The Importance of Stretching

Dw, ik you don’t want more stuff on your to-do list. This will be easy. But don’t just read. Really consider applying this in your life.

“From age 20 to 49, our flexibility declines by ~10% each decade. In addition to alleviating general feelings of “tightness”, increasing flexibility can also contribute to improvements in overall general health: balance/stability, improved posture, smoother gait, and elevated physical performance.” - Andrew Huberman

Let’s be honest. Stretches are boring. They seem useless. When you stretch your bicep, your don’t see improvements like you get from hypertrophy.

But under the surface, the stretch increases the longevity and functionality of your muscle so it can continue performing.

Let’s say you’re a great powerlifter or sports enthusiast. You can lift heavy stuff, run, and squat. But without stretching, sooner or later, you’re so tight you can’t even bend down to pick up the weights. And you can’t activate all the muscle fibers that contribute to your performance.

This also applies to students and overworked professionals. A light stretch puts an end to the nagging feeling of tightness after a long class, meeting, or plane ride. Which will come back to bite you later on.

So Reader, time to become a stretcher.

Action for the day

Your action is not to prepare 25 different stretches and set aside an hour every day. It’s actually better to do a stretching set during your break.

 A light, pain-free stretch between tasks is as effective as dedicated work.

You should hold for 30 seconds, and rest for 30 until you feel some relief. It doesn’t need to be rigid.

So bring to mind a body part that’s bothering you lately. Could be your lower back, hips, shoulders, knee, or neck. Or an old injury.

• Reader, what’s one stretch you want to do today?

Pause for a sec and think about it ^. I put examples for each body part below.

Bye!

Choose from these examples

Don’t overwhelm yourself. One stretch many times during the day is better than a combination.

Don’t cheat. It should be at least 30 seconds.

And when you stretch, you shouldn’t feel pain. No pain = gain. Except for glute stretches, those can be a pain in the butt :P.

Enjoy your stretch Reader!