I) When/what to stretch
ROT #1: Stretch the big guns
As a middle to long distance runner, I need my calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings working properly. So, I stretch these muscles twice daily. I recommend adjusting accordingly based on the major muscles groups your main physical activity depends on.
ROT #2: Stretch sore or unusually stiff muscles an extra time
If these muscles are in the ‘big guns’ group above, I simply do an extra round of the same stretching movement I'm already doing. If these are not in the regular stretching routine, I add a new stretch to the program until I no longer feel the stiffness.
If the muscle remains sore or stiff for a few days despite the added stretching, I might investigate alternate ways to stretch the same group. However, usually I've found that this type of lingering soreness or stiffness has more to do with my other activities than it has to do with my stretching routine. Since most of what I do is run, the best response to lingering muscle problems is to just run less.
ROT #3: Stretch muscles likely to cramp or stiffen up due to repeated non-exercise activity
I sit down quite a bit so I do a stretch to acknowledge sitting’s impact on my hip flexors (the muscle group most commonly strained by prolonged sitting). I've found ‘the pigeon’ works best for me and I highly recommend it for anyone who sits for prolonged periods of time. For those requiring a less strenuous hip opener exercise, I'd recommend the 'dead pigeon' - this one has worked just fine for me in the past.
I should remind anyone with a knee or hip injury to skip these stretches until the injury is healed (2).
ROT #4: Stretch any areas related to past injuries
I’ve dealt with a nagging problem in my left hip area for most of the past decade so I do a more rigorous stretch for my left quadriceps than I do for my right one. I also hurt my foot last year and, although stretching the foot is difficult, I do regularly work out the muscles by rotating the toes and massaging the sole.
I suffered a bad ankle sprain in 2014 but no longer stretch it. In this case, my rehabilitation routine was good enough to return the injured ankle to full strength. However, if I notice discomfort in the ankle, I will add a stretch or two to this routine until it goes away.
II) How to stretch
ROT #5: Stretch until you sweat...well, sort of
I realized stretching was a major exercise activity when I noticed how serious yoga students tended to become very strong over time. I'm only aware of one way to build strength -
The only thing I remember from strength training was the difference in a workout when I sweated versus one when I didn't. To summarize quickly, if I wasn't sweating, I wasn't really challenging myself. I recently extended the same logic to my stretching routine and I've seen some pretty good results so far.
Now, unlike the other ‘rules of thumb’ on this list, I do not necessarily recommend taking #5 literally. Sometimes, it is hard to sweat and I see no need to pick up a new injury from overexertion during stretching (4). But having the mentality that stretching is a workout is critical.
ROT #6: Stretch at rest
Finding the time for a twice-daily stretching routine temps me to do it anytime I have a spare fifteen minutes. However, stretching right before or right after a workout is a bad idea for me. The altered shape of the muscle after one activity makes the other a difficult proposition. I've found it is best to stretch when the pulse rate is normal and there is no imminent exercise activity.
III) Dynamic or static?
This question addresses the best way to stretch prior to physical activity such as weight lifting, running, or playing a sport. Dynamic stretching means gradually increasing a muscle group’s range of motion through a warm-up exercise while static stretching refers to slowly lengthening a muscle as the rest of the body is held in place (everything I've referred to above is about static stretching).
This is a fake debate, I think, in the sense it groups stretching into an ‘either/or’ paradigm when a mix-and-match strategy is likely to better serve individuals. In my current pre-activity warm-up routine, I first do a static stretch for the groups identified in ROT #2 - #4 above before I do some basic dynamic stretches mimicking the upcoming activity.
After the activity is over, most trainers recommend a round of static stretching. I’m fine with this idea but never bother to do it myself. Again, if there are particularly sore or injured muscles, a post workout stretch is probably a great idea. But committing to the twice-daily concept I reference above should be enough to handle all post-workout stretching needs - reader, you'll never be more than twelve hours (or so) removed from the most recent workout when you stretch. I think this turnaround time is more than enough to meet my current muscle maintenance needs.
Footnotes / well, who is really counting these things, anyway?
1. Version 1.0 was every post before this one, I suppose...
This is really more a version 2.0 since I recognize I’ve covered the stretching topic a bit in the past. But I think the following is a little richer in terms of when (and why) to stretch.
2. Contraindications
I should expand on this point and mention that since stretching requires most of the body to hold itself still while one muscle is isolated in a stretch, a person with injured or damaged joints, ligaments, or tendons must take great care in experimenting with a new stretching routine.
For those who are relatively healthy but still unsure about new stretches, I would recommend researching contraindications. This is a medical term that generally refers to situations when an otherwise helpful treatment will harm patients with specific conditions. In the context of stretching, this term basically means 'stretch, unless...'
This relatively brief overview covers some of the basic ideas for those seeking reassurance for their common sense.
This link is a little confusing at first and focuses more on yoga poses. However, it seems the most thorough catalog of stretching contraindications. To navigate the site, I would recommend using the find feature in your web browser and typing in the name of the stretch you are mulling over.
3. This revelation did not lead me to sign up for a yoga class, mind, but...
I'm not even sure where the closest yoga studio is. If I had to guess, I would assume it's in Starbucks, my thought based on all the yoga mats I've seen their customers bringing in and out anytime I walk by the little one on Charles Street.
4. Sweaty me, a (mercifully brief) history...
I've sweated for all kinds of reasons over the years - being called on in class, riding the 'T' at rush hour, eating a bowl of ramen. These situations all share an underlying threat of discomfort. Since muscle development is often a response to a controlled level of discomfort, it makes perfect sense to me that stretching to the point where the body temperature rises (by at least one degree, C or F, you pick, reader) would be preferred to a stretch where nothing at all happened to my body temperature.
