Stretching

Stretching is one of those things that most people dislike, but it’s a critical part of your overall fitness and to some degree your health. While it’s not the most fun part of your day, it doesn’t have to be a long part either. Taking just a few minutes to stretch out your body is really all you need.

I’ve never been really good at stretching. It’s just not something that I really enjoyed, and as I now have a couple of kids, stretching as part of working out is just more time that I have to spend as part of my routine. It’s boring and fairly monotonous to me. Regardless, I still do a bit of it.

I’m not flexible, and I don’t have any inclination to try to become overly flexible - for some people they may enjoy stretching, and that’s not a problem either. However, at least a little bit of stretching is good for your muscles so that they know you're going to be using them, and so that you don’t cause an injury to yourself.

Injuries are the number one reason you should stretch a little bit before a workout. Injuries derail your fitness routine completely, they’re not fun to deal with, and sometimes they can be quite serious. Avoiding injury is the number one reason to stretch.

The other important reason to stretch is to help you get a good range of motion in your exercise. If you’re too tight to squat all the way down to at least a parallel position, then you need to work on getting a better range of motion in your legs. Better range of motion will allow you to get a more complete workout in your different moves. If you’re not flexible to get into those needed positions, then you need to make sure you're stretching to allow it.

My stretching routines are usually two minutes max in the morning - just a quick warmup of getting my legs moving with some in place running, followed by stretching the part of my body that I will be using that day. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate 10 minutes of stretching to get your body ready for a workout, although you’re welcome to do that as well. Make sure you do some type of active warmup before stretching.

There are two other times that I stretch as well beyond my quick workout. One of those times is during my workout. Whenever I have a period of time that I’m not doing anything else, I’ll do some static stretches. I normally am trying to stretch my legs out as they’re the least flexible part of my body, and generally the most tight. A few seconds of leg stretches don’t make me super flexible, but they do help my legs from getting too tight throughout the day.

The other time that I’ll stretch is when I’m with my kids. If we’re outside playing, or the kids are playing, I may spend a few more minutes working on stretching. Toe touches and grabs are great during this time. Another great time to stretch is while your kids are in the bath, assuming they’re old enough to sit and play by themselves. You’re right close by, still watching, but you’re also able to stretch your muscles.

Being flexible will help in other areas of your life beyond just fitness. You’ll feel better when playing with your kids, be able to do more activities with them, and not have to worry as much about how you’re going to get on or off the floor. You’ll be able to bend down and pick things off the floor (make sure you squat and don’t bend at the waste), and more easily maneuver in whatever you do.

A little bit of stretching can go a long way. You don’t have to spend hours, but spend a few minutes each day to make sure your body can move into the positions you want and need to make your life just a little bit better.