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Stre-e-e-e-e-tching
By Wendy McCaffrey |
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Nothing like a good stretch to get the blood flowing.
To challenge my muscles, I do a different workout every time I hit the track or the gym.
But one thing remains consistent for every workout: I always start with a
5- to 10-minute warm-up and 15 minutes of deep stretching.
The one time I neglected my stretching and jumped right onto my obstacle course,
I sprained my ankle so badly that I limped for six months!
So to avoid any more competition-threatening injuries, let’s get started.
The Warm-up
It may be tedious, and you may want to get right to your workout, but humor me and jump on that exercise bike and pedal
moderately for 5 to 10 minutes. Or even better, pick out one of
those LifeFitness trainers with the long arm handles, since that
will warm up your upper and lower body. It’s important to get blood flowing
throughout the body before you try to stretch, and I’ll explain why in a moment.
Then pick out a quiet corner and set yourself up with a spongy mat or a towel.
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The Stretch Reflex
As with any activity, our body has a natural instinct to protect itself from injury. That’s why the stretch reflex prevents you from sudden changes in muscle length, which can lead to severe injuries. Whenever a muscle is stretched quickly or with force, or beyond the levels of your flexibility, the involuntary "stretch reflex" is activated.
This reflex causes the muscle to contract to protect itself from injury and overstretching. That’s why it’s so important to get the blood flowing to those muscles and stretch them slowly, holding the stretches and not "bouncing."
(source: Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) "Fitness Theory & Practice" guide)
Standing stretches
I always start with standing stretches, mainly because it’s not a good idea to drop your head below your heart immediately after you’ve just done cardiovascular work.
Grab the back of a chair, or a railing, and begin by stretching your quadriceps. It’s one of the largest muscles in the body (the gluteus maximus is the largest, and in my case that’s extremely obvious!). My favorite stretch for the quad, the front of the leg, is to aim my foot towards my butt, like I’m kicking myself, and hold onto my shoe. Hold that stretch for 30 to 60 seconds, breathing deeply through your belly. Once you develop better balance, you can do this exercise without holding onto a railing.
Then grab that railing again with both hands, bend forward and pull against that railing (making sure it’s firmly anchored, of course!) This is my most favorite stretch. You should feel it all along your back, arms and shoulders.
The lower back stretch is vital. Take a wide stance and bend your knees to a 90-degree angle. Place your hands on your knees and arch your back like a cat, holding for 30 to 60 seconds. Then release it and hump up your back like Quasimoto. Alternate these stretches for several sets.
You can also stretch calves, hamstrings and glutes while standing. It’s best to review these exercises on a picture chart; your fitness center should have one posted.
To the floor
My favorite floor stretch is to sit with my legs straight out in front of me and then bend forward -- FROM THE HIPS, NOT THE LOWER BACK -- to touch my toes. Your hamstrings may not be this flexible, so you can vary the exercise by sitting Indian-style and then extending one leg at a time for the stretch.
With time, the most obvious flexibility improvements will show in your hamstrings. Try to hold the stretch a little longer and little further each time, and this will train the muscles to lengthen and become more flexible.
Some other good stretches: Pull one arm across your chest and grab your elbow for a shoulder stretch. Triceps (the back of the arm): One arm overhead, grab your elbow and aim your hand towards the middle of your back.
This is only a small sampling of the stretches you can do to prepare yourself for a workout. If you’ve had injuries, you should take special care to warm up and stretch the injured muscles and ligaments, even years after the injury has healed. I still rotate my injured ankle several times a day to keep the ligaments from tightening up.
Vital stretches
Warm-up all of the following muscle groups before any workout:
Head and neck
Upper back, middle back, ribcage and shoulders.
Chest and arms.
Front of torso and lower back.
Front and back of thighs.
Buttocks.
Outer thigh and upper hip.
Inner thigh.
Calf and front of shin.
Feet and ankles.
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 Ali MacGraw: Yoga Mind & Body
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How NOT to stretch
Never bounce. Always use deep belly breathing when stretching (yoga-style).
AFAA recommends avoiding the following stretches:
The Cobra (on the floor, arms stretched out straight, back arched, knees bent toward your head – if it sounds almost impossible, don’t worry – it is).
Spinal flexion, in which you rotate your body at the waist, before you’ve stretched you lower back. It’s OK to do this if you’re fully warmed up and have already stretched your lower back.
Traditional toe touches to stretch the hamstring. This can strain the lower back and can make you pass out.
Full knee bends. It’s OK to do half-knee bends.
Rapid head rolls or tilting the head forward and back, as this strains your cervical vertebrae.
Do not maintain any forward stretch unless you support your upper body with your hands.
Yoga
Yoga isn’t just for Buddhists and tree-huggers. It’s the best way to combine stretching with deep breathing; it teaches you how to focus on each muscle and each body part as you stretch it. My all-time favorite yoga video, which truly can take you from beginner to advanced level without ever having to buy another video, is:
Ali Macgraw yoga mind & body.
Another good resource is the "Healing Arts" series of yoga videos, which focus each workout on relaxation, strength, or flexibility.
Best of all, your fitness center should have free resources for your stretching: a poster or chart in their aerobics room showing pictures of the best warm-up stretches.
Don’t neglect it, or you could be limping!
Wendy McCaffrey
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