The Magic of Stretching

Some people love stretching  - other hate it so much they avoid it like the plague..but personal preferences aside, here is why stretching is a hugely important part of your workout and how to do it. So humour me, just read on?

The body works on a system of levers and pulleys to move around.  As one muscle contracts the opposing muscle has to relax and “give” little for this to happen.  If the opposing muscle is tight, then it affects the contractibility of the working muscle – i.e. it does not work to its full potential. For example, if you have a tight lower back, I bet your stomach sticks out – no matter how many sit-ups – and this is because the stomach muscle is always in a state of “giving in” to the opposing muscle which is in a state of contraction.

If there is any argument for the validity of stretching, then this is it. You will not be able to get the gains you want – regardless of your nutrition, rest or training – unless you are able to move freely on both sides of the body by having muscles that are flexible. E.g. your quads won’t be as efficient if you have tight hamstrings, your chest muscles won’t develop if your upper back is tight, your glutes (bum muscles) will look flat if your hip flexors are tight – get the picture?  (For those of you who want more info, try Googling “Sherrington’s Law of Reciprocal Inhibition) And this does not even cover the more aesthetically pleasing posture - or more importantly, a pain free body.

Now, most people I know find stretching “boring” – staying and holding a position feels all wrong for a fit and active person. Luckily, there are many ways to get a good stretch and keep you engaged in the process. First, most stretches are uncomfortable and the reason for this is that we have to get to the “stretch threshold”- this can be thought of as the “elastic barrier” of the muscle. So to stretch effectively, take the muscle to the elastic barrier  - i.e., when it starts to feel tight – hold and count to 10 or 15 whilst maintaining breathing at a normal rate, then extend the range to the next elastic barrier and repeat. Try to do this 3 times. A muscle responds better to a stretch stimulus 3-5 time rather than once.  Yoga and Pilates are excellent ways of improving flexibility as they use all over body movements for good gains.

Some muscles are more likely to get tight that others and these are – the hamstrings, calves, Rectus Femoris (one of the quad muscles that runs down the front of the thigh), TFL (tight band down the side of the leg) Piriformis (in the middle of your buttock) Erector Spinae (lower back predominantly) Upper Trapezius (neck and shoulder area) Lavator Scapulae (top of shoulder blade to neck) SCM (neck - skull to collarbone). These need to be stretched daily to keep your body in prime condition.

Always stretch after your workout as well as maybe one day where you spend a long time going over each one and feeling where you are tight.