Recently in Restorative Exercise Category

Stretch Pants

By Jen Sinkler / November 2008

Entitled as such in case you ate too much Halloween candy. OK, because I ate too much Halloween candy. Blast. Still, I'm not really thinking about stretching my clothes -- I'm thinking about stretching my muscles.

Not being a religious stretcher myself, I benefit from regular reminders to stretch. So I was happy to see that Play, the sports magazine of The New York Times, recently covered the topic of stretching in the article "Stretching: The Truth."

It covers similar ground as the June 2008 Experience Life article, "Stretch and Reach: The Unexaggerated Truth About Stretching," though the one in Play sticks mainly to pre-workout stretching and warm-ups. (Heads up: The Play article features a stretch performance expert Nick Tumminello included in his T-Nation article "How Not to Warm Up." It's called the scorpion, and many fitness professionals recommend skipping it because it encourages lumbar mobility -- not a good thing.)

The latest on stretching again (in case you don't want to strain your eyes):

• Don't do static stretching right before your workout. Static stretching immediately before activity does not prevent injury and may, in fact, add to injury risk because 1) it weakens muscle for a short period of time and 2) it has an analgesic effect, masking pain that would otherwise serve as a warning sign to ease up.
  

• Do a dynamic warm-up before your workout. Dynamic flexibility exercises (such as skips, high knees and toy soldiers) actually increase coordination and muscle response time.

• Do stretch after your workout. Stretching after your workout can help you maintain your current level of flexibility.

• Do add a general flexibility program to your fitness regimen. Regular stretching outside of your workouts appears to help prevent injury and boost athletic performance. When a muscle is stretched regularly, it becomes stronger and contracts more rapidly, resulting in increased force and speed. 

There are more do's than don'ts -- isn't stretching fun?

If any of the above sounds familiar, it should -- I've rambled about the topic before in this blog:

• "Stance on Stretching, Clarified"

• "Stretching the Truth?"

(photo credit: VisasMarr)

Eric Cressey on Thoracic Spine Mobility

By / July 2008

 Last week, the Q & A section of Eric Cressey's newsletter addressed thoracic spine mobility. (For background on why thoracic spine mobility is a good thing -- nay, a great thing -- see my Feb. post on the topic, "The Sugar Bowl: Thoracic Spine Mobility.")

In his letter, Cressey reminded us not to limit ourselves strictly to forward-and-backward movements (such as crunches on two taped-together tennis balls), but to add a rotation component, as well.

The challenge is that adding rotation in the right place can be tough to do. Oftentimes, it's not the exercise that's the problem, but the way we do it -- we rotate from our lumbar spine (low back) instead of our thoracic spine (mid-back). Simply put, mobility in the thoracic spine is desirable, while mobility in the lumbar and cervical spine are not -- stability, not mobility, are the goals of the latter two.

So many of us do certain rotational exercises wrong (scorpions and iron cross, anyone?) that some fitness experts have banned us from doing them at all. (Check out "How Not to Warm Up" and "Is 'Rotation Training' Hurting Your Performance?)

I asked Cressey, author of Maximum Strength, a few questions about how to effectively incorporate rotation of the thoracic spine and minimize rotation of the lumbar spine. See his answers below.

Jen Sinkler (JS): How do you incorporate thoracic spine rotation safely? That is, if I'm already hypermobile in my lumbar spine and immobile in my thoracic spine, how do I ensure that rotation during an exercise isn't occurring lower than intended?

Eric Cressey (EC): I will actually get in and put my hand at the lower thoracic spine on athletes when they do this the first few times. Basically, I cue them to "hinge" around my hand. [JS addendum: Physical therapist and author Shirley Sahrmann instructs athletes to "think about the motion occurring in the area of the chest."]

JS: What kind of exercises incorporate thoracic spine rotation?

EC: There are a bunch on Mike Robertson's and Bill Hartman's Inside-Out DVD, but quadruped extension-rotation and side-lying extension-rotation are two we use a lot. We also use a seated broomstick t-spine extension-rotation.

JS: What are a few of the best exercises for shoring up the lumbar spine so it becomes immovable?

EC: Basically, anything that imposes a destabilizing torque on a stationary lumbar spine. So, side/prone bridges (gravity does the job), Pallof Presses, tall/half-kneeling cable chop variations, landmines, etc.

Google 'em. Or, if you're not in the mood, check out this thoracic rotation exercise demonstrated by Michael Boyle, founder of www.strengthcoach.com.

 

Stance on Stretching, Clarified

By / June 2008

It has come to my attention through a number of conversations I've had with people since posting "Stretching the Truth?" a couple weeks ago that some of you from the lazybutt camp are taking select bits of information and running with them. Or rather, you're running with them and not stretching afterwards. If what you got out of my first post was "I never have to stretch again!" we need to talk.

In particular, let's review the parts you didn't want to hear before ...

• You're right, you don't have to do static stretching before activity (unless you're following Mike Robertson's acute corrective strategies). But you should do dynamic flexibility drills as they improve coordination and muscle response time.
• You should stretch right after your workout because it will help you maintain your current level of flexibility -- even if it's not that impressive. (If you don't stretch then, you run the risk of letting the tight get even tighter.)
• To actually improve your flexibility, incorporate a general stretching program as part of your workout routine (yoga is an effective way to do it). There's a good reason to do so -- over time, adhering to a general stretching program appears to help prevent injury and boost athletic performance. Ya hear that? When muscle is stretched regularly, it becomes stronger and contracts more rapidly, resulting in increased force and speed.

Questions or comments? Stories or jokes?

Stretching the Truth?

By / May 2008

[I was thisclose to posting an adorable picture of a stretching cat, but fought the urge ... for now.]

Some athletes consider stretching a mandatory part of their fitness routine, believing it prevents injury, wards off soreness and/or boosts performance. Others skip it, remaining unconvinced of the benefits of stretching, even through the barrage of advice to the contrary from coaches, trainers and teammates alike. (What fortitude this latter group has! Or perhaps they're just lazy?)

Though most experts will still recommend doing what works best for you, the latest round of research goes to the lazybutts. Kind of. Under some circumstances, anyway.

It's a squishy, controversial topic that writer Kelle Walsh tackled in the June issue of Experience Life, covering when, if, and how stretching is most beneficial for athletic performance and musculoskeletal health. If you want to check it out, by all means please do so: "Stretch and Reach: The Unexaggerated Truth About Stretching."

If, on the other hand, you prefer your info bite-sized, allow me to synopsize:

• Static stretching immediately before activity does not prevent injury, and may, in fact, add to injury risk because 1) stretching weakens muscle for a short period of time and 2) it has an analgesic effect, masking pain that would otherwise serve as a warning sign to ease up.
• Additionally, preworkout stretching inhibits the stretch reflex, which helps you, say, jump higher. Stretching just messes with it for a short period of time, but still -- do you want to spend the first few minutes of a game even a titch slow?
• Dynamic flexibility drills (controlled movements done through full range of motion), are the exception to this rule. They're good preworkout and actually increase coordination and muscle response time.
• Ballistic (bouncy) stretching is bad for your connective tissue and insertion points. (But that's old news.)
• Stretching after a workout doesn't prevent soreness. That DOMS is gonna getcha regardless. (And the rhythm will, too, if you stand too close to Gloria Estefan.)
• Stretching after your workout can help you maintain your current level of flexibility, but if you want to see flexibility gains, you should add general flexibility to your regimen. Our experts recommended at least 20 minutes, three times a week. Yoga fits the bill.
• Incorporating a general stretching program (such as yoga) appears to help prevent injury and boost athletic performance. Yoga fanatic Kareem Abdul-Jabar is onto something: When muscle is stretched regularly, it becomes stronger and contracts more rapidly, resulting in increased force and speed.

ONE ANGLE THIS ARTICLE did not cover was therapeutic stretching programs, often prescribed by physical therapists and designed to address compensation patterns caused by spending time in chronic, repetitive positions, such as hunched over a computer (hmm, painfully close to home, that one). For more on stretching to combat muscle imbalances, see "Office Imbalance" from the March 2007 EL archives.

Mike Robertson, MS, makes an important clarification about such stretches in his May 14 blog entry, and gives the go-ahead to include what he calls "acute corrective" static stretches, even in warm-up. It's up to you what you're comfy with, but here's how he describes his stretching strategy:

Pre-workout, we include what's called "Acute Corrective Strategies" to help re-groove better movement patterns in the muscles. For instance, we would stretch your hip flexors, and then follow that up with an activation drill to enhance neural drive to the glutes. In this case, we're very specific in the stretches that we would perform.

After you've included the "acute corrective" drills to optimize neural drive to the glutes, you'd move in to your dynamic flexibility drills. Just as an aside, you can do this either before or after your dynamic flex, it's really more of a preference than a physiological law.

Now at the end of your day, that would be the optimal time to go through an extensive static stretching routine. This is where we would stretch all the muscle groups that we outline within [the Bulletproof Knees program]. Most people have a very poor stretch tolerance, so this should help quite a bit.

ADDITIONAL READING: In our man Eric Cressey's latest newsletter, aside from a mention of his interview here (wahoooo!) he also digs into stretching and its myths. He calls static stretching "relatively outdated," which is music to my ears as I am a proud member of the lazybutts when it comes to the static stuff.

Lastly, Gina Kolata of The New York Times covered the topic of stretching in March: "To Stretch or Not to Stretch? the Answer is Elastic." She concludes that "research to date is inadequate to answer most stretching questions."

How 'bout you? Do you stretch? If so, what works best for you?

Porta-Pilates

By / March 2008

A while back, I received the pretty little Pilates pose chart above (click here to download the PDF) from high-profile instructor Alycea Ungaro's PR people. Kinda handy, no?

The Real Pilates Web site has a bunch of free, downloadable workouts, but this was my favorite. It's something I'd like to pin to my bulletin board and choose from when I need to break up the monotony of sitting at my desk.

Now, if only I did Pilates. Or owned a bulletin board. (Making note: Must buy bulletin board. I wish I had somewhere to post this blasted note....)

But I do want to give Pilates a whirl. Experience Life published an article called "Pilates Power" in January/February 2007, and among the benefits listed are improved core strength, balance and flexibility. All desirable qualities in an athlete.

To wit, a 2003 article in USA Today touts the gains male professional athletes are experiencing from practicing Pilates. Dallas Mavericks basketball star Jason Kidd and Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling are big fans. (On a somewhat related note, did you know Kareem Abdul-Jabar is a devoted yoga practitioner?) From the USA Today article:

Hannah Gallagher, Schilling's Pilates instructor, says, "He's a man. He's used to hard-core workouts, where you throw up afterward. Pilates is not that. It is an equal balance of stretch and strength."

Substitute the word "athlete" for "man" and you've hit upon something many of us struggle with. Or, conversely, pride ourselves on. "Go hard or go home" or "No, pain, no gain" ring a bell? But that which destroys us doesn't always strengthen us, and we might do better to occasionally foray into the softer side of training.

What do you guys do to achieve balance in your routine?