Wellness wisdom

Stretching and Flexibility

Flexibility is an essential component of good health and fitness and is especially vital for all people. As we get older it is essential  to stretch more, as the joint capsules and muscles muscle which surround our joints become less stretchy with age. 

Why do we need to more flexible? It means that we are less restricted in our movements and means we can do the things we need to do more easily in your daily life (like hanging out the washing, brushing our hair).  Also painful niggles that come with tight muscles and stiff joints get less as we stretch. Having improved flexibility also helps our posture and alignment, as tightness in our joints and muscles drag us down into bent over postures.  Putting stretching and breathing together can also help us to not only get rid of body tension, but also mental tension and stress, so often feel more relaxed afterwards. 

HOW LONG DO I HOLD EACH STRETCH?

For static stretching, there is no clear evidence for how long each stretch should be held for. The general notion is that the more time you spend stretching the area, the more of a result you are going to get.  Try hold 10-60 seconds and do each stretch 3-5 times. Always use your body as a guide on how you feel, and allow your muscles to adapt to the stretch gradually. Don’t overstretch and cause yourself pain. Ease into the stretches by holding them for less time, to begin with, with less of a stretch/ tightness feeling and build it up over time, by increasing the stretch and holding for a longer time.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I STRETCH?

Stretching is always a good idea and can be done anytime and anywhere and the tight parts of your body should be stretched a little bit every day. If you haven’t made a habit of stretching, it’s a good idea to take things slow and start with doing some basic stretches at least 2-3 times a week. Once you start feeling comfortable and ready to increase the amount of stretching you are doing, feel free to add additional stretches and perform them more frequently, to about 4-5 days per week and then even up to every day!  But you can stretch how often you feel inclined. If you’ve been sitting for an extended period of time and feel a bit stiff, simply do a few basic stretches to wake your muscles up.

WHAT SHOULD I AVOID WHEN STRETCHING?

While stretching is an integral part of an active lifestyle and extremely beneficial to one’s health, it’s important each stretch is done correctly and safely.  Never push a stretch to the point of pain. A stretching feeling is fine, but you should never experience any pain while stretching. You might be impatient and eager to improve your flexibility rapidly, but pushing into pain is not the answer. It is important that you don’t hold your breath when stretching. So, relax into each stretch with a nice relaxed breath and remember not to hold your breath. Finally, Never perform stretches cold and always ease into each stretch. Make sure you perform some movements, or a warm-up, to ensure you are ready before performing your stretches.

WHAT SHOULD I STRETCH?

You need to stretch the parts of your body are tight, such as your shoulders, neck and legs. Have a think about the stretches you find tight when we do them in our exercise classes. Start with these to begin with.  There are many different joints and muscles to stretch and we can’t show you them all in this newsletter but we will teach you some over the next few months.