Login | April 03, 2026
Too much stretching?
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: August 29, 2022
Through the years I’ve been a huge proponent of the important role stretching plays in a fitness regime.
It can help to increase a joint’s range of motion, improve blood circulation, improve posture and even alleviate muscular tension throughout the body.
But just because something’s really good for you doesn’t give you the green light to overdo it.
Indeed, just as you can go overboard with your cardio and resistance exercising - and end up over training - you can also go overboard with your stretching routine.
Overstretching a muscle and overexerting a tendon is flexibility’s analogy to over training, in that when stretching is performed with too much intensity and/or for exceedingly long time intervals it can become injurious for the body rather than beneficial.
So let’s take a look at the do’s and don’ts of a safe and effective stretching regime.
Clinically speaking, overstretching denotes stretching muscles and joints significantly beyond their normal range of motion.
And keep in mind that exercise scientists have determined that muscle fibers can stretch up to 150% of their original length without tearing - which in and of itself is pretty darned amazing.
So knowing that interesting fact then begs the question: Just how intensely and how long can you stretch those extremely pliable muscle fibers without causing harm to them?
Let’s begin with intensity part of this question first.
Now keep in mind that because we’re each different with respect to flexibility, fitness level and muscle/bone structure we’re each going to have our own special set of stretching parameters.
What’s more, how far you’re able to move into a stretch is going to be dictated by the tightness of the muscles/groups you’re stretching.
And different muscles/groups are going to have different degrees of flexibility.
Thus, it can be quite easy to overdo it in any particular stretch by both attempting to exceed your physical capabilities and attempting to exceed the limits of any one particular muscle/group.
So approach you stretching routine just like you approach your cardio and strength routines - with an eye on technique and an understanding that progress will take time, patience and commitment.
Now the proper intensity with which to put into a stretch entails one stretching to a point where you’re able to feel a slight pull in the muscle, a somewhat uncomfortable pull, but certainly not a painful pull.
And a good rule of thumb for each stretch is to work into it gradually.
Then, when you reach that point where there’s slight muscular discomfort, hold the stretch for up to 60 seconds.
If you incorporate those specific parameters into your stretching routine, you'll slowly see your flexibility improve.
But go beyond those parameters and you’ll be toying with the potential for harm to the muscles and/or joints.
Sharp/stabbing pains tell you that you’re stretching the muscles beyond their flexibility limits, and such over stretching can cause injury. Another sign of over stretching is a muscle(s) feeling sore a day or so after the stretching session.
Okay, so I briefly touched on the how long part of this stretching discussion, but let’s take an even deeper dive here.
A panel of experts convened by the ACSC (American College of Sports Medicine), suggests, “For optimal results, you should spend a total of 60 seconds on each stretching exercise. So, if you can hold a particular stretch for 15 seconds, repeating it three more times would be ideal. If you can hold the stretch for 20 seconds, two more repetitions would do the trick.”
Thus, if you’re capable of performing a one-minute stretch, great. But if you’re fairly inflexible and/or a stretching newbie, then you might want to perform any particular stretch for a series of several reps. It’s really that straight forward.
Now you might be wondering if there’s any particular parameters regarding stretching frequency.
And again, I’ll defer to the ACSM’s expert panel for this one.
So consensus amongst the group is that one should perform a stretching routine two to three times a week at a minimum but all agree that stretching on a daily basis is the most effectual frequency with which to reap the benefits of stretching.
And finally, if you have any orthopedic issues that might be exacerbated by stretching you’ll definitely want to talk first with your doctor or physical therapist about the most appropriate ways to approach a stretching regime.