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It's
high time to appreciate the benefits of stretching
Stretching techniques can vary
Why do you hear conflicting advice about stretching?
What do the experts recommend?
Active Isolated Stretching: a little something different
Ballistic Stretching
Sorting it all out
Everywhere you turn,
fitness professionals are proclaiming that flexibility is just as important
as cardiovascular and strength training. But according to physiology experts,
most Americans who exercise don't stretch. Another truth about stretching
habits is that many of us who do stretch, don't stretch enough. This is
likely because we don't know exactly what stretches we should be doing,
our time for exercise is limited, and we have not yet learned to appreciate
the benefits of stretching as we have the benefits of cardiovascular exercise.
If burning calories or weight loss is your goal, it's hard to take time
to stretch when you could be running and burning off some more calories.
However, the time lost due to an injury that could have been prevented
by stretching is much greater.
It's high time
to appreciate the benefits of stretching
Why should you make room for stretching in your daily exercise routine?
Because stretching:
- reduces the risk
of joint sprain or muscle strain
- can reduce back
pain
- can reduce general
muscle soreness from exercise
- can reduce muscle
tension (This makes you feel better both at work and at rest.)
- can enhance mental
and physical relaxation
- may even improve
athletic performance
Making a long-term
commitment to exercise requires a commitment to learning how to stretch
to avoid injury and to be comfortable while sitting at the computer, riding
in the car, or just laying on the couch watching the tube or reading a
book. (That's right, even regular exercisers can enjoy the couch and the
clicker.)
Stretching techniques
can vary
Most people who have played a sport, trained for an athletic event, or
taken aerobics or martial arts classes have been given some instruction
on stretching. Maybe it was "don't bounce," or possibly "stretch
only to the point of tension, not pain," or even "hold the stretch
for 15 to 30 seconds."
This is all good advice, especially for novices and nonprofessional athletes.
This advice alone, however, is not enough. As with most health and fitness
information, stretching guidelines are evolving and increasing in number.
Michael Alter, author of the book Sport Stretch, points out that there
are several types of flexibility that an athlete can achieve and, therefore,
different types of stretching to be performed. He is, of course, careful
to point out that some forms of stretching are riskier than others.
Alter encourages static stretching for most people, but he contends that
competitive athletes trying to reach peak performance will need to incorporate
some degree of ballistic (bouncing) and dynamic (swinging and twisting)
stretching. He acknowledges that this is riskier, because the opportunity
to strain or rupture muscle tissue is greater.
Why do you hear conflicting advice about stretching?
As we explore stretching and flexibility, keep in mind that some forms
of stretching are safe for professionally trained athletes, but not safe
for others who simply exercise or play sports on a regular basis. In addition,
there are still some conflicting views regarding the effectiveness of
various types of stretching.
The broad range of flexibility and conditioning among different people
explains why you may hear conflicting advice about proper stretching.
So what should you do?
First, you should speak to a trainer who can teach you some techniques
or get a book about stretching.
What do the experts recommend?
Here's what the majority of exercise professionals encourage for people
who exercise regularly and compete in sports recreationally:
- Warm up before
stretching with 5-10 minutes of low intensity aerobic activity light
jogging, for example. Never stretch a cold muscle. Although stretching
is part of the overall warm-up process, the muscles need to be warm
before stretching them.
- Perform slow,
controlled static stretching. This means you lean into the stretch in
one smooth motion and hold it before slowly backing out of the stretch.
In a nutshell no bouncing, swinging or twisting.
Static stretching can be either active or passive. Passive stretching
refers to using your arm, the wall, the floor, a machine, or another
person to attain and hold the stretch position. In active stretching,
you attain and hold the stretch position by contracting the muscles
opposite the ones you want to stretch.
- Perform (slowly)
the motions you will be making in your sport. This is a form of dynamic
stretching, because it may involve twisting, swinging, jumping or turning.
For example, you would need to do some slow, controlled twisting of
the torso, jumping, and pivoting to prepare for a basketball game. Make
sure to learn the sport-specific techniques from a trainer or coach.
- Stretch to the
point of tension, not pain. You don't want to go to the point of a burn.
If you feel pain or the muscle shaking, the stretch reflex kicks in.
The stretch reflex, or myotatic reflex, is a safety mechanism whereby
the stretched muscle fibers contract in order to keep from straining
or rupturing. This is counterproductive to your stretching routine.
The athlete's mantra "no pain, no gain" does not apply to
stretching.
- Hold the stretch
for 15-20 seconds. The improvements in flexibility achieved after longer
than 20 seconds are too small to warrant spending the time.
- Repeat each stretch
three to four times.
Active Isolated
Stretching: a little something different
Another method of stretching is called Active Isolated Stretching (AIS)
and combines some principles of active, dynamic, and facilitated stretching
with a slightly different philosophy. AIS focuses on stretching as a means
to increase range of motion. The key is to only work within your range
of motion.
As with active and passive stretching, the terms agonist and antagonist
are important for understanding AIS.
Here's how AIS incorporates traditional techniques:
- The AIS method
says that a stretch should begin with contracting the muscle that is
opposite the one you want to stretch the agonist. This relaxes the antagonist
and makes it ready to be stretched.
- AIS also encourages
the use of an experienced partner for assisting in stretches.
- Stretching should
never hurt.
Here's where AIS differs from the mainstream
- Holding the stretch
for only two seconds, because the myotatic, or stretch, reflex kicks
in at that point.
- Triggering the
myotatic reflex is so detrimental to muscles that you should be stretching
only before it kicks in.
- Performing 10 repetitions
of each exercise.
Though all the exercises
in AIS are active, you do use your hands and sometimes a rope to assist
the very last part of the stretch. Partners in AIS do not push you into
your stretch, but just gently assist at the end of the stretch.
Ballistic Stretching
This is the technique that employs a bouncing motion. This type of stretching
is discouraged because it attempts to force the limb beyond its normal
range of motion, risking rupture and invoking the stretch reflex. Some
athletes, who are in excellent condition and under the guidance of a trainer,
employ this technique because the sports they play require ballistic movements.
Ballistic stretching should always be preceded by static stretching.
Sorting it all out
The exercise, sports, and fitness gurus are not all in complete agreement
on the best form of stretching. This makes things particularly hard on
those of us trying to learn how to keep our bodies fit, healthy, and just
downright comfortable.
However, the majority agrees on the recommendations provided here. Start
by following these recommendations and read up on new and different techniques
as you wish. Remember, some techniques are only intended for elite athletes,
so always consult with a trainer or fitness professional before starting
a stretching routine. If you belong to a gym, you can talk to the fitness
director or a trainer at no extra cost.
No matter how you
cut it, stretching takes time, a precious commodity in our lives. Make
the commitment. You'll feel the difference. Time spent stretching is productive,
compared to the length of time you are unable to exercise when you injure
yourself.
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