The Importance of Flexibility and Stretching

Stretching is necessary, not only in sports where flexibility is a key factor, but it is important also to maintain ligament,muscle and bone health, whether you do sports or not.

I want to emphasize that stretching is even more important for men over 40.

Rigid muscles can hurt, but they can also cause pain all over the body (back, head, full leg…).

If you work the muscle hard, pumping it with blood, the muscle stiffens, compresses and shortens.

On the other hand if a muscle is stiff and it is not flexible, you will not be able to use its full power.

A passive lifestyle not only causes overweight issues, but it is also the main culprit of most of the problems that occur in our musculoskeletal systems (muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, connective tissue and fascia), including muscular tightness, bad posture and lower-back pain.

A passive lifestyle – besides the obesity problems – is also the main cause of musculoskeletal system problems, including back pain, muscle tension and poor posture.

Muscles are surrounded by a not very elastic connective tissue sheath.
This continues in the tendon, transmitting energy between cells through the tendon to the bone (the function of movement).

To keep the body using as little energy as possible, the muscle sheath is kept in this ‘shortened’ state, as extra energy would be needed to expand it.

After a while, as the muscle grows, it bumps against the surrounding sheath and it can no longer produce volume growth, slows down in its development or stops altogether. With proper stretching, the muscle sheath can be released from this shortened position, although this is often not a pleasant sensation.

Just like warming up at the beginning of a workout, stretching should be part of your daily routine at the end of a workout, as stiff muscles and ligaments are more at risk of injury.
In addition to the possibility of muscle growth, stretching has several benefits: it stimulates blood circulation, supply tissues with oxygen, increases lung capacity, prevents bone calcification, improves posture and has a calming effect on the central nervous system.

Opinions are divided on the effectiveness of stretching before or after exercise.
If stretching is done before a workout or on a rest day, be sure to do a thorough warm-up before stretching.

I like stretching after a workout, when my muscles are sufficiently warmed up and pumped up.
Leaving them in such a stiff state will definitely lead to problems later.

It is best to keep a muscle stretched for 30 seconds to 1 minute without any movement and effort.

When performing a particular exercise, keep still, when you feel a still pleasant but uncomfortable tightness in the muscle, hold the movement and breathe calmly. Repeat this exhale/ inhale, stretch/relax period 3-4 times for the specified time (I will specify the time for the different muscles in my next post).

If you do it well, you will be able to go deeper with each exhalation, stretching your muscles with better efficiency.
Be careful, if you feel pain, you didn’t do it well. Relax your posture or stop the exercise.
You can do a stretching routine once a day, which works your whole body, but after a workout, your pumped-up muscles deserve a little extra attention with stretches that specifically target them.

Some people with really stiff muscles and ligaments may find it ideal to stretch several times a day (keeping in mind the degree of gradation).
If you’re really into stretching, you’re not going to hurt yourself by repeating it several times a day, the point is the proper execution.
A hot and cold water shower can also help you to increase flexibility and stretching success.
Always start and finish with a cold shower. It is also good for the muscles of the internal organs, improves blood supply, regenerates damaged tissues and increases cellular metabolism.

Another effective complementary method can be massage.
A professional massage can also loosen up stiff muscles, and by lifting and massaging the muscle groups, muscle tone can be increased (as in exercise, the muscles are “moving”, but they are not being moved by your own strength, but by the masseur’s external force).

Even if we don’t exercise, we use many of our muscles throughout the day.
The most common is the rigid knee, especially in sedentary workers who – for example – spend a lot of time in the car,sitting.

The calf is prone to stiffness due to its structure.

People often complain of back pain caused by stiffness in the lower back (the muscles that support the spine).

Almost everyone has stiffness in the chest muscles and anterior deltoids, which can be triggered by poor posture or sitting too much.
Stiffness of the anterior deltoids is the cause of many shoulder injuries.

Stiffness in the trapezius and neck muscles is also common, they can cause headaches and can also lead to premature calcification of the cervical vertebrae (1-7).

Stretching these muscles gives everyone a good, liberated feeling even if you haven’t trained hard.