Stretch It Out

As we age, our muscles tighten and the range of motion in our joints can decrease. If we want to age gracefully and maintain active lifestyles, we want to stay flexible. Better flexibility may improve your performance in physical activities and decrease your risk of injuries by helping your joints move through their full range of motion.

Stretching can help improve flexibility. The reduced muscle tension after stretching improves your joints' range of movement and your muscle coordination. Stretching also increases your blood circulation and energy levels.

To some extent, your natural flexibility is determined by your muscle type.

If you lack flexibility, a common cause is short, wide muscles. Those with this muscle type who are not as limber as others have their work cut out for them, but tight muscles feel much better after moderate stretching. People in this group have to consistently stretch to prevent the physiologic loss of flexibility that comes with age. Do each stretch to the point of "mild discomfort", and hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds.

If you are flexible or hyperflexible, you might have long, thin muscles. More limber people just have to maintain their flexibility. However, those who fall into this category need to be extra vigilant about over-stretching, which can cause muscle and tendon strain and even the dislocation of joints.

The rule of stretching is basic: if it hurts, you've gone too far. Everyone who stretches should be careful not to stretch to the point of even moderate pain. Be careful not to stretch a muscle beyond its natural range, which you can see and feel. Remember to breathe while stretching, so as not to deprive your muscles of the oxygen they need. Stretch smoothly and never bounce.

Casting your mind back to high school gym class, you were probably told to stretch before exercising, but, according to a review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, stretching before or after a workout doesn’t actually prevent or reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness. In fact, static stretching before a workout might increase your chances of injury, because it forces the target muscle to relax, making it weaker temporarily. And that may make you more susceptible to muscle strains, pulls, and tears in the short term. Instead of stretching, do a warm-up of either brisk walking or cycling to get the blood circulating through the muscles faster.

The best time to stretch your muscles is after your last exercise, when the muscles are warm. That's when they will respond best to the stretching, and you are less likely to injure yourself at that time. Your stretching routine should push the muscles beyond the range of motion in which your exercises were performed. 

Stretching should not be done in between sets of exercises, as you will still tear down cells before you place them under the stress of resistance training. Stretching after you are exercising means you will not be placing your muscles under any more stress, giving your body the time it needs to rebuild and repair cells that were damaged during your workout and stretch routine.