To Stretch, or not To Stretch

Who doesn't love a good stretch? What more reward can you ask for than to feel a muscle aching from your tireless exercise and to just try to stretch the heck out of it? But is there a time and place for structured stretching?

During my years in athletic programs, we ran the gamut of possibilities, stretch before exercise, stretch after, stretch during, stretch when you wake up, stretch after a turkey dinner. Back then, we just followed the dogmatic approaches coaches offered, who had no certifiable history of exercise and training. They just played the sport, and went on to coach the sport. I should note, that there are a couple different types of stretching, dynamic and static being the most popular. Dynamic stretching is actually more of a warm-up, as there is no stretch and hold as you do with static stretching, and is actually advantageous to perform before a session.

I'm here today to suggest an optimal timing and routine for active stretching, relative to exercise schedule. FLEXIBILITY is one of the key components of fitness, and can reduce chances of injury during physically stressful situations, as well as improve stability and muscle recruitment during everyday activities. AND IT'S REALLY SIMPLE!

Two basic rules:

Rule 1: Do not stretch statically without warmup. This is one of the reasons Bikram Yoga has taken a popular turn. Aside from other benefits such as eliminating toxins through the skin, hot yoga warms up the muscles and allows one to reach further into more flexible positions than when practicing in room temperature. Think of your connective tissues, such as ligaments and tendons, as having fluidity or viscosity. We have seen how almost anything flexible or viscous will behave differently in cold environments. It has a tendency to break! Freeze a rubber band and give it a pull, but DON'T use your favorite rubber band... Now think about what kinda snap is in store for your cold muscles and ligaments when you stretch them hard without a warmup! My recommendation: WARM UP FIRST! Spend 5-10 easy minutes on an aerobic machine or jogging before stretching, or stretch at the end of a warm shower for greater soothing power.

Rule 2: Do not stretch statically before vigorous exercise. This is a debatable subject, but when you consider the benefits of stretching after exercise, you might choose to stretch when you are finished sweating. Many studies regarding high-level athletes have been conducted regarding stretch timing. This article explains the results of static (or bend and hold) stretching before resistance training. The studies show that there is a marked decrease (roughly 5-10% depending on length of stretch hold) in force-producing capacity of a muscle after static stretching. The studies go on to describe how the athletes lose some of their balance and felt more wobbly after static stretches, which is something we definitely want to avoid during our training sessions. This leads to my next recommendation: STRETCH AFTER EXERCISE! Stretching after exercise can also help relieve lactic acid that builds up during your workout that causes soreness. It can help realign kinks that develop during forceful muscular contractions. When your muscles are tired from your session, they are more fluid from being warmed up and stretching will more accurately target the tight regions of your muscle and connective tissues, and allow for a deeper stretch.


And if my explanations and links aren't enough to sway you... Here is a study from the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) with exhaustive citations regarding how I am right.   :-P

NANA NANA BOOBOO



Thanks for reading, and watch out for my next blog post featuring a handful of simple yet effective home exercises that will help you maintain your New Year's resolution of increasing your exercise and decreasing your waist!

Any questions or contributions, feel free to email me...

Is it time to begin tracking progress??

Heck yes!!!

How can we label our results as progress if we do not quantize them? By monitoring results, we find a huge advantage towards reaching our goals. So DEFINE your individual goals, and once you get started you will see how easy it is to meet those goals by continually recording progress. In a way, this sets the groundwork to allow progress! For many, figuring out what to track and how to track it can be the hardest part. For those unconvinced the benefits of tracking, take a look at the science:
Locke and Latham's article on Goal Setting Theory
The UN's handbook to progress monitoring and its benefits


Now, let's take a moment first to consider what is worth tracking... What values (numeric or otherwise) are important to you?

-For many people, WEIGHT is the first and most important consideration, so keeping a chart is very helpful in monitoring progress. Unless you are a theoretical physicist who prefers to measure body weight through celestial and gravitational analysis, you might want a scale. I highly recommend finding a scale that incorporates body fat, muscle, bone, and water percentages. Do not expect a scale to have ultimate accuracy in all fields, however. For this tool, we use its consistency to uncover trends. Amazon has some inexpensive options. My personal preference is the Ozeri scale that has great reviews and has been very durable and consistent for me. Take your measurements at the same time and context every day to eliminate reading errors. There are many weight tracking apps and programs available if pen and paper aren't cool enough for ya. Don't be discouraged if your weight doesn't change- muscle weighs more than fat, and we need to find other variables to measure as well to better understand the changes in our body.

-Once we understand the usefulness of monitoring weight, we realize there are other values that are also useful in our quest towards fitness. Many of us would like to include dimensions as well, so tracking BODY FAT PERCENTAGE logically follows. There are many ways to track this, and if you found a body fat scale, you are ahead of the curve. Please remember though, these devices use approximations and are generally consistent, but to have the ultimate amount of accuracy, using a tape measure and/or body fat calipers will allow you to manage your dimensions. Here is an excellent .pdf ready to fill out for tape measurements. And here is a body fat caliper calculator where you simply plug in caliper measurements, they have many detailed methods for you to choose from. A google search will show you a variety of calipers, perhaps the most useful one can be found at Target, including a digital readout to avoid straining the peepers.


What else should we track? In the coming weeks, I will develop a list of measurable quantities that will help you define your goals and develop an action plan towards reaching them. Spoiler: I will discuss range of motion, exercise maximums, heart rates, diet and more...

And now I let you digest this information, and prepare my next post regarding the CONTROVERSY of when to stretch... Are you stretching before your sessions? You should definitely tune in and read what SCIENCE has to offer on the subject!



-Bill

Onwards and Upwards!

Hello all,

There is so much hype, fanfare, marketing and fads these days that plague us with too much information or, even worse, not enough. I am writing this blog to present my research and findings, as well as results on my own exercise and nutrition plan.

How many times do you go to the store and are overwhelmed by the low-fat, low-carb, sugar alternatives, high-sugar, corn syrup and other mysterious ingredients and just wished there was a simpler answer on how to eat? And then, how much confusion and uncertainty surrounds the various types and effects of exercises that inhibits actual action and progress?

Armed with dangerous levels of curiosity and the burning desire to maximize the time we spend carving nutritional and exercise plans, I plan on investigating the hype and providing research and personal results to help others consider what path may be best and quickest for them.

While everyone is different, I believe in everyone's abilities to achieve amazing results by using the right knowledge and encouragement. I challenge each and every one of you to follow along and present your own findings and results as we forge a path towards our ideal combination of nutrition and exercise.



From Baby steps to Giant steps,
Bill