Stretching         

Stretching is an essential element to training. Achieving real results means working hard, regularly challenging the limits of your body. An equal effort must be given to its recovery and maintenance.

All exercise is a stressor to the body and the body reacts in many ways, one of which is the tightening of muscles.

When we talk about stretching, we are not actually talking about stretching the muscles. Instead we are talking about stretching the tendinous rubber like sheath that contains the muscles. Also there are organs inside the muscle that dictate the length and tension of the muscle and it is these organs also that we are trying to relax.

Muscle itself is virtually jelly like without the tendinous sheath and its controlling elements are directly wired to the nervous system, so stretching itself can be said to have very little to do with the muscle unit itself.

A stretch should never be painful. It should be a very mildly uncomfortable in that their should be a very subtle sensation of the muscle being very close to the limit of its comfortable length at that point in time. The stretch should be pleasantly felt and not at all painful though you may feel stiffness. 

Stretching before exercise may be performed dynamically. This means using gentle functional movement such as swinging the legs up, squatting or twisting at the waist. This sort of stretching should never be explosive.

Static stretching can be performed before, between and after exercise.

Static stretching is a technique that involves holding a muscle at length for 45 seconds and can be effective for resetting the resting length of that muscle. The muscle should be held.

A stretch should never be bounced on and should be performed only from stable position.

The controlling organs that are wired directly to the nervous system of which we spoke earlier are:

The Golgi Tendon Organ (Found in the tendon) – Which will force the muscle to relax under excessive force – a reflex that is manipulated in PNF stretching.

The Muscle Spindle (In the Muscle) – Sets the tension in the muscle and acts reflexively to control excessive lengthening – must be calmed or inhibited to allow flexibility training.

Other forms of stretching that can be useful to an exerciser or athlete but which require care and instruction are PNF (also known as assisted) stretching and SMR (Self Myofacial Release). Articles coming soon.

Once your workout enters the harder phases, it is surprising how much energy and nutrients the body actually requires - An adequate supply of nutrients is crucial to prevent injury and enable the changes you are working out to achieve. It's important to get that energy and nutrition from a good and healthy source. By the time your programme is in it's advanced stages it may be difficult to get your nutritional needs without eating very regularly. Good dedicated sports nutrition products can help if carrying healthy snacks around is not conducive to your lifestyle.

To find out more about sports supplements - see our article on sports supplements and nutrition.

Each individual trainer's recommendation about supplementation may vary based on their own knowledge and experience. If you want to use sports supplements then Pocket PT recommend Reflex Nutrition. Pocket PT have a reciprocal relationship with Reflex based on the integrity of one another's product. Reflex are a smaller producer than some companies and focus heavily on the integrity of their products. Most of their products are manufactured locally to the business offices, this means that they are directly in control of the quality process and offer money back if not satisfied - which they are able to do because they produce excellent products. You can reach their website at www.reflex-nutrition.co.uk. Please e mail us your experience, Pocket PT earn nothing from this relationship and endorse only companies or products that our fitness professionals and members believe in.