Getting Started: Introduction

Today millions of people have discovered the benefits of movement. Everywhere you look they are out, running, cycling, skating, playing tennis, or swimming. What do they hope to accomplish? Why this relatively sudden interest in physical fitness?

Many recent studies have shown that active people lead fuller lives. They have more stamina, resist illness, and stay trim. They have more self-confidence, are less depressed, and often, even late in life, are still working energetically on new projects.

Medical research has shown that a great deal of ill health is directly related to lack of physical activity. Awareness of this fact, along with fuller knowledge of health care, is changing lifestyles. The current enthusiasm for movement is not a fad. We now realize that the only way to prevent the diseases of inactivity is to remain active—not for a month, or a year, but for a lifetime.

Our ancestors did not have the problems that go with a sedentary life; they had to work hard to survive. They stayed strong and healthy through continuous, vigorous outdoor work: chopping, digging, tilling, planting, hunting, and all their other daily activities. But with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, machines began to do the work once done by hand. As people became less active, they began to lose strength and the instinct for natural movement.

Machines have obviously made life easier, but they have also created serious problems. Instead of walking, we drive; rather than climb stairs, we use elevators; while once we were almost continuously active, we now spend much of our lives sitting. Computers have made us even more sedentary. Without daily physical exertion, our bodies become storehouses of unreleased tensions. With no natural outlets for our tensions, our muscles become weak and tight, and we lose touch with our physical nature, with life’s energies.

But times have changed. We have found that health is something we can control, that we can prevent poor health and disease. We are no longer content to sit and stagnate. Now we are moving, rediscovering the joys of an active, healthy life. What’s more, we can resume a more healthy and rewarding existence at any age.

The body’s capacity for recovery is phenomenal. For example, a surgeon makes an incision, removes or corrects the problem, then sews you back up. At this point, the body takes over and heals itself. Nature finishes the surgeon’s job. All of us have this seemingly miraculous capacity for regaining health, whether it’s from something as drastic as surgery, or from poor physical condition caused by lack of activity and bad diet.

What does stretching have to do with all this? It is the important link between the sedentary life and the active life. It keeps the muscles supple, prepares you for movement, and helps you make the daily transition from inactivity to vigorous activity without undue strain. It is especially important if you run, cycle, play tennis, or engage in other strenuous exercises, because activities like these promote tightness and inflexibility. Stretching before and after you work out will keep you flexible and may prevent common injuries such as knee problems from running and sore shoulders or elbows from tennis.

With the tremendous number of people exercising now, the need for correct information is vital. Stretching is easy, but when it is done incorrectly, it can actually do more harm than good. For this reason it is essential to understand the right techniques.

Over the past three decades I have worked with amateur and professional athletic teams and have participated in various sports medicine clinics throughout the country. I have been able to teach athletes that stretching is a simple, painless way of getting ready for movement. They have found it enjoyable and easy to do. And when they have stretched regularly and correctly, it has helped them avoid injuries and perform to the best of their abilities.

Stretching feels good when done correctly. You do not have to push limits or attempt to go further each day. It should not be a personal contest to see how far you can stretch. Stretching should be tailored to your particular muscular structure, flexibility, and varying tension levels. The key is regularity and relaxation. The object is to reduce muscular tension, thereby promoting freer movement?—?not to concentrate on attaining extreme flexibility, which often leads to overstretching and injury.

We can learn a lot by observing animals. Watch a cat. It instinctively knows how to stretch. It does so spontaneously, never overstretching, continually and naturally tuning up muscles it will have to use.

Stretching is not stressful. It is peaceful, relaxing, and noncompetitive. The subtle, invigorating feelings of stretching allow you to get in touch with your muscles. It is completely adjustable to the individual. You do not have to conform to any unyielding discipline; stretching gives you the freedom to be yourself and enjoy being yourself.

Anyone can be fit, with the right approach. You don’t need to be a great athlete. But you do need to take it slowly, especially in the beginning. Give your body and mind time to adjust to the stresses of physical activity. Start easily and be regular. There is no way to get into shape in a day.

When you are stretching regularly and exercising frequently, you will learn to enjoy movement. Remember that each one of us is a unique physical and mental being with our own comfortable and enjoyable rhythms. We are all different in strength, endurance, flexibility, and temperament. If you learn about your body and its needs, you will be able to develop your own personal potential and gradually build a foundation of fitness that will last a lifetime.

Who Should Stretch

Everyone can learn to stretch, regardless of age or flexibility. You do not need to be in top physical condition or have specific athletic skills. Whether you sit at a desk all day, dig ditches, do housework, stand at an assembly line, drive a truck, or exercise regularly, the same techniques of stretching apply. The methods are gentle and easy, conforming to individual differences in muscle tension and flexibility. So, if you are healthy, without any specific physical problems, you can learn how to stretch safely and enjoyably.

When to Stretch

Stretching can be done any time you feel like it: at work, in a car, waiting for a bus, walking down the road, under a nice shady tree after a hike, or at the beach. Stretch before and after physical activity, but also stretch at various times of the day when you can. Here are some examples:

• In the morning before the start of the day.
• At work to release nervous tension.
• After sitting or standing for a long time.
• When you feel stiff.
• At odd times during the day, as for instance, when watching TV, listening to music, reading, or sitting and talking.

Why Stretch

Stretching, because it relaxes your mind and tunes up your body, should be part of your daily life. You will find that regular stretching will do the following things:

• Reduce muscle tension and make the body feel more relaxed
• Help coordination by allowing for freer and easier movement
• Increase range of motion
• Help prevent injuries such as muscle strains. (A strong, flexible, pre-stretched muscle resists stress better than a strong, stiff, unstretched muscle.)
• Make strenuous activities like running, skiing, tennis, swimming, and cycling easier because it prepares you for activity; it’s a way of signaling the muscles that they are about to be used.
• Helps maintain your current level of flexibility, so as time passes you do not become stiffer and stiffer
• Develop body awareness; as you stretch various parts of the body, you focus on them and get in touch with them; you get to know yourself.
• Help loosen the mind’s control of the body so that the body moves for “its own sake” rather than for competition or ego
• Feel good

How to Stretch

Stretching is easy to learn. But there is a right way and a wrong way to stretch. The right way is a relaxed, sustained stretch with your attention focused on the muscles being stretched. The wrong way (unfortunately practiced by many people) is to bounce up and down or to stretch to the point of pain: these methods can actually do more harm than good.

If you stretch correctly and regularly, you will find that every movement you make becomes easier. It will take time to loosen up tight muscles or muscle groups, but time is quickly forgotten when you start to feel good.

The Easy Stretch

When you begin a stretch, spend 10–15 seconds in the easy stretch. No bouncing! Go to the point where you feel a mild tension, and relax as you hold the stretch. The feeling of tension should subside as you hold the position. If it does not, ease off slightly and find a degree of tension that is comfortable. You should be able to say, “I feel the stretch, but it is not painful.” The easy stretch reduces muscular tightness and tension and readies the tissues for the developmental stretch.

The Developmental Stretch

After the easy stretch, move slowly into the developmental stretch. Again, no bouncing. Move a fraction of an inch further until you again feel a mild tension and hold for 10–15 seconds. Be in control. Again, the tension should diminish; if not, ease off slightly. Remember: If the stretch tension increases as the stretch is held and/or it becomes painful, you are stretching too far! The developmental stretch fine-tunes the muscles and increases flexibility.

Breathing

Your breathing should be slow, rhythmical, and under control. If you are bending forward to do a stretch, exhale as you bend forward and then breathe slowly as you hold the stretch. Do not hold your breath while stretching. If a stretch position inhibits your natural breathing pattern, then you are obviously not relaxed. Just ease up on the stretch so you can breathe naturally.

Counting

At first, silently count the seconds for each stretch; this will insure that you hold the proper tension for a long enough time. After a while, you will be stretching by the way it feels, without the distraction of counting.

The Stretch Reflex

Your muscles are protected by a mechanism called the stretch reflex. Any time you stretch the muscle fibers too far (either by bouncing or overstretching), a nerve reflex responds by sending a signal to the muscles to contract; this keeps the muscles from being injured. Thus, stretching too far tightens the very muscles you are trying to stretch! (You get a similar involuntary muscle reaction when you accidentally touch something hot; before you can think about it, your body jerks away from the heat.)

Pushing a stretch too far or bouncing up and down strains the muscles and activates the stretch reflex. This causes pain, as well as physical damage due to the microscopic tearing of muscle fibers. This in turn leads to the formation of scar tissue in the muscles, with a gradual loss of elasticity. The muscles become stiff and sore. It’s hard to get enthused about daily stretching and exercise when you’re pushing it to the point of pain!

No Gain with Pain

Many of us were conditioned in high school to the idea of “no gain without pain.” We learned to associate pain with physical improvement, and were taught that “. . . the more it hurts, the more you get out of it.” Don’t be fooled. Stretching, when done correctly, is not painful. Learn to pay attention to your body, for pain is an indication that something is wrong.

The easy and developmental stretches, as described on the previous page, do not overactivate the stretch reflex and do not cause pain.

This Diagram Will Give You an Idea of a “Good Stretch”

The straight-line diagram represents the stretch that is possible with your muscles and their connective tissue. You will find that your flexibility will naturally increase when you stretch, first in the easy, then in the developmental phase. By stretching regularly and staying relaxed, you will be able to go beyond your present limits and come closer to your personal potential.