FitMethod

Stretching makes or breaks a workout regimen. Stretching leads to better performance, but lack of it leads to injury and unhappyness. I say this, because I have seen for myself the difference that flexbility makes. Unfortunately, not a lot of attention is given to stretching. For instance, Health magazines are full of information about nutrition, resistance training, and cardiovascular training, but there is barely any mention of stretching. As a result, the average gym-goer does not properly stretch. And that is one of the major reasons for which there are so many sports/gym -related injuries.

What’s the big deal about flexibility?
Flexibility plays a key role when it comes to sports ability, physical fitness, posture, and physical medicine. The term refers to the range of motion that a joint has. It is important because it is an important component in creating proper recruitment patterns and muscle balance. Basically, proper flexibility needs for the body to function properly. Unfortunately, our lifestyles put a lot of stress on our bodies which prevent our muscles from maintaing a proper level of flexibility. What happens is that some muscles become too tight and other too weak (or inhibited). And when our bodies use these mucles, movement becoems impaired. We call this a muscle imbalance. What happens after that is a variety of things: decreased performance, muscle pain (low back pain being a good example of this), and injury.

That is the simple version of it. I could bore you with a deeper anatomical explanation, but I don’t think that you care enough and I am too lazy to do it. Either way, what I will do is list why stretching is great:

1) restores proper flexibility and joint range of motion
2) reduces muscle soreness
3) prevents joint sprains, muscle strains or tears; stops an old injury from re-occuring
4) relieves muscle and joint stiffness
5) allows for better mucle effeciency; stretched muscles require less energy to complete movements
6) reduces neuromuscular tension which promotes body relaxation (less stress!)
7) reduces tightness that leads to pain, spasm, and cramping

That’s a lotta benefits. I think that it is a good investment to spend 5-10 minutes to stretch during each workout. Sure, it may be boring, but you get a lot out of it.

So how should you stretch?
Well there are three types of stretching:
1) static stretching: where a muscle is taken to the point of tension and held there for 20 seconds.
2) active-isolated stretching: a variation of static stretching where the stretch is held for a few seconds with 5-10 reptitions.
3) dynamic stretching: where a joint is taken through its full range of motion.

So when to do it? I recommend light stretching before workouts. Particularly tight muscles should be stretched out before hand. However, the stretch should be light, since during resistance training the muscles get shortened and too much stretching beforehand prevents them from exerting their maximal strength and force. Dynamic and active-isolated stretches are great before running or other power-related workouts.

After working out, you should also do static stretches for all of the muscles that you finished exercising to bring them back to their natural length (they have been shortened throughout the workout).

So here’s a summation:
When?before and after each workout. Remember to keep the before stretching light and short.
How Long? 20 seconds.
What intensity? Hold the stretch the point of mild tension.
Why?So that you are not stiff, perform better, and do not injure yourself.

I think that about sums it up. So remember, our bodies are fragile and we need to take care of them. If we are exercising, we might as well go the whole nine yards and do it right by stretching. Fitness is not just about strength, flexibility is a part of it too.