Stretching can help you reach your fitness goals
Mobility — the ability to move your body freely and easily — is often something that we take for granted. It comes naturally and effortlessly to us, unless an injury arises.
It isn’t until our backs are thrown out or we have a nagging pain in our knee that we fully appreciate the remarkable capabilities of the human body that allow us to move through daily life. Often, injuries occur due to a lack of mobility.
With any fitness program, it’s important to train your muscles to endure increased loads with weights or to condition your heart to pulse through an extra 10 minutes on the stair master. Mobility should be addressed in the same way. It is a task that takes attention and training to maintain and improve. Like anything worthwhile, staying flexible and mobile takes time and effort, but the extra 15 minutes you put in every day will be valuable in the long run.
There are several types of stretches that will help you maintain or improve mobility but there is a time and place to engage in each one. It is important to educate yourself on the proper ways to stretch to better suit your fitness goals and to prevent injury during a workout. Read on to see which types of stretches best fit your needs:
Static stretching: The image that probably comes to mind when thinking about the word stretch is someone bending forward trying to touch their fingers to toes. Feel the burning sensation in your hamstrings after reading that? This is an example of a static stretch. It’s the most common type of stretching and involves extending a targeted muscle group and holding that extension for 30 seconds or longer. You can engage in partner static stretching to add more force, creating a deeper stretch, or practice static stretching alone on a yoga mat or blanket. The best time and place for static stretching is post-workout after your muscles are warm. Studies have shown that static stretching before a weightlifting or cardio session actually makes an individual more prone to injury.
Dynamic stretching: This type is the opposite of static stretching and involves the use of continuous movement, which mimics the action performed during a workout. An example of this would be performing kettle bell swings or goblet squats before a leg workout, or a sprinter running with a long and exaggerated gate before a race. This is an excellent way to “wake up” your muscles. Dynamic stretching is best used as a pre-workout warm-up for a specific sport or type of exercise such as weightlifting.
Active isolated stretch (AIS): This type of stretching has been known to improve conditions such as shoulder impingements, Osgood-Schlatter disease, “Golfer’s Elbow,” and even tears in lower extremities. It involves lengthening the muscle by holding a stretch with the assistance of a rope or resistance band for only two seconds at a time, repeated consecutively for 10-20 times. The thought is that with each 2-second repetition, range of motion will improve and flexibility will be tested. The best time to engage in AIS is post-workout when your muscles are already warm, or before bed each night. If you do suspect an injury, however, it’s important for a doctor to approve such stretches.
Myofascial release: This involves the use of a tool such as a foam-roller, PVC pipe, or lacrosse ball to release tension and loosen fascia, or the tightly woven sheath of connective tissue that covers all skeletal muscle. Often done pre- or post-workout, the best results come with consistency. Try applying a foam roller to your iliotibial or IT band, quads and hamstrings, and upper back, rolling back and forth for about 30 seconds to a minute. Your pain tolerance will determine how much pressure to use, or even what tool to use (the lacrosse ball will create intense pressure), but you’ll soon realize it’s the poor man’s solution to a Swedish massage.
Mobility is an important key to healthy aging and something you don’t want to decrease at any stage of life. This summer, remember to incorporate stretching into each day to preserve flexibility and range of motion so you can enjoy that effortless act of moving.