Stretching 101

When you hear somebody talk about stretching, you’re probably picturing something athletes and sports people do before they start whatever they do.

I know I used to.

But it turns out that everybody should stretch, because it’s not only about warming up before exerting yourself.

This article looks at the wider benefits of stretching, and suggests a few stretching exercises you can do to get started.

Benefits Of Stretching

So, why stretch at all?

Well, there are a number of great reasons to do this, including:

1. Back Pain. Unstretched muscles can be too tight, and tight muscles can lead to strain, one of the most common types of which is back pain.
2. Balance. One study showed that people who stretch have a better sense of balance with better fine-muscle coordination, which in turn led to fewer falls and instances of tripping.
3. Blood Flow. Stretching can improve your circulation, which means more blood and therefore more oxygen is delivered to your muscles, helping you to reduce soreness and recover from any minor injuries or strains more rapidly.
4. Blood Sugar. One study showed that stretching after consuming something sugary can help lower blood sugar levels.
5. Flexibility. Being flexible is not only necessary for your overall health, but it can also help to slow down the lack of mobility that comes with growing older.
6. Injuries. Stretching can result in fewer injuries, because it further warms up your muscles – and cold muscles are more prone to suffering damage when suddenly exerted.
7. Performance. This is the classic use for stretching – preparing your body, and, specifically, your muscles, for activity.
8. Posture. Without stretching exercises, your muscles can become out of balance, and that can lead to misalignment and musculoskeletal pain.
9. Range. Regular stretching enables your joints to operate with a wider range of motion.
10. Relaxation. It may seem odd, because when you stretch, you’re putting additional (temporary) strain on your muscles, but the net effect is that you can calm your mind and end up feeling more relaxed. (See the next benefit too.)
11. Stress. I think we all know that stress can cause tension (e.g. when I was severely stressed and depressed, my neck was all knotted up and painful), but stretching can release that tension, both physically and emotionally.
12. Tension Headaches. Following on from the previous benefit, tension headaches are another symptom of stress – and something else that a good stretch can help alleviate.
13. Wake-Up. Stretching can be a great way to wake you up, either in the morning after getting up, or whenever you feel a bit sluggish and need something to perk you up again.

Stretching Tips

1. Consistency. Like with most things in life, doing them regularly and consistently is going to lead to the best results. To paraphrase Stephen Guise in his excellent book Mini Habits, it’s better to do something for five minutes every single day than to do it for ten minutes one day and then again for 20 minutes three days later and then 15 minutes four days after that.
2. Duration. A stretch need only be held for as little as 15 seconds in order to provide benefits, although 30 seconds is recommended by many experts.
3. No bouncing. When you “bounce” during stretching (which is sometimes known as ballistic stretching), you can put too much strain on your muscles too quickly, which can cause damage.
4. Pain. If you stretch so much that you feel pain, or even discomfort, then you’re overdoing it – it’s enough to feel tension in your muscles.
5. Pregnancy. Stretching while pregnant is generally safe, and can be helpful in relieving pain and improving your range of motion, which in turn can lead to a smoother and more comfortable pregnancy.
6. When should you stretch?

   Since the common perception is that stretching helps you warm up your muscles, you’d think stretching before exercise would be the right way to go – but it’s not that simple.

   The thing is, stretching if your muscles are not warm can also be harmful.

   So, what that means is, you should, ideally, do some pre-stretch warm-up.

   The good news is that this initial warm-up need only be around five minutes of brisk walking, or jogging if you feel up to it.

Types Of Stretching

There are two really common types of stretching, which are:

1. Static, which is where you adopt a pose and then hold it (for 15 – 30 seconds, as explained above).
2. Dynamic, which is where you perform active movements to cause your muscles to stretch, but the stretch is not held in that end position.

There are other types of stretching (e.g. proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, usually shortened to PNF, which is often used by physical therapists), but the above are the two most popular ones.

Dynamic stretching is better suited as a pre-exercise activity, to prepare your muscles, while static stretching is better suited to being done after exercise, to help reduce the chance of injury.

Stretching Exercises

So, you’re probably wondering what sort of stretching exercises you should do.

Here are some of the more common ones, with links to videos that demonstrate those techniques:

• 90/90 hip stretch
• Butterfly stretch
• Cat and cow stretch
• Couch stretch
• Counterweight deep squat
• Extended puppy pose
• Frog stretch
• Knee to chest stretch
• Lat hang
• Lunge with spinal twist
• Lunging hip flexor stretch
• Lying pectoral stretch
• Lying quad stretch
• Modified pigeon
• Overhead stretch
• Piriformis figure 4 stretch
• Pretzel stretch
• Reclining bound angle pose
• Side bend stretch
• Sphinx pose
• Standing hamstring stretch
• Standing quad stretch
• Torso stretch
• Triceps stretch

Caveats

Please be aware of and remember the following:

• Don’t overdo it. This advice applies to almost any form of exercise – because you can have too much of a good thing.
• Existing injuries. Whether these are acute or chronic, you should consult your doctor or therapist first to make sure what you intend doing is safe for you in your condition.
• No bouncing. As I said above, this is generally regarded as being potentially dangerous unless you really know what you’re doing.
• Warm up first. As explained above, stretching with completely cold muscles can actually cause injury, which is why a pre-stretching warm-up activity (e.g. brisk walking, jogging) is required.

Conclusion

As you can see, stretching provides numerous benefits, and as long as you bear a few cautionary notes in mind, it’s safe and easy for anybody, even if you’re pregnant – because there are plenty of different ways to stretch, and how long and how much you stretch is up to you and your own level of comfort.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Foam Roller
2. Mini Habits