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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Stretching

By Greg Brookes

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stretching
Image by theloushe

#1 – You’re Not Just Stretching Muscle

Every time you stretch you are not just hitting your muscles but other soft tissue too. Fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds muscles, blood vessels and nerves also gets stretched. Lets also not forget the tendons that connect your muscles to your bones. So next time you think you are performing a quad stretch realise that so much more is being put under strain and you may not be targeting the muscle as much as you think you are.


#2 – Everything is Connected

Thomas Myers in his revolutionary book “Anatomy Trains” describes how the body is comprised of connecting pathways of soft tissue. These pathways run through the entire body, some connecting soft tissue from head to toe. With the body interconnected in this way it turns localised stretching into globalised stretching. In other words, by stretching one section of the soft tissue pathway you are influencing other areas throughout that pathway. A simple example is how repeated wearing of high heel shoes shortens the Superficial Back Line (runs from the sole of the foot to the forehead up the back of the body) and can result in back pain and headaches.


#3 – Stretching De-Activates Muscles

The act of lengthening a muscle reduces the ability for that muscle to contract. This is a very useful theory that can be used to assist and activate other muscles. For example stretching the Hamstrings can assist in the firing of the Glutes if the firing pattern of the hip extensors is off. Stretching a muscle certainly will not render it useless but it will reduce its ability to contract.


#4 – We Should All Stretch Differently

We are all unique and have different length tensions throughout the body. There is no “One size fits all” stretching program. Just like tuning a musical instrument we must only address the strings that need adjustment. It is important to understand your own body and then make adjustments accordingly.


#5 – Breathing Influences the Stretch

Deep breathing stimulates the Parasympathetic nervous system and this causes the body to relax. Mediation makes good use of this technique, as does Yoga which is fundamentally about ”The Breath”. When the body is relaxed it lets go of muscle tension. When you stretch you can use the breath to increase your stretching range of movement. As you slowly move into the stretch take a deep and long breath out and feel your tension release, do not fight it. As you breath in come out of the stretch slightly and then return into the stretch as you breath out again.


#6 – Stretching Can Be a Waste of Time

Stretching can be a waste of time if your body NEEDS to retain that tension for stabilisation reasons. A good example is the hamstrings being used to maintain core stability through pelvic alignment. No matter how many times you stretch the Hamstrings they will continue to Grip the pelvis so long as your core stability is weak. The solution is to strengthen the core muscles that maintain pelvic alignment thus enabling the hamstrings to relax. If a muscle simply won’t lengthen then you must look at why it is being held under tension.


#7 – Stretching Can Cause Injury

Knots, Adhesion’s and Scar Tissue leave our soft tissue weak and vulnerable. Putting poor quality soft tissue under strain through stretching can cause further damage. Think about stretching an elastic band with a knot tied in the centre, the knot gets tighter and produces weak breaking points. Spending time addressing your soft tissue through massage and foam rolling will go a long way to improving it quality.


#8 – Stretching is NOT a Warm Up

Static stretching has it place at the beginning of a workout as part of a corrective exercise program but should not be thought of as a warm up. Mobilising the joints and dynamically taking the body through the movement patterns used in the forthcoming workout are far better ways to prepare the body for exercise. Stretching should be thought of as corrective and nothing more!


#9 – Better to Stretch Away From Exercise

Stretching can be done at anytime but stretching when the body is relaxed is the most effective time for correcting muscle tissue length. Stretching in the evening is best. If you try and change soft tissue length during your workout time the sympathetic nervous system is often active and the muscles finds it hard to relax. You can however perform maintenance stretching at this time.


#10 – Stretching is 3 Dimensional

We have over 600 muscles in the body and they all run in different directions. When you stretch you need to consider the angle of the muscles on stretch. For example you have 3 Hamstrings and by just internally or externally rotating the legs you can hit different muscles. If you find one stretch easy then try it from a different angle. You body will always chose the easiest path so look for the lines with restriction.

 

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Comments

  1. simon says

    August 16, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    Hi Gregg

    I have been going to Bikram yoga for a while now but still have very stiff hips and I believe this has been the source of my back pain for over a decade.
    I have been advised that I need to stretch for longer as Bikram poses are only for around 30s or so. I tried Yin Yoga but I’m not into the chanting and spiritual stuff so I am going to Pilates tomorrow.
    You’ve written very interesting previous articles about hip nobility being a problem with lots of us. I do use several of your exercises from those posts.
    Any thoughts or advice on this quest of mine would be appreciated.
    Kind regards
    Simon

    Reply
  2. Keskillia says

    July 30, 2013 at 1:43 am

    Hi Greg,
    I am a 56 years old male and have been running for the past few years. My routine is to walk for 2 kilometres and then run for 12 minutes usually between 2 – 2.5 kilometres and then walk for 2 kilometres. Last week I went for a run (my border collie runs with me) and felt really good and for some reason I broke my walk first rule and started running. Half a kilometre into the run my left calf started feeling tight and I thought I could run it out. 1.5 kilometres into the run and I had to limp home. I have had a limp for 4 days and it is slowly getting better.
    My question: is there a smarter warm up exercise I could do to save the time I spend walking the first 2 kilometres?
    Regards
    Keskillia

    Reply
    • Greg says

      July 31, 2013 at 7:59 am

      Hi Keskillia, as I mention in the article your warm up should mimic your workout but to a lesser intensity. So ultimately you need to move through the running pattern. Walking is a good start, as are walking lunges, walking knee hugs, and some buttock flicks with your heels. Hope this helps. Watch you don’t trip over your collie 🙂

      Reply
      • Keskillia says

        July 31, 2013 at 8:40 am

        Thank you Greg.
        I will commence using your recommendation. Keeping it simple helps implement the warm up.
        Much appreciated.

        Reply

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GB Personal Training Ltd

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Greg Brookes is the founder of GB Personal Training Ltd and KettlebellsWorkouts.com. He has been featured in Men's Health, Women's Fitness, Men's Fitness, and Health & Fitness Magazine, where he wrote a monthly column. He has also been featured in the majority of UK national newspapers. Labelled as "the trainer to the trainers" he delivers seminars and a regular newsletter to help Personal Trainers improve their skills and achieve better results for their clients. Continue reading

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