Stretching?

Should we stretch? Why do we need to? Is it really that important.

And if you're asking me, YES. We should be stretching! It's a great way to isolate a sore area of the body, speed up the recovery process and also release any lactic acid build up in your muscles. Making you feel physically looser throughout your muscles. Stretching is another way to build your muscle-mind connection, making you aware of where your muscles are on your body and in your mind. Stretching is also great for the mind in the sense that you have to sit in the uncomfortableness of those tight muscles. While being conscious enough to not overdo it as well. There are a lot of components to stretching.

How do you find your routine and what to stretch? Well, let keep it simple. Is your upper body sore or your lower body? Now, where specifically? I don't mean to dumb it down that much, but its really that simple. Try not to overthink it.

We will start with the lower body and work our way up the body, breaking down each muscle group.

Stretching:

Feet:

For this one, the best one that I have found is to start on the ground, with your legs underneath you like you're a monk, but you're sitting on your heals, with your toes on the ground and spread out. From there, you will gently lean back and find what comfortable for you. Now, if you have very tight quads or calves, you may not get the full benefit of this stretch. so go and do those ones first.

calves:

I have found a few of these that I am a huge fan of. The first one, you are going to find something you can put your feet on, that's about 5-6 inches tall or around that height. You are going to put the balls of your feet on this elevated platform, and lower and scoot your heels closer to the platform. Putting your feet at a higher angle, and this, a deeper calf stretch. You might not even need to go higher on the platform, just propping your foot up may be enough to start. This can be done with one calf at a time or both, whichever one you need to start with. Once your calves start becoming more and more flexible, or if they already are, I have a challenge for you. Prop both of your feet up on the platform and then give yourself room to lean forward while maintaining your balance and keeping your legs straight. This will get your hamstrings as well, but oh man, that calf stretch will be intense!

Hamstrings:

For the hamstrings, find something that is at or just below your hips. I'd recommend having something to hold onto just for balance's sake. With this object that is at or below hip height, you're going to put one foot up on the object. Grab your balancing tool to stabilize yourself and then sit back into the foot that is planted to the ground. Your back leg should be bending, and your foot that's up should be anchored. Now, pull your body away from your anchored leg and your calves and hamstrings will get a deep stretch. The goal is that your leg that is up, it needs to be straight but not locked out.

Quads:

I have two for the quads, it's dependent on your mobility. The first one is on the ground. Start on your knees, then bring one foot up in front of you. Make sure your leg is at a 90 degree angle. From there, i want you to tuck your hips in, opposite of arching your back. Here you should feel a stretch in your hip/top of your quad, thats the insertion point of your Rectus Femoris, one of the bigger muscles in your quads. Rock back and forth gently and loosen the Rec. Fem. up, and then go into your quad stretch. Loosening the Rec. Fem. up first will help the quad stretch a little more.

The second one is very similar. You're going to need a platform that's about or a little below your hip height. Facing away from this platform you are going to put your foot on it, and the going almost into a backward lunge. From the standing position with your foot on the platform, you are going to sit back into your leg that is up and point your knee to the ground as you lean back into the "lunge".

Hips (Abductors, adductors, IT Band, Psoas):

Let's start with the IT band. start lying on the ground, with your arms and legs straight and at your sides. We will start with the left side first. Put your left arm straight out to your left, still on the ground. bring your left leg straight up in the air, bend it to make a 90-degree angle. Use your right hand to grab your left knee and bring it all the way over to your right side. While keeping your left arm still on the ground.

• For the abductors, the classic pigeon pose is a perfect one. These are the muscles on the "outside" of your hips.

• The adductors are on the inside of your legs, and connect into your groin. The frog pose for this one will get both the adductors and groin muscles.

• For your psoas, you will start lying face down on the ground. Put both of your arms out to the side. Then, you will take your right leg and reach it as far to the left as possible. This stretch should be felt on the inside of your hip that is reaching.

Glutes:

Repeat the pigeon pose, and IT band stretch from above, but with the intent of stretching your glute. This is part of the muscle to mind connection i was talking about. Similar stretches can be used for different muscle groups. You may need to do some adjusting or moving around while in this position, but you will find the spot that hits the glutes and then be able to switch between the two muscles.

Low back:

For the low back, do the cat-cow stretch, and any of the hip ones from above. Because tight low back typically comes from tight hips and weak glutes (unless there is a medical disturbance). Childs Pose is another good whole back stretch.

Upper back:

For the mid back, we're going to do what's called threading the needle. You're going to start out on all fours. Take your left arm and put it in between your right arm and leg. Plant your left hand on the ground, with your palm facing up, and then lean towards your left side. you should feel this in between your shoulder blades. If you have the access to a pull up bar, dead hangs are the best way to give you a complete, full back stretch.

Lats:

You will need a resistance band for this one. Wrap the resistance band around something sturdy and that will not move. Put the band around your wrist take a hand full of steps backwards. The band should be pulling your arm Forword. Now, hinge at your hips so your chest and face are parallel to the ground. Relax all the muscles in your arms and let the band pull your arm and feel the stretch in your lats.

Hand and Forearms:

Put your hands flat on a surface and turn your hands so your fingers are pointing at you. Gently lean backward for your forearms, for your handset your palms leave the surface but not your fingers. That will stretch the palms of your hands.

Biceps:

Start on the ground, with your legs out in front of you. You are going to reach behind you about a foot away from yourself, with your fingers pointing away from you. Now, with your hands planted, you're going to lean forward, and you should feel a pull in your biceps and forearms.

Triceps:

This one can be done seated or standing. Put your desired arm of stretching up in the air, and then out your hand as close to in between your shoulder blades as you can. Use your opposing hand to grab your elbow on your bent arm, and pull in the direction you are grabbing from.

Shoulders:

You will need that resistance band again for this one. Wrap that resistance band around something sturdy and right below your shoulder height. Put the resistance band around your wrist and then take a few steps back. You are going to turn in the direction that your arm is in. If you're using your right arm, turn so your arm is out to your side. This will get the front deltoid and your bicep. After that, turn all the way around your arm is now across your body, thus stretching your rear deltoid.

Chest:

There are a few ways to do this one depending on what kind of equipment you have access to. This is one is called the snow angel, because you make a snow angel with your arms. The simplest way to do this one, is to lay flat on your back on the ground. starting with straight arms at your sides, coming all the way up to your head, and all the way back down. The goal is to keep your arms as close to the ground as possible. The next variation is the same thing but have a full-sized foam roller under your back, following your spine. Now that your arms can hang, it's going to stretch your arms even more. You may feel this one more in your shoulders and that's ok! As long as it stays within the stretching uncomfortable and not the bad uncomfortable. And the last way to the this is with TRX straps. Assuming they are tied to a pull up bar, or somewhere above head level. You are going to grab the handles and walk all the way out until your arms are above your head but with a little slack. From here you're going to come all the way down and then back up. You can even stop at the T, Y or I position to get isolated stretching if one part is tighter than the others.

Traps and Neck:

• For the neck, to get the front of the neck. Point your chin to the sky, and then gently move your head from left to right and hold for a second. For the sides, lean your head to the left or right, and then use the opposing hand to the way you are leaning to pull your head and stretch a little further. And lastly, for the back of the neck, tuck your chin all the way to your chest, and pull diagonally to the left or right to get a further stretch.

• for your traps, let's start with your left trap. Do this one standing. Have your left arm straight and use your right hand to grab your left arm behind your back to the best of your abilities. bend your left arm as you need in order to reach it with your right. While holding onto your left arm with your right hand. Tilt your head to the right and move your head forward and backward, focusing solely on your left trap. mirror this process to your right side as well.

There are multiple ways to stretch all the muscles in the body. I wouldn't say there are ones that are better than others. Just ones that work better for you and feel better. These are a few examples of the ones that I do and recommend!

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