Humans have had a continuous requirement for fitness since the beginning of humankind. During prehistoric times, the quest for fitness was driven by a need to survive through the chasing of animals and gathering of food. Today however, food and water is conveniently provided for us in supermarkets and can even be delivered to our doors yet fitness still remains vital to people's health and well-being. In addition to this the desired physique of both men and women has become that of a lean and toned body.
Our knowledge of health and fitness has also dramatically improved over the ages and it is well established that the best preventative measures to avoid sickness, disease and injury is a balanced diet with regular exercise.
Because of this you can find a gym on every corner and will see that these places are filled to the brim with people on the treadmills and lying on benches trying to get their 1 rep max on bench press up, however an often empty and neglected area is the stretching mats.
Now don't get me wrong a lot of people do include a warm up and cool down stretch pre and post workout and Yoga/Pilates has increased in popularity in western society massively as a means of exercise but are we seeing as many people working on improving flexibility as those working on the size of their arms?
Their are 5 different components of fitness:
- Cardiovascular Fitness
- Muscluar Strength
- Muscular Endurance
- Body Composition
- Flexibility
It is up to each individual to choose what aspects of fitness they wish to improve on but this article will hopefully shed some light on the benefits of improving flexibility as a whole and also how it can help to improve the other 4 components of fitness.
Flexibility and injury prevention
Stretching is greatly beneficial to aviod injury in old age, by maintaining flexibility throughout our lifespan we can avoid the over use of certain muscle groups for the lack of flexibility in others. Additionally things such as hip mobility in general would be a great advantage as there would be less strain when performing normal activities that are often a struggle for those in their later years.
When training, especially with weights you contract, strengthen and shorten the agonist muscle and as a result of this the antagonist muscle lenghtens and weakens, by stretching the muscles worked you can lenghten the agonist muscle and achieve that balance in the body as a unit.
Making sure to stretch before training also helps with reducing the risk of injury during your workout. By performing what we call dynamic stretches we are taking the muscles to the limits of their range of motion through swinging at the joint. The benefit of this is that you are stimulating the dynamic receptors in your muscles and because there is constant motion during these stretches you are maintaining a higher core temperature as well as raising your heart rate in preparation for your workout.
Static (maintenance) stretches and developmental stretches are better performed post workout as you can hold the stretch for longer which will help lengthen the tightened muscles drawing areas of the body away from their natural position i.e because of the amount of time spent on computers, many office workers have tight chest muscles which pulls the shoulders and head forward, leaving us with a hunched shoulder look). In addition to this, making sure to stretch post workout will help with increasing blood and nutrient flow to the muscles, potentially reducing DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and generally aiding in recovery.
Static stretches are where the muscle being stretched is taken to a point of mild discomfort and held there for 30 seconds up to 2 minutes to help gradually lengthen the muscle belly, you can then relax and if you were to step up to developmental stretching you can hold for 30 seconds and after relaxing go back down and attempt to take the stretch further than the previous go. There are however recent studies revealing static stretching to be detrimental to explosive ability and is also shown to augment joints creating instability. Which leads me my favourite type of stretching which is known as PNF stretching:
PNF stretching is now recognized as the optimal method of flexibility training when the aim is to increase your range of motion.
PNF is short for (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) and the reason for it being deemed as the most effective form of stretching for improved ROM is due to how it facilitates Muscular Inhibition.
There are two types of muscular inhibition which are known as Autogenic Inhibition and Reciprocal Inhibition and by utilizing these we can take developmental stretches much further making rapid improvements in flexibility.
Autogenic Inhibition:
The golgi tendon organ is a nerve receptor found in tendons. This receptor fires when tension increases within the tendon. This tension can be due to stretching or contracting the muscle. When the golgi tendon organ fires a signal it is sent to the spinal cord causing the agonist muscle to relax as a defense mechanism against potential over strain (injury) to the muscle. A good example of this is when you see powerlifters drop the atlas ball due to the massive amount of tension required to get the ball onto the platform.
Reciprocal Inhibition:
Inhibition of the antagonist muscle group is mediated by the muscle spindles. When the agonist muscle is contracted, then the spindle fires, sending a message to the spinal cord which causes the antagonist muscle to relax. We can utilize the signals fired from these two proprioceptors through the following stretching routines:
Contract - Relax
This is where the muscle being stretched is taken to a point of mild discomfort, there we can hold the position for around 20 seconds, after 20 seconds the muscle being stretched is isotonically contracted for 5-6 seconds causing the golgi tendons to send a signal to the muscle to relax, this relaxation in the muscle can be utilized to take the stretch further and held until the muscle is again relaxed. You can repeat this 2-4 times and will find that the stretch can be taken further using this technique.
Contract - Relax - Agonist - Contract
This type of PNF stretch is very similar to the contract - relax stretch but with the addition of incorporating the reciprocal inhibition. Once the agonist has been isotonically contracted the antagonist muscle then contract for 3-6 seconds to take the stretch further by causing the muscle spindles to send a signal to the muscle being stretched to relax. The stretch can then be held until relaxed and the process can be repeated again.
Here you can see an image of PNF stretch for the glutes and abductors:
Besides the physical benefits of reducing the risk of injury, working on flexibility can also be very healthy on the mind. When performing yoga and pilates, the focus is on holding the stretch, this is not something that can be rushed giving you the opportunity to slow your mind which in todays modern society can be a hard thing to come buy. Their is an interconnectivity between mind, body and breath when performing Yoga which is required to get the most out of your sessions.
