I was hanging out with my friend John the other day, and he was telling me about whats been going on at his gym.

He tells me, Igor, Im at the gym, and I thought to myself, why am I the only one here stretching? Am I missing something? Isnt stretching good for me?

He says that at a gym full of people, everyone was lifting weights or doing cardio. In the more than the hour he was at the gym, no one was stretching but him. He actually says that most days at the gym, hes the only person stretching.

I said to John, Maybe they dont need to be stretching, and maybe they do. Maybe you dont need to be stretching, and maybe you do.

Image result for mukhtar gusengadzhiev

Are you the lone wolf stretching during your workout? Or, maybe you are the one not stretching at all. Perhaps youre not stretching out of fear of doing it wrong, or you just think stretching exercises are boring. Or, maybe you shouldnt be stretching.

In this e-mail Im going to help you out, and give you my stretching hacks, and tips on how to properly stretch, or whether you shouldnt stretch in the first place. Because believe me, you definitely want to avoid unnecessary injuries.

In this article, I will tell you:

  • How long should you stretch
  • The best time to stretch
  • When you should and shouldnt stretch
  • What is too much stretching, and
  • Why you stretch in the first place

So, lets get stretching

How Long Should You Stretch?

For some people, its 15 seconds. For others, its 30. Another friend of mine likes to stretch for two minutes on each side of the body. While I sometimes see others stretch for 15 minutes or more. Wow, thats a lot of time, isnt it?

The truth is that blocking off a particular amount of time for stretching is a little unwise. Why is that? Well, simply put, different people need a different amount of time to get stretched out. Basically, were not all the same, and therefore the amount of time you stretch should be tailored specifically to you. And, like with other types of exercises, like with endurance or strength training, your stretching will also be individualized.

So, considering all that, how long should you stretch?

To answer that, Im going to seek some guidance from Pavel Tsatsouline. He wrote the book on stretching. No, seriously he did. A couple of themRelax Into Stretch and Super Joints. I also heard him speak about the subject on Tim Ferrisss podcast, where you can listen for yourself, here.

But, since youre here, Ill do my best to summarize it for you.

Basically, when you stretch a muscle, its really about whats happening with the nervous system. It is really the nervous system that controls muscle length. Do you ever notice that when you begin in a stretching position, you feel the stretch? However, after holding it for a certain timeframe, that stretching sensation goes away.

When you do this, did you muscle get longer? No, it didnt. But, what did happen is your nervous system relaxed. You see, within your muscles, you have a neurological reflex called the stretch reflex. It protects you from unfamiliar territory.

What is unfamiliar territory? This is what is known as, unusual ranges of motion.

For instance, if you tried to do the splits, and have never done them before, you will feel a very big pull in your inner thigh muscles. It will be uncomfortable enough to where you will want to bring your legs back to a comfortable position. However, if you only go to the point of mild discomfort (maybe a 3 or 4 on a scale of 0-10) and hold it for a while, then that stretching sensation will disappear. As a result, that sensation will drop from a 3 or 4, to a 1 or 0.

This then calms down your nervous system, and leads to greater availability of your range of motion!

So, again, to answer the answer the question, How long should you hold a stretch?

Until you no longer feel the stretch!

When is the Best Time to Stretch?

You would think its a simple one-sentence answer, but its not. The best time to stretch really depends on a variety of factors.

The first is the type of stretchstatic and dynamic.

Static stretching is when you are holding a position. For instance, before a runner goes for a run, theyll hold their leg or heel on a chair, stairs, or sort type of platform.

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, isnt about holding a stretch, but rather about taking the body through ranges of motion that prepare you for a workout or sport. For example, dancers and sprinters will swing their leg to stretch their hamstrings.

Image result for dynamic stretching gif

The second factor is a persons muscular length. In other words, if someones muscles are short, they should be doing static stretching before and after exercise, and also outside of exercise. However, if a persons muscles are not short, there is no reason to stretch at all.

As a general rule, dynamic stretching should be done before strength training, and static stretching should be done after strength training. Static stretching is only beneficial when your muscles are short. If your muscles are too long, then static stretching will temporarily make you weaker for 40 to 60 minutes. But again, this is all general, and there are exceptions to these rules.

When You Should Be Stretchingand When You Shouldnt

Some people shouldnt be stretching. Let me explain

Stretching is designed to improve your flexibility, right? And, just like with anything, you want to find that sweet spot, or that right amount of flexibility. Just as you can have too little flexibility, you can also have too much.

If youre the type of person with too little flexibility, stretching will benefit you. However, if youre someone with too much flexibility, you will actually increase your risk of injury with stretching. And, like I said, you dont want to do that.

Some of you might be thinking, I feel stiff all the time. I must have too little flexibility.

The truth is actually on the contrary. It is actually the people who feel the tightest who have the most flexibility. At the same time, they have so much flexibility that theres not enough stiffness to provide stability to a joint. And, this is not good. It puts you at risk for dislocations, and other joint issues.

So, should you be stretching or not? This should be based on objective range of motion testing, and not on how you feel. This is because feelings lie, and may not be giving the bigger picture.

What are some range of motion tests?

One of the classic tests we use with our clients to determine whether they are too flexible, is the Beighton Test for Hypermobility. Try the procedure for yourself:

File:Beighton Score.png

The higher you score; this means you should be doing fewer stretching exercises. Yes, you should be stretching less, even if you feel tight all the time, because again, feelings lie.

Also, the lower your score; the more stretching exercises you should do.

When Are You Stretching Too Much?

Why Constant Stretching Doesnt Permanently Take Away Your Tightness

You feel tight all the time, and therefore you feel the need to stretch. However, the reason you feel tight constantly is not because your muscles are short or tight. Rather, the reason you feel tight is due to weak muscles.

Ill give you an example. Two of the most commonly tight muscles are the lower back and the hamstrings, which are the backs of your thighs. People feel good when they stretch these tight muscles. That being said, they only feel good for a few minutes, and up to a few hours. At the same time, stretching wont permanently make that tight feeling go away.

So, why do you have that constant feeling of tightness? One reason is that your tight muscles are just working overtime to compensate for other muscles that arent working hard enough.

When your lower back and hamstrings are tight, the best thing for relief is often to strengthen the glutes, which can be called the butt muscles. You will want to get them to contract at the right time. As a result, the hamstrings and lower back wont need to compensate for those other muscles.

That is just one reason for your muscle tightness. There are others. But, I cant get into all of them right now. If you want to know why your muscles are tight, wed have to work together one-on-one to figure that out.

Stretching Too Much May Increase Your Risk of Injury

Stretching too much can increase your risk of injury, but not stretching may not. The symptom of stiffness isnt actually a big risk of injury. Stiffness itself is not problematic; however, a bigger risk is lack of coordination. For instance, sprinters often injure their hamstrings due to lack of coordination while in moments of either acceleration or deceleration. Not at top speed, when their muscles are at their longest. If muscle length was the issue, more injuries would happen during the phase of the sprint when their muscles are at their longest.

Image result for injured sprinter

Original source: here.

Also, in any rehabilitation scenario, you will want to avoid stretching, especially if your injury was caused in a stretched position.

Case in point, one of my friends came to me, saying he injured his chest muscle. And hes been stretching it, to speed up recovery, but it was not getting better after 2 months. I asked him how he injured it. He said by bench pressing. I asked in what position of the bench press? He said at the bottom (when the bar is touching the chest).

Well, at the bottom of the bench press, the chest muscles are at their longest. So he hurt his chest in a stretched position. And stretching a muscle that was injured in the stretched position to begin with is not a good idea.

So I told him to stop stretching, and his injury healed in 2 weeks.

So, Why Do You Stretch? (Hint: Youre Not Lengthening Your Muscles)

Sometimes Ill ask a client, or even other personal trainers I know, Why do you perform stretching exercises?

The answer I often get is that they want to lengthen their muscles. Basically, people stretch because stretching feels good, and they have the false belief that stretching will lengthen their muscles.

The truth is that it is impossible to lengthen a muscle. The length of your muscles is predetermined when you are born. The length of the muscle is also the same from when you reach your full adult size until the day you die.

So, why do we get stiffer as we age? Theres a number of reasons:

  • As mentioned, it is a reaction of the nervous system.
  • The fascia gets tighter.
  • The joint structure may have slightly changed.
  • You no longer get into the positions you did when you were younger thats a choice, and easily controllable. The old if you dont use it, you lose it principle.

 

Want proof for that last one? Heres a video of Joanna Quass a 91 year old gymnast. She definitely did not lose her flexibility because she habitually takes her joints through those ranges of motion. If age was even a factor, flexibility should have been lost. Its not age its what you do or dont do on a regular basis. So stop using that as an excuse

What doesnt change is muscle length. This is because every muscle has two attachments to bones called the origin and insertion. Muscles connect to bones through tendons.

Here is a picture to help you visualize this.

Original source: here.

Do you see the white lines at the ends of the muscles? Those are the tendons. And, where tendons attach to your bone doesnt change. To lengthen a muscle, you would literally need to take the tendon off the bone, and reattach it to a different part of the bone. And, you cant do that. (Please dont try!)

The structure of muscles cannot get short; however, muscles do get functionally short. This means that the nervous system is sending signals to the muscle to be short, and therefore it is about working on the nervous system and not the muscle.

Lets Work Together!

Some people shouldnt be stretching, while others need to choose the right stretch at the right time. Somebody may also like stretching because it simply feels good to do so. And, then theres those who find stretching boring.

Im one of those people. Id much rather be bench-pressing my weight. However, as a general rule, people that tend to gravitate toward strength training need more stretching, and those that gravitate toward stretching need less of it. In general, whatever you dont like doing, thats what you should be doing.

I dont like stretching, but I need my medicine! Should you be stretching?

These are just a few of the tips, and pieces of advice, I give to my clients. When it comes to stretching, a range of motion test is where we would start. The higher your score, the less stretching you need to do. The lower your score with shortness, well then some stretching wouldnt be a bad idea.

What is your range of motion? Are your muscles short or long? When you are ready to find out, wed be happy work with you, so justfill out this questionnaire to see if you qualify to work with us.