To Stretch or not to Stretch

I hear all the time " I don't have time to stretch". Well, we make time for the things that we WANT to do. If only, we were as smart as our animals. Have you ever noticed how they wake from deep slumber and stretch before they get moving. Fortunately for them they just need a little stretching in their routine.

Us humans can get by with as little as 15 minutes per day. We can stretch while watching TV, working, but most importantly after exercise. While we are working out, we are tightening up our muscles. If we continue this, we are setting ourselves up for injury. Does regular stretching eliminate the chance of injury? No, but it greatly reduces the chance. It's just like doing maintenance on our vehicle. If we do regular maintenance on our bodies, we'll get a lot more mileage from them and better quality miles.

There is some new thought on stretching. We were told to hold a stretch for 30 to 60 seconds in the past. Gosh, in yoga, they hold poses for as much as 2 or 3 minutes. Well that's great if the muscle that you are stretching is healthy and accustomed to that activity. Unfortunately, most of us aren't.

The new thought process and what has been getting excellent results is Active Isolated Stretching. It was developed by Aaron Mattes a Registered Kiniseologist and Massage Therapist. He has taught this work to thousands around the world including Jim and Phil Wharton. The Wharton's are famous among the athletic community for developing and maintaining many world class athletes.This new thought processs calls for us to hold a stretch for no more than 2 seconds and do from 10 to 20 repititions. Each muscle has a "myotatic reflex" that shuts down the muscle preventing any benefit from the stretch when held longer that 2 seconds. This reflex senses danger to the muscle especially if it is already compromised. This work can be done alone or with an assistant.

I recommend buying Aaron Mattes book, Active Isolated Stretching with Aaron Mattes or The Wharton Stretch Book. The latter is like the Cliff notes for the former. They are both really good if you use the information that you obtain from them. I have helped a lot my clients using this information.