Are We Flexible?

Tonight's post is the first of several from our warm-up and cool-down extraordinaire, Dawn.  Enjoy! 

People are always asking me about stretching.  “My neck is always tight,”  “How can I stretch my piriformis?” or “Why can't I do an overhead squat?”  Mike has offered me a day to post on our blog to answer these types of questions.  Please post your inquiries to the comments and I will answer them weekly.

You might start by asking why we should stretch at all.  The reason is clear—to keep our muscles functioning properly.  Whenever you use a muscle, the muscle fibers shorten.  Stretching after use brings those muscle fibers back to their original length.  If we do not stretch after working out, after a long period of time, those muscles become permanently shortened. (Have you seen a bodybuilder that cannot straighten his arm?)

Stretching (just a little) will keep your body healthy and actually increase and extend your athletic performance.  Most injuries we see come from people performing exercises with improper body alignment.  The misalignment comes from the way we live our lives—sitting at a desk for long periods of time, driving, perhaps an injury that caused you to favor one foot for a period of time, or not stretching after working out.  Little problems cause our bodies to move differently from the way they were meant to—so that we do not notice the injury or tight muscle.  It becomes habit.  During a w.o.d.,  we repeatedly lift heavy loads in this improper posture, and eventually can start to feel pain in a particular place—a knee, shoulder, elbow... 

One of the most common complaints I hear about at CFO is shoulder pain.  I am starting off with three stretches you can do to help keep yourself from getting injured.  They only take a few minutes and can be done at any time, but preferably when your body is warm—after a shower or workout.

Shoulder dislocates (but with a yoga strap or belt or piece of rope): start holding the strap in front of you with a wide grip and tension in the strap.  Lift your arms overhead and behind you SLOWLY, keeping tension in the strap throughout the cycle.  You should be able to stretch your arms overhead and behind you without too much stretch.  Do this three times, then move your hands a little closer together and repeat three times.  Keep moving your hands closer together.  When you find you are hitting a place where you are unable to move through, stop there and hold the stretch. 

Wall Clock: stand so that your right side is 6 inches away from a wall.  Start with your arm stretched out, palm touching the wall.  Your arm is going to move like the big hand on a clock.  Slide your hand up the wall, with your palm on the wall so that you make a complete circle with the arm.  If you get stuck at a certain place, stop, breathe and possibly move a few inches away from the wall.  Repeat two more times.  Do the same with the left arm.

Shoulder Flexor Stretch: Stand up straight with your left arm behind your back and your elbow bent at 90 degrees.  The back of your hand should be on your back.  Reach behind you with your right hand and pull your left arm across your back.  Keep both shoulders aligned.  Hold for 30 seconds.  Switch arms.