In the easy stretch spend 10 – 15 seconds holding the stretch. Push the stretch until you feel a mild tension. Remember to relax as you hold each stretch. The feeling of tension should slowly reduce as you hold the stretch position. You should feel the stretch, but without pain. If the tension does not subside, ease off slightly and to an amount of tension that is comfortable for you. The easy stretch reduces muscular tightness and tension and prepares the tissues for the developmental stretch.
The developmental stretch
Now move slowly into the developmental stretch. Do not bounce. Move a little bit further until you again feel a small amount of tension and hold the position for 10 – 15 seconds. Stay in control. The tension should decrease, if it does not, lessen the tension slightly. If the stretch tension increases as you hold the stretch or it is painful, you are stretching too far. The developmental stretch fine tunes the muscles and increases your flexibility.
Breathing
Your breath should be slow, rhythmical, and under control. If you are bending forward during a stretch, exhale as you bend forward and breathe slowly as you hold the stretch. Don’t hold your breath while stretching. If a position changes or prevents a natural breathing pattern, then you are not relaxed. Ease up on the stretch to resume your natural breathing.
Counting
In the beginning, silently count the seconds as you hold each stretch, this will help you to hold the proper tension for the right amount of time. In a while, you will be able to stretch by how it feels, without having to count the time you hold the stretch.
Warming up
Before you stretch, you should do a few minutes of warming up (ie. walking, swinging arms) to loosen the muscles and related soft tissue. This will get the blood moving. It is important to warm up and stretch properly.
It is possible to injure yourself while stretching when:
• you are in too much of a hurry (not relaxed)
• you push too far, too soon (overstretching a cold muscle)
• you are not paying attention to the feeling of the stretch
If you are running, cycling or doing some other activity: warm up by doing the activity you are about to do, but at a lesser intensity for about 2 – 5 minutes. THEN STRETCH.
Cooling down
You should cool down after exercise by doing a scaled down version of the main workout. Get your heart rate back down towards a resting rate. Then stretch to prevent muscle soreness and stiffness.
Stretching © 2000 by Bob and Jean Anderson. Shelter Publications, Inc.