When it comes to stretching I can consider myself very lucky because I've always been flexible since I was a kid. I have to thank my mother for getting me to swimming lessons since I was 4 years old. I’m sure swimming since a young age played a big part in my flexibility but also on my motor coordination.
My first injury was at 17 years old while I was surfing. I injured my knee falling off my surfboard. I believe the reason for that was the lack of strength training I was doing at that time. After that injury, more came to follow and it didn’t get better as I went on to practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Although they were painful and frustrating, those injuries allowed me to have an experienced understanding of when and why injuries happen and how to recover from them in the most efficient and quick way.
What I have learnt is that the best place to be is a combination of strength and flexibility. If you are very flexible but have no strength in your muscles to support and stabilise your joints, you are likely to get injured. And if you’re very strong but lack on flexibility you’re likely to get injured when trying bigger ranges of motion as you move.
So how do you apply your stretching on your training schedule? First of all, it depends on how much you need to develop your flexibility. If you are very inflexible I would recommend dedicating a full session per week just for stretching, investing more time on areas that need to be more developed. As a general rule, I suggest stretching in every exercise session. Prior to and after the session. Prior to the session, you want to do a dynamic stretch (think of it as a message being given to your muscles to wake up). After your session, you should do static stretches ( telling your body that it’s time to cool down).
Injuries can be very frustrating especially if you have an active lifestyle. They can have a big impact not only on your body but also on your mind. Making you feel trapped and incapable of doing the things you normally do. That’s why it is so important to work on prevention. One lesson that I took away from my injuries journey is that nothing lasts forever. When you’re in pain and restricted of movement can be really difficult to be aware of that but keeping it in mind can make a big difference between being depressed or having hope that everything will be alright soon.
So my approach towards stretching is “ better safe than sorry “!
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