Why Is Stretching Important? 7 Reasons You Should Do It

Why Stretching Is Good For You

The most basic answer to this firstly is, stretching encourages movement and we all know the importance of moving. We, as human beings were built to move and unfortunately in today’s society everything we do seems to put our bodies in prolonged positions creating joint stiffness, muscular tension and postural imbalances. It also plays a really important part in keeping our joints healthy. How? When you stretch, the muscle fibers are pulled out to its full length.

7 Reasons That Substantiate The Importance Of Stretching

Stretching helps maintain good muscle health. But what does this even mean? What you may not realise is that stretching does a whole lot more than just elongating muscle fibres (sorry, just a fancy way of saying ‘stretching the muscle’).

Getting Started On A Basic Stretching Routine

Firstly, the great thing about stretching is that anyone can do it, anytime, no matter your fitness level and flexibility. There are literally little to no barriers in starting a stretching routine. All you need is yourself and a carpeted room. (See, you don’t even need a mat if you don’t have one!)

There are some great beginner stretching routines on YouTube you can find, or if you are someone who knows exactly what you want to stretch or improve on, then you can find specific stretching routines for the specific areas you are interested in.

For example, you may find yourself sitting at a desk all day and your hip flexors and low back feel tight, you can start with stretches that target those areas.

The key to starting a stretch routine is to keep it simple and consistent.

Research shows that stretching for 10 minutes at least 3 times a week, is where you’ll see and feel the benefits.

Need a little extra guidance on how to incorporate it into your routine?

  • On days you exercise:
    10 minutes of dynamic stretching (leg swings, side bends/twists) before your activity. If you feel extra tension, studies show that static stretching for up to 60 seconds on each muscle group followed by dynamic stretches will help release tension with no loss in performance.

    After your workout, do another 5 to 10 minutes of static stretching or PNF stretching

  • On days you don’t exercise:
    Make sure you schedule at least ten minutes for stretching, targeting any areas that feel tight from training or stress and tension.

    Dedicate 20 to 30 minutes of full-body stretching and spending up to 60 seconds per muscle group.

  • When stretching:
    It’s important to incorporate breathwork that will enhance your stretching. If the stretch becomes too intense and you start to tense up and hold your breath, you have gone too far and will not receive the benefit of the stretch. So make sure you are able to breathe calmly throughout each stretch.

Put your ego aside! Whilst it’s nice when the stretch feels easy and relaxing to do, don’t neglect the areas that feel tight and are harder to sit through. Use your breath to slowly work into the stretch.

Want extra comfort and support? Use blocks, bolsters, blankets, or pillows to rest and lean on. It will help to support the body and assist in preventing the apprehension reflex kicking in, helping you to relax and get more out of the stretch.

Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds and don’t bounce.

Know What Stretching Technique Is Right For You

Whilst there are a multitude of ways to stretch, finding what works for you is key. There is no doubt you would have heard the terms static and dynamic stretching. And whilst I could write a full list of other types of stretching, I’m going to mention another two types of stretching that are my favourite and explain them all below.

  • Static Stretches
    Do these stretches to increase flexibility, calm the mind and body, and enhance body awareness and breath. Using breathwork can stimulate the vagus nerve, which can have positive calming effects on the nervous system.

  • Dynamic Stretches
    Do dynamic stretching before exercise to prepare the muscles for activity

  • Active Stretching
    Do active stretching to increase flexibility and joint integrity. It is a great way to increase flexibility and strengthen the muscles and tendons of the joint. This is a more intense way to stretch but can provide faster results when done consistently.

    An example of active stretching would be a standing straddle stretch. Standing with your legs as far apart as you can comfortably manage. This will stretch your inner thighs,and strengthen your outer thighs and quads.

When To Stretch

Stretching is important, there is no doubt about it. But it’s so common to hear it’s no good, or it’s bad for you, or it has a negative effect on performance etc.

The problem is, these statements give little to no context.

Static stretching for 2 minutes per muscle group before activity probably will have a negative impact on performance (unless flexibility is crucial to your performance), and I certainly wouldn’t recommend stretching if you’ve just injured yourself.

So here is some guidance on when you SHOULD stretch and when you SHOULDN’T stretch.

Do Stretch After Strenuous Exercise

Stretching is a great way to calm the nervous system, lengthen muscles that have been overworked, and encourage blood flow to the stretched areas, bringing oxygen and nutrients needed for optimal recovery.

Do Stretch When Sitting For Long Periods

You should stretch If your muscles are in a lengthened or shortened position due to bad posture.

Take the pectorals and rhomboids for example. If the shoulders round forward, the pectorals are shortened and the rhomboids are passively lengthened.

These muscles are no longer resting in their normal position, which produces hypertonicity (involuntary partial contraction within the muscle). We must stretch the shortened muscles (pectorals) and strengthen the lengthened muscles (rhomboids, lower trapezius) to reverse the rounded shoulder position.

  • Anytime You Feel Tightness In Your Body
    This is your body’s way of communicating with you. Listen to it! Relax and stretch.

Do Stretch When You Train Heavily

If you are someone who trains heavily, then your muscles are going to get used to one of two things (or maybe even both).

  1. Minimal range of motion from doing a specific repetitive activity (i.e., running/ cycling)
    Activities like running and cycling take your muscles through a specific range of motion. During both activities, your joints are not moving through their entire range. And rightly so. You’d have a funny looking gait if you did!

    So over time, our muscles tighten in a way that allows us to use this range only. Now some would argue that this causes rigidity within the muscles, in turn, making our movements efficient due to the bounce-back reaction time, thus helping us go faster.

    This can be a good thing if running is all you are doing and your muscles are in good condition (no pain or trigger points) and your running technique is flawless. Then go for it.

    But in the long run (yes I mean long term, big picture, not just a long run… but you see why I had to use the pun!), by restricting your range of motion, and as you get older, your joints start to stiffen and collagen fibres start to increase over your elastic connective tissue.

    Meaning we lose the range of motion that our joints should actually be able to perform. With a loss of range of motion, compensatory patterns start to develop and we start to experience further imbalances, pain, and possible injury.

  2. Repetitive contraction under heavy load (e.g. lifting weights)
    Intense muscular contraction under load (lifting weights) is important to our muscular development and bone density. Again, whilst under heavy load, our muscles aren’t taken through their entire range. If the muscle groups worked are not stretched afterwards, the muscle will retain this decreased range of motion.

When NOT to Stretch

Stretching is not always the answer. Whilst it would make life easier if it were, it’s just not the case.

So here are a few things to keep in mind.

  • If You Have An Acute Inflammation/ Injury
    During the first 72 hours of an injury, it’s important to avoid stretching and let the inflammation and swelling run its course.
  • If You Are Going To Perform An Activity
    It is common to hear “no stretching before an activity”. This generally refers to static stretching, which relaxes the muscles, so yes generally speaking we do not want to perform static stretches for too long before activity.

    Research shows that performing stretches for up to 60 seconds will have no negative impact on your performance as once thought.

    For a thorough warm up, we want to excite the muscles with dynamic stretching and getting the blood circulating and prepared for the activity that will be undertaken.

  • If You Have A Chronic Or Nagging Injury
    It is always important to seek professional help if an injury does not improve and stretching has not been beneficial.

Importance Of Timing During Stretching

We are generally taught to hold a stretch for a particular length of time when, in all honesty, we can’t have a “one size fits all” approach. Everybody is different and requires their own unique attention. Make it a habit to listen to your body and try taking this approach.

Firstly, set up your position for the targeted muscle group to be stretched. Slowly start to move into the stretch. The goal is to relax the targeted muscle or muscle group throughout the stretch. This is what determines the timing of the stretch. Until the tension in the muscle group starts to ease.