The Power of Stretching

Who doesn't love a good morning stretch just as they start waking up? That feeling of your body lengthening and opening up, followed by a strong sensation of invigoration and happy vibes. Stretching is ultimately one of the easiest and quickest feel-good actions that one can perform without overexertion or reserving a large amount of of time to do so. On average stretching 2 to 3 times a week for 10 minutes can create a world of a difference in mood, posture and general health.

There are 2 types of stretching, dynamic (movement based) and static (holding a position). Each has their own benefits and should be performed for different reasons, but before we get into each let's look at the general benefits of stretching.

1. Increased Flexibility: Allowing your joints to reach their full range of motion, essentially allowing you to perform spider-man like movements. (Personal preference of wanting to be flexible, just saying.) Or just to have an open range of movement in whatever you do.
2. Better Posture: The common sedentary lifestyle that plagues modern generations puts the body into a position where we're hunched over and our necks are craned at obscure angles, leading to terrible postures that will affect us as we get older. Stretching is a good way of bringing the posture back into alignment.
3. Injury Prevention: Preparing the body to move prevents injury. Stretching wakes up the muscles and allows muscles to perform effectively and quickly as well as reduce the likely of spasms and tightening, which leads to pulled muscles or worse.
4. Increased Nutrition Absorption: Stretching increases blood flow in the body, we know blood is our body's nutrition transportation system, so increasing blood flow means increasing the effectiveness of our muscles and organs receiving required nutrients.
5. Increased Energy: Increased nutrition + increased oxygen supply = ???, you got it! Increased energy. How often do you hear or say "I just have no energy"? Simple equation but effective solution, stretch a little more.
6. Reduced Tension- Stress, tension headaches, stiffness and aches, your body has a defensive mechanism to tighten the muscles when in distress and a vicious cycle ensues, you feel tense which makes you more stressed and that triggers more tension. Stretching will help unravel these effects and reduce the stress and tension you feel going forward.
7. Reduced Muscle Soreness and Better Recovery- For those who exercise, muscle soreness is a very common side effect. Stretching helps with recovery due to the increase in blood flow,prevent tightness and supplies the nutrients needed for recovery.
8. Calmer Mind- Calm mind, calm body. Stretching is like a form of meditation, you become centered in your body which gives your mind a mental break from everything else. Increased blood flow allows the brain to relax and this will improve breathing and reduce stress.

Now let's take a look at those two types of stretching we addressed earlier. This will all be in the context of fitness but they are still useful for those who simply want to do them for the benefits above.

Dynamic Stretching

Stretching that uses movement. Dynamic stretching is great for pre-workout warm-ups for many reasons. We're preparing to move our bodies, which means we want to increase blood flow and range of motion. Let's use the windmills exercise as an example (arms out to the side and moving them in circles), you'll start off with small, slow rotations and progressively increase speed and then size, each time we increase size, we reduce the speed slightly before increasing it again. This wakes up the muscles in sections as more blood begins to circulate and increases ease of movement without hurting yourself. Unlike, if you were to all of a sudden spin your arms around ferociously at Mach 2 in giant circles. You would very quickly throw your shoulders out or worse. These stretches are performed for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Dynamic stretching is also a way of warming up without impact, so for those who have joint problems like knees or back issues, you can prepare your body effectively without putting unnecessary strain on yourself like running on a treadmill. A warm up does require increasing the heart rate and blood flow so increasing the speed of a dynamic stretch should effectively get you to this point. Dynamic stretches should be done in the morning just after you wake up if you're not using them for a workout (although it would be a great idea to do them in the morning even if you're working out later). Preparing yourself for the day with increased blood flow, movement and reduced tension.

Static Stretching

Stretching that is held. Static stretches are perfect for post-workout, as your muscles become tighter throughout your training, reducing the effectiveness of blood flow and can cause muscle soreness if not taken care of. A static stretch like a hamstring stretch or lat stretch is one that is normally held for 15 to 30 seconds and repeated 2 or 3 times, each time trying to stretch a little further than the previous. Don't stretch to the point of pain, there is a distinctive difference between a stretching feeling and a painful feeling. If you find yourself struggling to stretch at all because it's just too painful then dynamic stretching would be beneficial, followed by static stretching.

Static stretching should only be done when the muscles are warmed up otherwise it can cause injury. Static stretching on "cold" muscle can distort or restrict your range of motion. When your muscle is "cold" it hasn't been moving in it's full ROM very much (like when you're at your desk typing for 6 to 7 hours and your shoulders, hips and knees barley move). These muscles have not been woken up to perform effectively and may not be able to get to the end of its full ROM. If you static stretch you are only stretching to a point the muscle is flexible enough to reach while "cold". If you've had a pretty active day then these stretches would be good before you settle in for the evening, otherwise do some dynamic stretches beforehand in order to warm up the muscles a bit.

As you can see the benefits of stretching are quite remarkable for such a simple action. It's not simply a method meant to be used by athletic individuals. It is a practice of life that will increase longevity and mindfulness. Many organisms stretch, not just humans, it's a natural form of movement that doesn't require a lot of effort and yet produces much-needed results for us to live each day more positively and healthy. So stretch it out and shake it off! A flexible body = a flexible mind.

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