7 Great Tips For Making Your Muscle Stretching Program A Success!

This story shows the mindset necessary to be successful in a stretching program. It doesn’t mention stretching, but it will show you how the proper mindset will work on any task life gives you? (including muscle stretching)

Pat Riley was the very successful coach of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team during the 1980’s.

After winning an NBA title he told his players that during the next year they should focus on improving their performance on the court by only 1 %.

The result was truly amazing. All of the players came on board with that very simple request. (Yes even high paid professional basketball players can learn something new) Every player on that team improved in all of the areas suggested by their coach. Many of the players improved in one or more areas as much as 20%.

What was the key to that success? The goal set by the coach was reasonable, and apparently, to the players, very attainable. The Lakers won the title again the next year. In fact they won the NBA title 5 times in 9 years between 1979 and 1989.

Don’t think about getting a gold medal. When stretching think about improving your range of motion just 1% during a month.

Make sure to consider the following suggestions whenever you stretch.

Avoid overstretching.
There is no special award for increasing your range of motion by stretching further than everyone else. If you are stretching so you can show someone how flexible you are you might want to check on why your self image needs that boost. For those that want to decrease injuries and keep participating in all that life has to offer, make sure that you are not overdoing it. Continue to challenge yourself, but use common sense.

Warm up before stretching.
Your muscles will do what you tell them for the most part. You can stretch your muscles until the fibers tear, depending on your capacity for pain. Your muscles will increase or decrease the blood supply according to the requirements put upon them by you. The supply of nutrients, including oxygen, and the removal of waste products are greatly improved with high blood flow. Warming up your muscles means increasing the blood flow. Get the proper blood flow to the muscles to allow them to operate as efficiently as possible.

Stretch within the body's limits.
The stretch should be felt in the middle of the muscle body, not near a joint. Ligaments and tendons can be stretched. However, they should never be stretched, especially if you are over 40. As we age any stretching of the ligaments or tendons can be permanent and lead to more painful injuries.

Work one muscle group at a time.
Work a muscle group one at a time, then move on to another muscle group in your body. For reference those general muscle groups are legs, arms, chest, and back.

One note very important note here. The stretches that are so commonly recommended for your back, touching your toes and crossovers (twisting your back like a wet towel) are now not recommended because it is far too easy to stretch the ligaments and even the cartilage in your spine. This can be permanent, and as mentioned, lead to further injuries.

Hold the stretch.
If you are following the earlier recommendations, for proper warm-ups and stretching the center of the muscle body, then do hold that stretch. Proper form will reduce the injuries during stretching and when you are participating in other activities.

Breathe!
Proper breathing, deep and relaxing breaths, will allow your subconscious, to help the muscles relax. There is a special connection between your breathing and what your subconscious controls. Breathing is one of the few activities that is controlled by our conscious and subconscious mind. It is one of the ways we can control our subconscious mind.

Bonus Tip
Drink plenty of water. You can tell if you are drinking the proper amounts of water if your urine is a very light straw color. Anything darker is putting tremendous stress on your kidneys and indeed, every cell in your body.

Get Fit! Stay Fit!

There are 15 other tips for improving your flexibility at our blog.

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