Benefits of Flexibility Training and Stretching

The core benefits of flexibility training and stretching are essentially to lengthen muscle-tendon units, improve the upper limit of joint mobility, reduce the risk of sports injuries, relieve muscle fatigue and chronic soreness, and ultimately help the body maintain a functional state that is more comfortable and suitable for daily activities and special sports.

Don't tell me, last year I took care of a little girl who worked in content operations. She sat in front of the computer for more than ten hours every day. When she first came here, her shoulders and neck were as hard as frozen PVC pipes. It hurt when she turned her head to 45 degrees, and she couldn't even lift her arms in a high ponytail. I asked her not to blindly buy some sky-high-priced cervical massager. Every time she came home from get off work, she should do 3 sets of pectoralis major stretching facing the door frame, each set for 30 seconds, and then stretch the trapezius muscles diagonally for 20 seconds. After only a week of persistence, she said her neck no longer cracked when she got up in the morning. Last week, she reported to me that now that she has been sitting for three or four hours in a row to catch up on the project, her shoulders are no longer as heavy as before, like two bricks hanging on them.

Oh, by the way, there are really a lot of debates about stretching on the Internet. The most common one is "static stretching before practice will reduce strength and affect explosive power." This is actually true. In the early years, many practitioners in the powerlifting and CrossFit circles reported that static stretching of the quadriceps and hamstrings for more than 1 minute before training could reduce the deadlift and squat weight by 5% to 10% that day. Therefore, for a long time, many fitness enthusiasts have regarded static stretching before training as a scourge. However, exercise physiology research in recent years has also given more detailed conclusions: as long as the static stretching duration of a single muscle is controlled within 30 seconds, followed by corresponding dynamic activation actions, such as doing 10 high leg raises after stretching the hip flexors, not only will it not affect the power output, but it can also reduce joint compression when exerting heavy weight, which can actually reduce the risk of injury.

I also encountered stretching pits when I ran a full marathon. When I ran a half-marathon for the first time, I just warmed up and didn’t stretch my hamstrings and calf muscles. When I ran 16 kilometers, my hind legs suddenly hurt. I limped for almost 2 kilometers before it eased. Come here, after that time I would spend 10 minutes before every long-distance run, doing 20 seconds of static stretching for each lower limb muscle, and then do 3 sets of back kicks and high leg activations. Later, I ran 3 full marathons in a row, and I never had cramps again.

There is also a school of thought that says "stretching is useless. Foam roller relaxation is better than stretching." Many fitness blogger friends around me also said the same thing two years ago. In fact, the relationship between the two is not an alternative at all. The foam roller targets myofascial adhesion, just like slowly combing out the knots in a knotted sweater, while stretching elongates the entire muscle fiber and tendon unit, and re-opens the shrunk rubber band to restore elasticity. If you feel that there are obvious hard lumps in your tense muscles, roll the foam roller for 2 minutes before stretching. The soreness and swelling will disappear much faster than doing a certain activity alone.

What many people don’t know is that stretching is actually very helpful in adjusting the posture. I met a high school student a while ago who carried more than ten kilograms of books on his chest all year round. He went to the hospital to find out whether he had scoliosis or the pectoralis minor and the levator scapulae on the front were too tight. After stretching for less than a month, his shoulders could naturally open up, and he no longer had to deliberately hold out his belly and raise his head when taking photos.

Of course, there is no need to boast about stretching. Any claims that stretching can lead to longevity and detoxification are outrageous. In terms of daily life, every time you sit for a long time, stand up and stretch your shoulders and neck for 30 seconds. After exercising, spend 5 minutes stretching the muscles you trained that day. Stop stretching until you feel a slight stretch. Don't strain until it hurts to the point of tears. The intensity that suits you is more effective than anything else.