Do you have 10 minutes?
For those super time poor people, see the summary at the end of the article.
I see people EVERYDAY who are in pain, have limited mobility, have athletic goals that they keep falling short on, and are frustrated at how their life is impacted by all of these things. I ask all of them if they spend time stretching and a minimum of 80% of people answer, with a laugh, “no, I never stretch.”
Even though they will all agree that stretching is valuable, and it will make a difference they still will not commit to spending 10 minutes per day helping themselves?? I do not understand it.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every day.
You don’t have to do it all today. Just lay a brick.
James Clear
People will happily start a strength program with the understanding that you do not start strong, you become strong with progressive loading over time to build strength. Flexibility is the same thing, consistently spending time stretching will result in an increase in flexibility, which in turn equals better mobility, less pain, and even more strength due to being able to get into better and more mechanically sound positions to lift heavy things.
Want to know more?
It will only take 10 minutes of your day. Of course you can spend more time, but I guarantee that if you do even this tiny amount it will still make a big difference.
Not only will it minimise your pain, but it will INCREASE YOUR PERFORMANCE. Whether you are an elite athlete or someone who just wants to move a little faster, lift a little heavier or jump a little higher, stretching will help.
You know the next day feeling after a great massage. You feel energised and unrestricted. The reason for this is because you have released all the tension that you were previously holding in your muscles. Tight muscles make moving the joints much more difficult, this results in a reduced range of motion. A reduced range of motion means you are not moving well, this means you then place more stress on other parts of the body that are now forced to “take up the slack” for the restricted areas. This chain reaction means you now start to feel pain and restriction in areas you previously had no problem with.
Spending a few minutes stretching will also improve your posture. Do you want to instantly look younger and more vibrant? Stand up straight and pull your shoulders back. Nothing ages a person more than a hunched over hobbling gait. Stretching will keep your muscles flexible, strong, and healthy which will enable you to walk proud and straight with your head held high.
By reducing the tension held in your body you are also reducing the stress and tension in your mind. Stretching releases endorphins. These neurotransmitters help improve your mental state and help you feel less anxious.
But what to stretch and how to do it?
Stretching should be a natural reflex to pain and discomfort in the body. Stop and think for a second, you are curled up on the couch watching Netflix. Suddenly you realise you are not comfortable in that position anymore. What do you do? You stretch out and change your position! You do this without even thinking about it. Did you do a course on how to get more comfortable, did your research safe positions for watching movies at home? No! it’s just a natural and instinctive reaction.
What I am trying to say is that stretching is natural. Basically, if it feels good, you are doing it right.
However, as this is a blog specifically about stretching, I will describe my most favourite and most basic stretches, how to do them and how long to hold them for. I deliberately chose my husband to model these photos to prove that not only can men stretch, but muscular men can be flexible too! (Men are notoriously bad at stretching!)
For neck and shoulder pain –
Sit tall facing straight ahead. Slowly take your left ear towards your left shoulder. Once you feel the stretch, stop. Hold the stretch there and once it eases off try tilting your chin slowly towards the ceiling and then slowly towards your chest. Repeat to the other side. Take 30 seconds per side.
Doing this stretch will help a lot of your shoulder pain also as the main muscle culprit is the trapezius muscle. This muscle has a kite shape stretching across your shoulders, up into your head and between your shoulder blades to your mid back.
For chest and mid back pain –
Clasp your hands behind your back and pull your shoulders back. This will stretch out your chest. Then do the opposite by clasping your hands in front at chest height. Round your shoulders as much as possible. This will stretch between your shoulder blades and through your mid spine.
If you do not have the flexibility to do this, find a door frame, hold the frame, and walk through while holding on until you stretch your chest. Turn your hands over the other way and pull backwards to stretch your back. Hold each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds.
For low back pain* –
Touch your toes. Before bending forward, make sure you are standing straight and bend from your hips. Keep your legs straight with no bend at all in your knees. Stay here for a minimum of 30 seconds. Every time you feel the stretch ease off relax deeper into it. If you can not reach your toes just go as deep as you can. If your fingers are at your knee level or shin level, that’s ok. Just keep practising and stretching, you will improve – I promise.
You can also do this stretch on the floor. Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, sit tall and bend from your hips reaching towards your toes.
*this alleviates low back pain by stretching your hamstrings, the group of muscles that form the back of your upper leg. These tighten and shorten when we sit for extended periods of time, then then cause our pelvis to rotate putting stress on the muscles of the lower back resulting in pain.
These very basic stretches will make a profound difference to your body, and your ability to move through life more easily and with less pain – I promise!
In summary.
Stretching for 10 minutes per day will –
Keep muscles flexible, strong, and healthy.
Maintain range of motion in joints.
Decrease the risk of injury.
Improve posture.
Manage stress by reducing tension held in the body and releasing endorphins.
Increase mechanical efficiency and improve performance.
Improve circulation.
Decrease body pain.
