I’ve long been interested in physical fitness. I enjoy lifting weights, playing sports, running for short distances (mostly during sports), juggling, dancing, and so on. However, one area of fitness that I’ve mostly neglected is stretching. Although I’d heard people talk about it for years, it wasn’t until within the past year that I decided to look into it. And boy am I glad I did.
Stretching is important for just about any athletic activity. If you are too inflexible to go through the full range of motion on a particular lift, stretching will increase your range of motion. Loosening up tight muscles can allow you to move around more comfortably, naturally, and, in some cases, safely. Stretching can even improve your posture and relieve pain if done regularly and correctly. The best time to stretch can vary from one activity to another, but stretching properly and at the right time makes a huge difference in athletic activities as well as in general life.
Since I began stretching, I’ve mostly focused on stretching out my lower body. This article from The Art of Manliness has some great advice that I’ve used to loosen up my hips. In addition to using the advice in that article, I’ll spend at least a few minutes sitting down touching my toes (or trying to touch them) to stretch out the muscles in my legs. Although I also want to work on stretching out my upper body, I think sitting makes my lower body tighten up more easily and need extra attention, so I primarily focus on lower body stretches.
Before I started stretching regularly, I thought flexibility was something you either had or you didn’t. I never believed that I could get more flexible by working consistently at it, but that’s exactly what’s happened. In addition to increased flexibility and the other benefits I mentioned above, stretching has given me quick fixes to relieve occasional joint pain (especially when my neck starts bothering me) and provided me with a way to relax and be present when I start feeling overwhelmed. Taking some time out of my day to stretch helps keep my thinking positive and prevent negative thoughts from arising. I have a long way to go and a lot of work ahead of me, but I’ve already seen several benefits from stretching and I’m excited to see what else it does for me.