STRETCH ... OR DIE TRYING

Stretching is just something most men hate to do. It’s comical listening to the excuses on why we just can’t spend an extra ten minutes each day on an activity that will add a myriad of healthful benefits to our lives.

I’m sure you have said or head some of the following statements:

“Stretching’s for sissies.”

“The only good reason to do a yoga class is to look at the chicks (Insert smirk here).”

“Study XYZ says if I stretch I will lower my power output by .000001% and increase my chance of injury by .00000002%”

Sorry, Olympic hopeful, I forgot how much that meant to you. Oh yeah, by the way, how much does that shoulder imbalance and tight hamstrings lower your power output?”

I can say something like this because, even though it is hard to admit, I was once a stretching basher. That is until I actually gave it a chance!

Besides, most men (some women too!) do absolutely zero stretching besides stretching the pecs between sets of bench. The whole point of this exercise thing is to feel better, isn’t it?

I don’t care who you are. A daily stretching routine performed after exercise or before bed will decrease stress, improve posture, get rid of those nagging injuries/pains caused by tight muscles and promote proper hormonal balance (even the almighty testosterone), just to name a few.

I don’t need a study to prove this to me. I look no further than myself and my clients who are all happier and healthier due to a few minutes each day spent stretching. I dare you to show me a male who was just “too flexible” that they got hurt all of the time. They simply don’t exist or at least I have never seen one.

Of course we promote dynamic warm-up using a wide variety of techniques such as tumbling, hurdles, GPP, Indo Board etc. But don’t forget to include static stretching after a good, hard workout. It will simply make you fee like a million bucks.

Start with 5 minutes each day working on your tight muscles and slowly increase the duration of each stretch along with the number of stretches you do. Be sure to really focus on taking long, deep breaths inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Be careful though; you may actually start to enjoy it and…gasp, look forward to it. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone.