AFTER THE WORKOUT?

Ah ha! This could be a nice little debate as there are 2 schools of thought here. Both have their time and place of use. Before diving in though, it’s important to keep in mind what we spoke about above. Remember the difference between active and static stretching? In my previous blog post about a proper warmup, I explained that active stretching should definitely be part of your warmup. In this scenario, I’m going to focus on static stretches, since that is what is most often debated.

School 1: Static Stretches Post-Workout

Static stretches cool down your body and lower your heart rate the more time you spend doing them. It is more important for you to warm up your body prior to a workout (see my previous blog post to explore this in more detail). Thus making post-workout the ideal time for you to do static stretches that will cool down your body.

Also, static stretching post workout can release tension that you have built up during your workout and help decrease the severity of that delayed muscle soreness that can set in post workout.

This methodology is better if you are short on time or want to spend more of the time you have on strengthening.

If this is for your, your ideal workflow would be something like…

1. Dynamic Warmup w/Active Stretching

2. Cardio or Strength Training

3. Cool Down w/Static Stretching

School 2: Static Stretches Pre-Workout

Since we keep the length we use, if we static stretch prior to our workout, and then use those new ranges of motion throughout our workout, we are more likely to keep them.

However, static stretching is far more effective when done after your muscles are warmed up. So if you do static stretches prior to your workout, you’ll need to warm up beforehand to prep them, and warm up again after your stretches to prepare for your strength training. PLUS, you’ll still want to stretch post-workout as part of your cool down to gain the benefits of tension release and decreased muscle soreness.

This methodology is ideal if you have a lot of time set aside for your workout and/or you have some extremely tight muscles that are hindering your workout.

If one of my clients has one particularly tight muscle, I’ll use this methodology to just stretch that one muscle pre-workout, and then stretch it again during our full stretch routine post-workout.

If this is for you, your ideal workflow would be something like…

1. Warm up w/Foam Rolling or another form of myofascial release

2. Static Stretching

3. Dynamic Warmup w/Active Stretching

4. Cardio/Strength Training

5. Cool Down w/Static Stretching

TREAT YOSELF, so STRETCH YOSELF and live life easier.

Easing tension in our bodies and increasing our ranges of motion can make our daily movements easier, and thus make life a little bit easier and more enjoyable to live.

Whatever methodology you use, consistency is key. If you’re looking to make lasting changes in your range of motion, you’re going to need to implement both static and active stretching into a regular routine.

If you’d like more detail on how to improve your own stretching routine, click below and schedule a FREE 1-on-1 trial session with me. I’d be happy to help you discover and improve your ranges of motion.