The 5 Successful Rules of Stretching

Did you know there are rules to stretching? And no, "Go past the burn" is not one of them. There is a lot of MYTHS about stretching but also a lot of proof to what works and what causes injuries. And today we're making it simple by giving you the five most important and scientific rules of stretching and how to perform each one or make sure you are doing them correctly.

1. Isolate the Muscle Group

By this I don't mean "stretch just your hamstrings" or one certain body part. What I man is, when you do stretch your hamstrings, you're not allowed to load any other muscle or ligament. You can't contract anywhere when you're trying to stretch one body part. It takes the whole point away. So, Isolating the Muscle Group, means to TRULY isolate it, and relax anywhere else that is not stretching.

2. Find Zero Tension

This is a little more in-depth view from the first point. Please START your stretch with no awareness of tension. Like you shouldn't feel anything really harsh when you first get into the stretch. Then you can adjust to where you feel it more. If you start with an intense stretch, there is nowhere to go and you kind of freaked your body out really quick so there is a good chance for you to do it wrong or get an injury. So start with no amount of tension, then the least amount of tension, and maybe you work your way up from there.

3. Find the First Awareness

This one is a biggy, in that I need people to truly understand this one and put it into practice. STRETCHING OR LOADING THE MUSCLE HARDER OR LONGER SERVES NO PURPOSE! If you overstretch or overload a muscle during a stretch, it will take twice as long for those tendons and ligaments to go back to their original resting length. What does that mean for you? Longer recovery time and more days out of the gym. No one wants that, you're halting your own progress. What's worse is people repeat this pattern over and over and can't figure out why they have injuries all the time or where they came from. This leads us to rule #4.

4. Less is Best

This one is a cause and effect. The muscle group you are stretching MUST return back to its original length (how long your muscle is if you didn't stretch), before it can ever go any longer or get any more flexible. Relaxing is a huge deal in this process, but not to the point where you relax past the pain. That is not a thing and will never be a thing. The more baby step gradual you make a stretch, the more your body will thank you and you will actually get results FASTER, and flexibility FASTER because you didn't sacrifice a stretch for an injury.

5. Allow the Loss of Tension

This is the second biggest thing I want people to understand and one of my biggest pet peeves: STRETCHES CAN NOT BE TIMED! Just because you hold a stretch for thirty seconds does not mean you got anything from it. Or somehow your body know what to do in those thirty seconds, it doesn't. Sometimes you need to relax a lot, and you might end up holding it for up to a minute. To find any loss of tension. And it can go the other way too, sometimes shorter stretches work well for different people. It is all very individual. The length you hold a stretch also has determining factors such as: Fatigue, injury, overuse, inflammation, the length of the warmup you did, and if you're loading the muscle. All of this plays a part in how long you can hold a stretch day by day. And your ability to relax into the stretch every day. So please don't use a timer when you perform stretches. Sit down, get into position, and take the time to feel the feedback your body is giving you during the stretch. Realize if you need more or less, if your body is capable that day, or if you need to make any adjustments.

If you take these rules into account, your body will thank you ten times over for listening to it and giving it what it needs. Nothing forced, very relaxed, and very aware of what is going on. Now go start your flexibility journey! The right way!