Stretching?

[Peter_Puget]

I am thinking that I should get up in the am and stretch while I am enjoying my morning coffee. Here are my questions:

 

1 Does stretching really work as far as improving flexibility or is it more of a maintenance thing. I am approaching “fossil-ness” so does that have an impact?

 

2 How often do you need to stretch to see improvement?

 

3 Are there any popular stretches that should be avoided?

 

Any input appreciated!

 

PP

 

[Jim]

I stretch a lot, mainly because I used to run 70mi/week, but I've cut back the last 5 yrs. Second cause I've got a scoliosis, and it helps to stretch. My advice:

 

Hold the pose for 20 sec. at least - don't bother otherwise.

 

Get a book on stretching - there's some good ones from the Editors of Runners World.

 

Some folks are bothered by the 'hurdlers stretch" for your quads, torques the knee. I always do it, but there are alternatives.

 

Take yoga. Great strength and flexibility training. Start with a beginner class.

 

Don't ignore your upper body. Flexibility can help climbers who overuse certain muscle groups.

 

I have a copy of an older Climbing issue that has some great stretches for climbers, some very similar to yoga poses.

[cj001f]

Get a copy of "Stretching" by Bob Anderson. Good book, widely available.

 

I found that streching every evening for about 10-15 minutes began to increase my flexibility after 3 or so weeks.

[Mos_Chillin]

If you are an "at-home" type stretcher, and are interested in yoga, Richard Hittleman's "28-day yoga plan" is excellent, and the program will ensure you don't injure yourself by over-doing it. You can find the paperback in most used bookstores for under $5

 

I stretch in the morning, but have heard that stretching before exercise can cause injury. I had been doing morning yoga for 5 years before I heard that.

 

Pilates is also good, but a bit more $$.

 

My $.02

 

-Moses

[Dru]

"I like stretching. Stretching helps my climbing" - Ron Kauk

"Yeah, stretching the truth" - Jerry Moffatt

[adventuregal]

1. Stretching most definitely will improve your flexibility, no matter how fossil-like you think you are...

 

2. Most people recommend stretching a minimum 2-3 days a week. But the higher your weekly frequency the faster you will see improvement of range of motion... Like 4-5 days a week. And like someone else said, hold it for at least 20 seconds.

 

3. Don't do anything that hurts acutely. I would try and avoid anything that twists your knee (ie. hurdlers stretch) or hips in an awkward way...

 

A kinesiology professor I had a few years ago claimed there were only 3 stretches you ever had to do... Still not sure if I agree with that, but they are all good stretches.

1 - Sitting V-stretch. Perhaps the most common stretch ever? Sit with your legs in a v, lean your body forwards trying to keep your back flat.

2 - Hip flexor stretch. Lunge forward with one leg, keeping your body upright. Your front knee should not extend over your toes. Lunge lower till you feel a strech on the hip of the back leg.

3 - Shoulder flexor stretch. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you arms at your sides. keep walking your hands farther behind you and closer to eachother until you feel a stretch in your shoulders...

 

Happy Stretching!!!!

 

ps - I like yoga better than stretching... try it out!

[glassgowkiss]

stretching does work and prevents injuries and this is why. when you excercise you condition your muscles and connective tissues. if your Range Of Motion (ROM) is decreased you will not condition the tissues properly, hence you are risking injury.

there are 2 main reasons one would have a decrease in ROM.

1. antagonistic muscles are too tight

2. agonistic muscles are too weak

ie take hip flextion, either your hip extensors (mostly Gluteus muscles and hamstings) are too tight or hip flexors are too weak (like Illiopsoas and Rectus Femoris), or combination of both (and most likely script)

now working with athletes this is what i noticed. warm up properly, slowly. it takes at least 15-20 minutes for the tissues to reach the optimal temperature to work. following warm up some gentle ROM excercise, but not stretching. stretching changes proprioceptors setting in the muscles, so your stride might change ot you'll be reaching for a hold and reach too far or too short.

you should always stretch after the excercise. strech the muscle groups and specific muscles or even specific heads of the muscles. let your body cool of slowly. the most common cause of injury among the "weekend athlete" crowd: i see is very high level of excercise followed by no movement through the day. so for all of you fitness junkies with desk jobs- early morning workouts suck. you go to the gym for 90 minutes or more, then you take a shower, jump into a car and then sit on your ass in fron of the computer all day long (obviously if you are reading this at work you are just another cc sprayer with a worthless job). get a clue. it takes at least 90-120 minutes for the tissue to cool off, hence the best time to excercise would be mid afternoon.

there are some good points, but there is a lot of sucky misconceptions here too.

first of all- a myth #1 is to hold stretches for 20 seconds or more. this is plain not true. there is something called a stretch muscle reflex. after a few seconds a structure being stretched will strart contracting to bring the body into a neutral position. so doing the 10 stretches held for 4-5 seconds will reset your proprioceptors way faster then holding the stretch for 20 seconds or more.

second- stretching passivly- wrong again! The best results are with active system. there is a physiological relationship between antagonist and agonist (muscle contracting and performing movement). while the agonist contracts the antagonist MUST stay relaxed. take your arm and simple arm curls. if you contract your Brachialis (Biceps Brachii is only a secondary mover in elbow flexion) the triceps has to be disengaged and stay relaxed. remember we live in a field of gravity (isn't that a bitch), so even your own body parts will create resistance and create agonist/antagonist relationship.

as to specific stretches i would consider #1 & #3 by adventuregal down right dangerous.

v- stretch done like that makes no sense. don't lean forward- stay upright and bring your knees toward the flor by contracting your gluteus muscles. you are trying to stretch you proximal adductors not your low back. for low back stratch lay down on your back and bring each knee towards the same side arm pit 10 times hold for 4-5 secons. each leg seperate and then both @the same time, also 10 times. so you are contracting your abdominal muscles (remember agonist/antagonist relationship, class?)

#3,omfg!!!!! don't do that one for sure or you'll have to see an orthopedic surgeon if you have any shoulder problems. instead, clasp your hands behind your back and keep your elbows straight. if you have hard time doing this use a towel or a pillow case or a sling. now bring your scapulas (shoulder blades) towards the spine and raise your arms behind your back as far as you can.

as far as books go- screw this guy Anderson, this book is like 30 years old and so outdated. it will get you injured sooner then you think and you'll be on my table asking for mercy while i have to cross fiber the crap out your injury site. the book that should become bible of stretching is by Aaron Mattes "Active Isolated Stretching". this guy did his homework. he worked for over 30 years with pro sport teams, has Phd in physilogy, is a pt and massage therapist. i did take his workshop and this guy is the real works and knows his stuff. i give these stretches to people every day and after 4 years i am sold on this system. exept few add-ons on my own i would have to say you are wasting your time doing anything else as far as stretching. you can design a 10 minute model addressing all the weak/tight areas. this will decerase your chances of injury by i would say like 50%.

a few people from this site experienced my work first hand and maybe they can confirm my ideas and approach.i also did advise a few of you via phone and usually i was pretty much right on target. i am saying this for one reason only. i did managed to post a fair number of spray, but i am very serious about this post and it should be viewed as such.

be healthy, crank hard

ps, sorry about spelling and all, but it is 11pm and i am still at work writing this. some of the posts torqued me enough to take my time and write this.

PP- don't stretch in the morning with cold muscle!again- the recepie for an injury.

Edited December 17, 2003 by glassgowkiss

[jon]

Thanks Glassgow!

 

For most of my life I've been very inflexible and the last 7 years have had back problems, which has stemmed from some muscle imbalances, just like Bob described.. I've recently started stretching every day and getting massage once a week and it's absolutely amazing how much better my body feels.

[willstrickland]

Thanks Bob! Very informative.

[Peter_Puget]

THanks for all the replies.

 

Here is a link to GK's book:

Mattes

[glassgowkiss]

jon, i also wanted to point out one more thing. this what you are describing is a very common condition. the tightness and injury/chronic condition development happens over a long period of time, so it is hard to notice. the changes are very slow, but over a period of few years they add up. very often i see this, when someone comes to my office and they say: "i lifted this or i tried to reach for... and my back went out". the truth is that this was the event that pushed the tissues over the edge. but in reality there were hundreds or thousands of these little things leading to the described conditions.

even with injuries caused by external force (like our own inertia or other object projecting force onto our body) the areas that get injured are the areas that were pre-disposed, ie weak and deconditioned.

[fern]

what you say about proprioception vs long-held stretches is

interesting. That would imply that yoga is counterproductive

to dynamic climbing like bouldering where accuracy matters.

[glassgowkiss]

yes it would be. but.... right before climbing. there is a period of adjustment for your nervous system. more you do it, shorter the time. but this is also the reason why athletes don't receive deep body work 24 hours before competitions. when i work on someone before any comps i just work with what they have, just loosen things up. i had several people showing up right before seattle or vancouver marathons for the past couple and asking me to help with their problems- they were very surprised to find out that it's too late and it's better to go with what they have.

anyway- i have my reservation towards yoga as post injury modality, or to put it better with yoga instructors. my experience is that unfocused instructor can do more harm then good.

[Jens]

I stretch a lot mostly while watching TV etc.

 

Stretching may not help you climb that much better but makes climbing more fun as you can incorporate more of an element of artistry to your climbing moves.

 

Being flexible does kick butt for stemming between pillars and placing a screw though!

[Courtenay]

Just one addition to Glassgowkiss's fine spiel: every body is different, so what works for one person in terms of a suitable stretch probably WON'T for someone else. Best to meet with someone qualified to assess range of motion, tight and weak areas and then get a specially designed stretching or yoga program that meets your own body's needs. While some of the stretches in Anderson's Stretching book are classics and still applicable, I'm with GGK that active stretching is the way to go -- Pavel Tsatsouline has a great book out called Super Joints (available through a Google search or at Dragondoor.com) if you're interested in a new resource that might help with education. Use it or lose it -- as we age (and get increasingly busy), flexibility is one of the first things that goes out the door and should be mandatory at least 3 times a week for 10 minutes to keep you where you are or help you increase gradually.