You already know that stretching is necessary. It improves flexibility and mobility (one of many key parts of health) and reduces the danger of harm. And if you happen to don’t stretch, the muscle tissues 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 just useful if it’s executed appropriately. There are a number of frequent stretching errors that may result in the precise reverse of what you’re in search of, akin to harm and inflexibility. Listed below are eight pitfalls to keep away from so you may enhance your flexibility and your exercises.
1. You’re Doing the Unsuitable Kind of Stretching
There are two essential kinds of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretching is what you in all probability keep in mind from fitness center class: steadily stretching a muscle and holding a pose for about 30 seconds. Whereas it is a nice solution to settle down from a exercise or improve basic flexibility, analysis means that static stretching earlier than a energy exercise may very well trigger a lower in efficiency.
“Throughout a warm-up, you wish to do dynamic stretching, which reinforces muscle activation and prepares muscle tissues to be highly effective via 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 may give attention to static stretching to calm down the muscle tissues and launch stress. “Each kinds of stretching can assist improve mobility,” Thieme says. “However one excites muscle tissues whereas the opposite calms them down.”
2. You’re Bouncing Whereas Stretching
Utilizing momentum from bouncing to drive a muscle to stretch previous its regular vary (a.okay.a. ballistic stretching) could really feel prefer it’s serving to you improve your vary of movement. However as an alternative of loosening the muscle, this sort of fast stretching motion can truly trigger the muscle tissues to tighten — a contraction generally known as the myotatic reflex or “stretch reflex.” This may result in accidents like muscle or tendon tears, Thieme says.
3. You’re Stretching Injured Muscular tissues
Stretching injured muscle tissues is “an enormous no-no,” Thieme warns. Muscle strains usually occur when a muscle is stretched past its restrict, so stretching it additional can irritate the harm. As a substitute, 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 may end up in muscle strains or extreme neural stress [stretching of the nerves],” says Lindsay Sudell, MOT, OTR/L, CFSS-3, CPT of Merely Stretch LA.
Overstretching can even result in hypermobility, “which is when a joint is simply too free and thus unstable,” Thieme says. Know your limits once you’re stretching, and don’t drive your self to transcend them.
5. You’re Not Stretching Constantly
It’s going to take various sporadic stretching periods to realize the flexibleness of a gymnast. Ideally, your stretching periods needs to be reasonable and frequent moderately 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 Dashing Via Your Stretches
“Folks typically don’t stretch for the suitable period 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 “will be something focused towards actions {that a} explicit athlete wants,” Sudell says. For instance, she says, golfers could give attention to 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 operating and explosive actions, like strolling lunges, butt kicks, and excessive knees.
Analysis additionally exhibits that static stretches are higher suited to athletes who want flexibility (like gymnasts or dancers), whereas dynamic stretches are particularly useful for individuals who must run or bounce (like basketball gamers or runners).
8. You’re Ignoring Your Respiration
Deep, diaphragmatic respiratory “can assist calm down tense muscle tissues, and when paired with stretching, can permit for a fair deeper stretch with out growing the danger of harm,” Thieme says.
As well as, respiratory enhances the therapeutic impact of stretching, Sudell says. Analysis exhibits that diaphragmatic respiratory can assist the physique get well after an intense exercise. The correct solution to breathe throughout a stretch is to slowly inhale via the nostril, maintain for a second, then launch the breath via both the mouth or nostril, maintaining the diaphragm and stomach tender and relaxed.