You already know that stretching is necessary. It improves flexibility and mobility (one of many key elements of health) and reduces the danger of damage. And in case you don’t stretch, the muscle mass can shorten and turn out to be tight, which might restrict your vary of movement and put you in danger for joint ache or a pulled muscle.
However stretching is barely helpful if it’s accomplished accurately. There are a number of widespread stretching errors that may result in the precise reverse of what you’re searching for, resembling damage and inflexibility. Listed below are eight pitfalls to keep away from so you’ll be able to enhance your flexibility and your exercises.
1. You’re Doing the Incorrect Sort of Stretching
There are two important sorts of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretching is what you in all probability keep in mind from gymnasium class: regularly stretching a muscle and holding a pose for about 30 seconds. Whereas it is a nice solution to quiet down from a exercise or enhance basic flexibility, analysis means that static stretching earlier than a power exercise may very well trigger a lower in efficiency.
“Throughout a warm-up, you need to do dynamic stretching, which boosts muscle activation and prepares muscle mass to be highly effective by way of a full vary of movement,” says Trevor Thieme, CSCS. Dynamic stretches embrace lunges, trunk rotations, leg swings, and leaping rope.
For the post-exercise “cool-down” interval, you’ll be able to concentrate on static stretching to chill out the muscle mass and launch rigidity. “Each sorts of stretching may help improve mobility,” Thieme says. “However one excites muscle mass whereas the opposite calms them down.”
2. You’re Bouncing Whereas Stretching
Utilizing momentum from bouncing to power a muscle to stretch previous its regular vary (a.okay.a. ballistic stretching) could really feel prefer it’s serving to you enhance your vary of movement. However as a substitute of loosening the muscle, this sort of speedy stretching motion can truly trigger the muscle mass to tighten — a contraction often known as the myotatic reflex or “stretch reflex.” This will result in accidents like muscle or tendon tears, Thieme says.
3. You’re Stretching Injured Muscular tissues
Stretching injured muscle mass is “a giant no-no,” Thieme warns. Muscle strains usually occur when a muscle is stretched past its restrict, so stretching it additional can worsen the damage. As an alternative, use the POLICE protocol (safety, optimum loading, ice, compression, and elevation) to assist the muscle heal.
4. You’re Overstretching
Whereas some discomfort is to be anticipated, you must by no means be in ache whereas stretching. “Overstretching can lead to muscle strains or extreme neural rigidity [stretching of the nerves],” says Lindsay Sudell, MOT, OTR/L, CFSS-3, CPT of Merely Stretch LA.
Overstretching may also result in hypermobility, “which is when a joint is simply too unfastened and thus unstable,” Thieme says. Know your limits while you’re stretching, and don’t power your self to transcend them.
5. You’re Not Stretching Constantly
It’s going to take various sporadic stretching periods to realize the pliability of a gymnast. Ideally, your stretching periods ought to be average and frequent relatively than intense and occasional.
“As a way to obtain bodily, everlasting change, stretching have to be constant for six to eight weeks,” says Sudell.
6. You’re Rushing By means of Your Stretches
“Individuals typically don’t stretch for the suitable length of time,” explains Sudell. She recommends aiming for 30 seconds or much less for pre-exercise stretches. For post-workout static stretching, intention to carry every stretch for a minimum of 60 seconds.
7. You’re Not Doing Sport-Particular Stretches
Sport-specific stretches “might be something focused towards actions {that a} explicit athlete wants,” Sudell says. For instance, she says, golfers could concentrate on stretches that enhance their spinal rotation and hip mobility, to allow them to hit the ball with maximal energy. Sprinters can heat up with dynamic stretches that simulate working and explosive actions, like strolling lunges, butt kicks, and excessive knees.
Analysis additionally reveals that static stretches are higher suited to athletes who want flexibility (like gymnasts or dancers), whereas dynamic stretches are particularly helpful for individuals who have to run or bounce (like basketball gamers or runners).
8. You’re Ignoring Your Respiratory
Deep, diaphragmatic respiratory “may help chill out tense muscle mass, and when paired with stretching, can enable for an excellent deeper stretch with out growing the danger of damage,” Thieme says.
As well as, respiratory enhances the therapeutic impact of stretching, Sudell says. Analysis reveals that diaphragmatic respiratory can assist the physique get better after an intense exercise. The correct solution to breathe throughout a stretch is to slowly inhale by way of the nostril, maintain for a second, then launch the breath by way of both the mouth or nostril, preserving the diaphragm and stomach smooth and relaxed.
