How often do you stretch? Do you do it before and after every workout, or is it like flossing— something that you know you should do but you keep putting it off? Stretching is very important: it impacts your flexibility, sense of balance, physical endurance, range of motion, strength, speed, and even jump height. Perhaps most important of all is that it can make you more loose and limber, which helps safeguard you from muscle tears, sprains, and other injuries. Read on as we break down the why, how, and when of stretching.
Warming Up
An important thing to keep in mind with stretching your muscles is that you need to “warm them up” first. When your muscles aren’t being used, they’re stiffer and the fibers are less pliable and articulate. If you stretch while they’re in this “cold” state, you run the risk of injuring yourself. Sometimes the damage isn’t immediately noticeable; your premature stretching may weaken your muscles, making them more injury-prone later on.
You can counteract this stiffness by improving blood flow to that area, which will make the muscle tissue and fibers more pliable and flexible. Achieving this is fairly simple: all you need to do is five to ten minutes of light activity. Nothing high impact! A quick walk or some light yoga can get you ready to go. If whatever you’re doing feels challenging or taxing, it’s not light enough to be a warm-up.
Symmetry Matters
When you’re stretching, you don’t want to prioritize one side or part of your body over the others. The aim is for symmetry: you want to make your whole body as flexible as it can be before you workout. If you spend all your time just stretching your legs or working the left side of your body, that still leaves you vulnerable because the rest of your body isn’t properly warmed-up and stretched. Think of your muscles as one big interconnected network; if one area isn’t in sync with the others, that can have a cascading effect. You’ll be weaker, more prone to injury, and have less energy.
Keep It Dynamic
A common mistake people make when stretching is to do “static” stretching before an exercise. Static stretching is when you do a stretch and hold the pose. Imagine touching your toes, for example. If you held that position for a few beats, that would be considered static stretching. The problem is that this kind of stretching can actually reduce the performance of muscles after the stretch! Static stretching before an exercise can lead to a poorer performance, less stamina, and reduced strength.
That’s not to say that you should never static stretch at all! It’s a question of timing: it’s actually a good idea to do static stretching AFTER a workout. It’s a good way to put your muscles back in neutral and to cool down after a lot of activity.
The preferred method of stretching before a workout is dynamic movements. These involve doing lots of small, repetitive motions to warm up your muscles and promote blood flow. Leg swings, lunges, and arm circles are some of the most common types of dynamic movements. These motions get your body into gear without putting too much pressure on any of your muscles; it wakes them up without exerting too much force on them.
No Pain, Much to Gain
Do you feel pain when you stretch? That’s a warning sign that something isn’t right. Stretching should not hurt! You may feel some tension or strain when you stretch; that’s normal. But that tension shouldn’t escalate into pain. If stretching hurts you, that’s a strong indicator that your muscles are already injured and you should see a doctor to get it looked at before you engage in a bunch of demanding physical activity that could make that injury worse.
A Matter of Time
Time is a crucial part of stretching. If you don’t stretch for long enough, you won’t get the desired results; stretching for too long can tire you out and over-exert your muscles. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that 60 seconds per stretching exercise is the ideal length. To be clear, that doesn’t mean that each individual stretch needs to be that long; it means each worked body part should get that amount of time. Let’s say you’re stretching your lower back; doing a set of three stretches that last for 20 seconds each can do the trick.
While it can be a little time-consuming to properly stretch, it’s worth the effort. That 5 to 10 minutes you “save” by not stretching could end up leading to hours of painful recovery and rehabilitation if you injure yourself (not to mention the heavy costs of doctor visits, physical therapy, medicine, and/or possible surgery). Like wearing a seatbelt in a car or putting on a mask in a room full of coughing people, stretching may feel like a minor inconvenience but it can protect you from greater harm.
Article by Austin Brietta
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