Even if you never work out.
Rachel Feltman Updated: September
7, 2020
Even with gyms reopening at limited capacity,
it’s still safer to exercise at home or outdoors. So, we’re dubbing this
September Muscle Month to help you keep up your
fitness, power, and health in socially distant times.
Stretching can feel like a real hassle, but it really
is crucial to preventing injury and maintaining a good range of mobility—especially if you’re
engaging in serious weight training. You should always throw some basic stretches into your pre- and
post-workout, do what feels good, and talk to a doctor if something hurts in more than an “oooh yeah,
that’s the stuff” kind of way.
But just because stretching is a core pillar of
fitness doesn’t mean it comes naturally to everyone who works out. Even if you
don’t work out, you should still be stretching. We talked to two of our
favorite fitness and mobility experts to find out which stretches are crucial
for everyone.
What parts of the body are
most in need of attention?
For people who don’t get much physical activity
in—or just don’t pay much mind to stretching—hips are an important place to
start limbering up.
“Having mobility in your hips is important for
decreasing and preventing lower back pain,” says Mike Watkins, a licensed athletic trainer, injury
rehabilitation specialist, manual therapy expert, and founder of Festive Fitness & Wellness in Philadelphia. “Shakira
said it best when she said ‘hips don’t lie.’”
Lauren Leavell, a NASM Certified Personal Trainer
based in Philadelphia, agrees that a sore, achy back is a common complaint that
increased flexibility can help improve. “[Back pain] can be from posture, your
chair at work, and underworked muscles,” she says. Focusing on the back, hips,
and shoulders can make a world of difference when it comes to decreasing
everyday aches.x
What are the basic
stretches everyone should try to do?
Adding stretching to your day doesn’t have to
mean squeezing an hour of advanced yoga flows in your schedule. Here are a few
simple moves that anyone can fit into their daily routine:
Neck and shoulder rolls: Slowly rolling your neck in one direction,
then the other, is a simple but effective way to relax some of your stiffest
muscles. When you’re done, move on to rolling your shoulders forward and backward.
“They may seem simple, but these are really good
for relieving stress and tension in the body,” Watkins says. “Most people hold
a lot of tension in their shoulders, and rolling them out really helps release
it.”
Forward folds: Even if you can’t
touch your toes, folding your body forward is a great move for loosening up
your back. There are a few ways you can go into a fold: You can stand up and
dive with your upper body toward the ground, sit down with your legs in front
of you and reach towards your heels, or even just bend forward in your office
chair. Make sure you’re folding at the crease
of your hip instead of hunching your back. While all three options
target the back, Leavell says, the standing version of the stretch also
benefits the backs
Kneeling hip flexor stretches: Tight or injured hip
flexors can cause pain in your back, your knees, and pretty much everywhere in
between. Watkins recommends a kneeling stretch as an easy and effective way to
keep those flexors loose and happy. After placing down a yoga mat or a folded
towel to protect your knee, kneel on the side you want to stretch and step the
other leg out in front of you (see an example here). Keep your back neutral and
your pelvis tucked in, then slowly lunge forward until you feel a nice
stretch. You can either hold it for 30-60
seconds or pulse into and out of the stretch every few seconds for the same
length of time. Repeat on the other side, and stop if you feel any
lower back pain or pinching.
Butterfly poses: You might be
intimidated by yoga practitioners who seem comfortable in an extreme version of
this pose, but Leavell says it’s great for beginners looking to stretch their
hip flexors, inner thighs, and back. Sit on the floor with your feet together and knees apart.
If the pose is new to you, Leavell says, don’t worry about making the stretch
very deep—you can move your feet further away from your body to make things
easier, and stay seated straight up. For more intensity, she says, start to
bring those feet closer and fold forward. “Your seat should stay grounded, and
you should take long, deep breaths,” Leavell says.
Behind the back chest openers: Leavell recommends this
move for releasing tension in your shoulders and back. You can do it
either seated or standing, all you need to do is bring your arms behind your
back, interlace your fingers, and pull your shoulders back to stretch your arms
backward.
How much time should you
devote to stretching?
When it comes to holding individual stretches,
Watkins recommends aiming for 15-60 seconds per movement. Even if that feels a
bit long when you first start out, it’s crucial not to pop out of a stretch too
quickly unless you’re about to hurt yourself. Give it at least six solid
seconds. As PopSci’s Claire Maldarelli wrote on her
quest to finally touch her toes, giving up too quickly can keep you from
enjoying the stretch your body is truly capable of:
Your muscle groups contain cells called muscle
spindles. Whenever you stretch a muscle, these sensory receptors tell neurons
within the muscle to fire a signal back to the central nervous system through
the spinal column. This causes your muscles to contract, tighten, and resist
the force to be stretched, resulting in that annoyingly painful feeling that
most of us get when we first reach down to touch our toes or attempt to stretch
other muscles. However... if you are patient, this too shall pass.
As for stretching frequency, Leavell says, these
are all moves that can be done multiple times a day. “For folks spending a
large amount of time at their desks, it would be great to do these on a short
five minute break just to get the body moving,” she says. “The most important
thing to remember is that consistency is key. Whether you are doing five
minutes or an hour of stretches per day, the progress comes from consistently
showing up.”
What if these stretches are
too difficult?
The poses outlined above are a good place to
start for most, but everyone is different and your results may vary. The most
important thing is to not force your body into shapes that hurt.
“It’s okay to feel a little tingling when you
stretch, but there should never be pain,” Watkins says. Ideally, stretching
should be relaxing—and feel good. So if the poses outlined above sound out of
your reach, take things slow.
“Try them, adjust them, and try them again,”
Leavell says. “So many stretches can be modified or swapped to accommodate
individual needs.” Modifications that might include different movements or
tools are easy to find online, and you don’t need special props to accomplish
them—Leavell recommends using books instead of yoga blocks, robe ties instead
of yoga straps, and pillows in place of bolsters.
“Take your time and do what feels good for your
body,” Watkins says. “Only you know what’s right.”
If you feel like you’re ready to add more
stretches into your routine but don’t know what to do next, consider taking an
in-person or virtual stretching class with a fitness instructor. Leavell teaches a weekly online stretch session in addition
to her Barre and HIIT classes. Instructors Leigh Barton and Ky Digregorio of New York City’s Monster
Cycle gym also offer challenging but accessible stretch
routines over Zoom, some of which are available as archived recordings. Watkins also offers a weekly mobility class, as
well as personal training sessions. If holding even
simple stretches causes some serious discomfort, seeing a physical therapist
(or a mobility specialist like Watkins) is a good first step.
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