Login | April 25, 2024
Stretching Part 1
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: October 15, 2018
Among all the questions health and fitness professionals are asked, one of the most common concerns is whether stretching should be incorporated in one’s training/fitness regime. And despite the fact that the answer is almost always a resounding yes, more often than not this key component is still neglected. Fact is that stretching improves the body’s state of flexibility, the ability to move a joint through its complete range of motion (ROM).
This is huge because flexibility impacts not only how we perform in sporting activities, but also how we perform in everyday life activities. What’s more, flexibility, just like cardiovascular and muscular fitness, deteriorates as we age, which means it must be addressed in our workout program if our goal is to maintain a healthy, properly balanced body as we grow older.
Chat Williams - MS, CSCS, *D, NSCA-CPT, *D - in his article, Flexibility Training: Incorporating All Components of Fitness, defines such a key fitness component this way, “Many times flexibility is often overlooked due to lack of interest or not taking the time to incorporate it into a fitness program. Individuals should consider including flexibility into their training regimen to complete a thorough, well-rounded program.”
Perhaps the lack of interest side of this conundrum has a lot to do with all the pub that’s given to the other two components of a sound fitness regime, the cardiovascular and muscular fitness components. And the time issue, well, that just might have a lot to do with our often frenzied, time-constrained lifestyles.
And finally there’s the fact that stretching’s somewhat of a mundane and unexciting (in my honest opinion) endeavor, and it’s not something that gets one all pumped up and ready to hop on the bandwagon.
Nonetheless, amidst all the excuses, rationalizations and denials, we still have to acknowledge that stretching is one of three key pillars to a properly balanced fitness program.
And it’s at this point where I’d like to share some personal experience related to just how easy it is to get out of the habit of stretching. And I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that even as a health & fitness professional who knew better, I still managed to deviate away from a regular stretching routine - only to discover the negative ramifications later on.
You see years ago when I was competing, I considered stretching to be just as important as the cardiovascular and muscular strength training. That’s because stretching unequivocally contributes to performing better in sports. Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t revel in stretching, but since it played such a vital role in my success as an athlete, I accepted it.
But once I stopped competing…BOOM…that well balanced training regimen became less a priority, and ever so gradually I devoted my limited workout time more to the things I liked and less to the things I didn’t. Unfortunately, stretching wasn’t one of my passions, so it soon became an area to skimp on. Well, skimping led to missing, and missing led to curtailing. What followed were many stretch-less years.
Yet that key omission eventually led to inflexibility/imbalance issues that likely arose from an overabundance of cross-country cycling. And these issues began to affect my everyday life.
Then came a sports med consultation, then PT sessions. Seems my lack of stretching coupled with my excessive cycling contributed to chronically tight muscles, which led to a weak low back, which led to poor posture, which resulted in persistent back pain.
A rehab program consisting of specific stretching and strengthening exercises eventually helped me to better correct my posture by lengthening the tight muscles that pulled areas of my body away from their intended position. This was a routine that targeted muscles of the lower back, posterior legs, chest and shoulders…and ironically it was just about the same routine I performed regularly when I was competing.
Today I’m much better, and I currently try to maintain this specific stretching routine seven days a week.
Yes, you could say I’ve seen the light for a second time. Stretching does indeed matter, whether you’re a competitive athlete or a casual fitness buff - or a strength and conditioning professional like myself. It matters.
Next week we’ll look at the parameters that make for a safe and effective stretching routine.