Barbie Day- Do You Feel As Stiff As She Is??
- Mar 9
- 2 min read
To stretch or not to stretch, that is the question?? Most of us barely find enough time to workout, never mind have enough left over to stretch afterwards. Well, according to recent research, doing isolated static stretches may be a thing of the past! In the words of Inigo Montoya, “Let me ‘splain…no, there is too much….let me sum up.”
Static stretching is the type of stretching we think of when we hear the word stretching. Huh? What I mean by that is that a static stretch is bending down to touch your toes and holding the stretch for 30 seconds to stretch your hamstrings. Research has shown that static stretching will increase your range of motion when performed every day for anywhere between 10 and 60 minutes. This is an incredibly wide time frame so it may require a little trial and error to determine how much time you need to be stretching in order to see results. There is also research that supports the idea that static stretching should only be performed AFTER a workout as stretching beforehand can not only cause muscle strains, but also can decrease athletic performance. (1,2)
Dynamic stretching is a type of active warm up that includes taking the joints through a comfortable range of motion. Exercises that fall under this umbrella include walking marches, walking lunges, body weight squats, heel raises and arm circles. As your body warms up, you can gradually increase the range of motion to improve flexibility and prepare for your intended workout. You should warm up for 5-10 minutes before any type of workout so dynamic stretching accomplishes two goals with one method. (3)
Now, thanks to research, there’s another way to achieve flexibility without stretching- resistance training! Lifting weights through a full range of motion will increase your flexibility as well as strengthen your muscles! Hooray for multi-tasking! However, there are things to consider with this method. One is you want to use dumbbells you can safely take through a full range of motion WITHOUT compensating. Meaning, if you are using other muscles to incorrectly complete the task, no benefits will be gleaned. Another thing to consider is the proper adjustment of resistance machines when at the gym. If you do not adjust the back support, seat height, leg pads, etc to your body type, you could be causing more harm than good. The other limitation with this method is that you must use some sort of resistance to see flexibility gains. Body weight exercises, such as body weight squats and push ups, did not offer the flexibility benefits seen with weights. (3,4)
A word of caution when it comes to flexibility. I’ve had patients who reported feeling “tight” though they are incredibly flexible. This is a sign that the person needs to focus on STABILITY as opposed to FLEXIBILITY. If your joints are not stable, you are at risk for injury by continuing to stretch.
If you find all of this overwhelming, I get it! Come on in and I can point you in the right direction!
Yours in Pelvic Health,
Danielle
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