4 Rules for Effective Stretching

Now that I’ve been frequenting the club more often, I have to admit that the part I enjoy most is the interaction with the members and I was quite surprised that I heard more often than not from the members who had just recently started, that they enjoyed the stretching most of all.

Stretching is very important. As we age, and notice how I said “we”, our muscles and joints tend to stiffen. The only way to combat this inevitable occurrence is to stretch, regularly and effectively.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to pass along my knowledge of stretching so as to ensure that those enjoying stretching get the most benefit possible from the time they spend stretching.

There are four very important things you need to be aware of in order to make your stretches as effective as possible. Here they are:

1. Stretching is progressive. What I mean by that is that all stretches should be repeated at least three times. Anyone who has done a hamstring flexibility test seated on the floor reaching for their toes has been asked to do it three times, and each time, the reach extends closer to your toes just a bit further. So the rule is that each stretch should be repeated at least three times.
2. A stretch cannot be effective if it is weight bearing. Two very good examples of what a lot of people think is an effective stretch is hanging from an overhead bar to stretch out their upper body and another is stretching the calf muscle by leaning against a wall and stretching by pressing your weight against the back outstretched leg or worse yet, standing on a step and using your body weight to stretch your calf muscles. Think of it this way. If you are hanging from an overhead bar to stretch your upper body out, what do you think is keeping your wrists, elbow joints, shoulder joins, back, hips etc. from coming apart? It’s your connective tissue (muscles, tendons and ligaments). Your muscles have to be in a contracted state in order to keep you from coming apart. It is not possible to stretch a muscle that is in a contracted state. In regards to the calf stretch, if leaning against a wall, your body weight should be on your forward leg while gently stretching the back leg calf muscle. The standing one is useless. So the rule is that for a stretch to be effective, it cannot be weight bearing.
3. The next important thing to know is that if you force a stretch, you will trigger a defensive mechanism in your muscles that protects you from injury, so overstretching or forcing a stretch is counterproductive. So the rule is stretching should be done very gently.
4. This rule is simple. Your stretch should be held gently in position for at least 7 – 10 seconds. The longer you gently hold it, the better.

So, to summarize, do the stretch gently, hold for 7 -10 seconds at least, release the stretch, relax for a few seconds and repeat at least three times.

That’s it. Those are the guidelines for effective stretching. All you have left to do is learn the stretches and our staff is always ready to go over them with you anytime. Gino