You already know that stretching is vital. It improves flexibility and mobility (one of many key elements of health) and reduces the chance of damage. And should you don’t stretch, the muscle groups can shorten and develop into tight, which might restrict your vary of movement and put you in danger for joint ache or a pulled muscle.

However stretching is just useful if it’s achieved appropriately. There are a couple of frequent stretching errors that may result in the precise reverse of what you’re searching for, comparable to damage and inflexibility. Listed below are eight pitfalls to keep away from so you’ll be able to enhance your flexibility and your exercises.

1. You’re Doing the Fallacious Sort of Stretching

There are two foremost varieties of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretching is what you most likely keep in mind from gymnasium class: progressively stretching a muscle and holding a pose for about 30 seconds. Whereas this can be a nice technique to calm down from a exercise or enhance common flexibility, analysis means that static stretching earlier than a power exercise may very well trigger a lower in efficiency.

“Throughout a warm-up, you need to do dynamic stretching, which boosts muscle activation and prepares muscle groups to be highly effective by means of a full vary of movement,” says Trevor Thieme, CSCS. Dynamic stretches embody lunges, trunk rotations, leg swings, and leaping rope.

For the post-exercise “cool-down” interval, you’ll be able to give attention to static stretching to loosen up the muscle groups and launch rigidity. “Each varieties of stretching might help improve mobility,” Thieme says. “However one excites muscle groups whereas the opposite calms them down.”

2. You’re Bouncing Whereas Stretching

Utilizing momentum from bouncing to drive a muscle to stretch previous its regular vary (a.ok.a. ballistic stretching) might really feel prefer it’s serving to you enhance your vary of movement. However as an alternative of loosening the muscle, this sort of fast stretching motion can truly trigger the muscle groups to tighten — a contraction often known as the myotatic reflex or “stretch reflex.” This could result in accidents like muscle or tendon tears, Thieme says.

3. You’re Stretching Injured Muscle tissues

Stretching injured muscle groups is “an enormous no-no,” Thieme warns. Muscle strains sometimes occur when a muscle is stretched past its restrict, so stretching it additional can worsen the damage. As an alternative, use the POLICE protocol (safety, optimum loading, ice, compression, and elevation) to assist the muscle heal.

4. You’re Overstretching

Whereas some discomfort is to be anticipated, you need to by no means be in ache whereas stretching. “Overstretching can lead to muscle strains or extreme neural rigidity [stretching of the nerves],” says Lindsay Sudell, MOT, OTR/L, CFSS-3, CPT of Merely Stretch LA.

Overstretching may also result in hypermobility, “which is when a joint is simply too free and thus unstable,” Thieme says. Know your limits if you’re stretching, and don’t drive your self to transcend them.

5. You’re Not Stretching Persistently

It’s going to take various sporadic stretching classes to realize the pliability of a gymnast. Ideally, your stretching classes needs to be average and frequent moderately than intense and occasional.

“With a purpose to obtain bodily, everlasting change, stretching have to be constant for six to eight weeks,” says Sudell.

6. You’re Rushing Via Your Stretches

“Individuals usually don’t stretch for the suitable length of time,” explains Sudell. She recommends aiming for 30 seconds or much less for pre-exercise stretches. For post-workout static stretching, purpose to carry every stretch for no less than 60 seconds.

7. You’re Not Doing Sport-Particular Stretches

Sport-specific stretches “may be something focused towards actions {that a} specific athlete wants,” Sudell says. For instance, she says, golfers might give attention to stretches that enhance their spinal rotation and hip mobility, to allow them to hit the ball with maximal energy. Sprinters can heat up with dynamic stretches that simulate working and explosive actions, like strolling lunges, butt kicks, and excessive knees.

Analysis additionally exhibits that static stretches are higher fitted to athletes who want flexibility (like gymnasts or dancers), whereas dynamic stretches are particularly useful for many who have to run or leap (like basketball gamers or runners).

8. You’re Ignoring Your Respiratory

Deep, diaphragmatic respiration “might help loosen up tense muscle groups, and when paired with stretching, can permit for a good deeper stretch with out rising the chance of damage,” Thieme says.

As well as, respiration enhances the therapeutic impact of stretching, Sudell says. Analysis exhibits that diaphragmatic respiration can assist the physique get well after an intense exercise. The correct technique to breathe throughout a stretch is to slowly inhale by means of the nostril, maintain for a second, then launch the breath by means of both the mouth or nostril, holding the diaphragm and stomach comfortable and relaxed.