Put flexibility FIRST in your fitness routine

 

It is the most overlooked aspect of a fitness program. I’m continually amazed by how many people walk into the gym and go right into their weightlifting routine. There’s no warm-up to increase the body’s core temperature, no type of stretching or dynamic movement to prepare the body for the upcoming activities.

 

People, listen to me: YOU NEED TO STRETCH DAILY. It is crucial for so many reasons. Flexibility training will: A) improve postural alignment. B) Increase movement efficiency and athletic performance. C) Improve power. D) Relax muscles. E) Reduce chances of injury.  F) Enhance recovery. Is any one of those not appealing to you? Then ask yourself, why aren’t you doing it? You should stretch 15 minutes a day at a MINIMUM.  And, guys in particular, get out of your comfort/ignorant zone and take a yoga class.

Sometime around age 30, muscles begin to lose their elasticity. Range of motion through joints begins to decrease. But you can prevent and even reverse that unwanted aging process. I always tell my clients to think of their body as a rubber band. The more it can stretch, the more power it can produce. If your muscles and tendons, which essentially are like bands, cannot expand, you’re being robbed of power, even in something as routine as walking.

 

 Let me explain. As you walk, the hip flexor (at the very top of the quad) on your trail leg needs to lengthen. If that ability is compromised, a few things will happen. First, your body will migrate into an anterior pelvic tilt, which leads to lordosis and increased pressure on lumbar spine. You will compensate for this movement deficiency by shortening your gait (picture the typical old person shuffling along). Also, with your reduced range, your back foot now comes off the ground sooner than it should, so you’re no longer pushing off as efficiently or forcefully as you should. And that’s just the beginning of your troubles.

 

What happens when you run? The hip flexor’s main function there is to lift the knee toward the chest. But again, if that band of muscles is tight, you won’t have the knee lift you need to be an explosive runner. Furthermore, due to the tightness, you’re expending more energy with each and every stride because your muscle is working that much harder to get your thigh up to 90 degrees. So that lack of flexibility will lead to not only loss of power, but it will erode your endurance.

 

Another example of the debilitating effects: I have an older client who’s extremely tight though his chest. As a result of those restricted muscles pulling him forward, his shoulders and back are hunched and he can’t raise his hands anywhere near to straight over his head. If a robber told him “stick ‘em up,” this guy is in trouble! So what does he do to get his hands overhead? He compensates by jerking his arms up - using momentum instead of muscle - and by thrusting his hips forward and going into excessive lumbar extension. That’s a faulty movement pattern and, like many, it’s one that puts the body at high risk for injury.

 

Although I had no idea at the time, my back injury years ago was a direct result of tightness through my hips and hamstrings. Once I fixed that, not only did my back pain disappear  (despite an orthopedist telling me I was going  to need surgery), I literally got faster at 40. If I knew decades ago what I know now, I might have challenged my homeboy and sprint champ Kippy Andrade in the 100 back in high school! Not to toot my own horn, but I do a lot of things now that I couldn’t do 20 years ago and I attribute most of that to greater flexibility/mobility and gaining an understanding of how the body truly works - and then training it in that fashion. So it’s good to see fellow trainers like Mitchel Black and Michael Raymond regularly incorporate mobility drills as part of their workout and group classes. I’m going to say it again: it’s CRUCIAL.

So stretch before and after working out. It’s actually more important to stretch AFTER a good long run or bike. Before activity, focus more on dynamic stretches (with multi-planar movement with a brief hold of only a couple of seconds). Post-workout is when you want more static stretches (holding for at least 20 seconds). And don’t think a couple of pre-workout toe touches and arm swings is sufficient. That’s barely a start. Stretch your quads, hips, groin, obliques, chest and more. Move to get ankles, shoulders, wrists, etc… more mobile. Incorporate integrated stretches that hit multiple body parts at once. Running, cycling, lifting or whatever you might be doing for exercise is great. But if you want to be lithe and limber – and explosive - you’ve got to stretch. Otherwise, your body is slowly becoming less efficient and less elastic, well on its way to becoming more elderly, with all the accompanying aches and pains.  You want that? Then get to stretching!  If stretching helped me stave off surgery, think what it could do for you.

P.S. And for the record, I will dust that Kippy Andrade today! J

 

SPREADING THE HEALTH!!!

 

ROBERT HADDOCKS CPT, CSCS is a personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness in Woodstock. Send any questions or comments to robhadd@hotmail.com