Flexibility Training

By Bruce Cohn
Concord Journal, November 2001
 
Perhaps the most commonly neglected component of fitness, whether for young athletes, weekend warriors or fitness-conscious adults, is flexibility. Flexibility can be defined as the ability to move the various joints of the body through their intended full range of motion. This means that stretching exercises to improve flexibility must target specific areas of the body. The shortening and lengthening of muscles and how they are connected to the bones by tendons accomplish the movement of the body. When your muscles and connective tissue are flexible you are more able to absorb the impact of force during sports and exercise, and thus less likely to get injured. Stretching should be a regular part of one’s conditioning routine. But how should we stretch?

It is commonly accepted practice to warm the body up through light aerobic activity (jogging, jump rope, biking etc.) prior to stretching. This increases heat to the muscles which decreases their viscosity and makes stretching easier. You always want to move the muscle to its stretching point in a slow, controlled manner. A mild tension or pulling sensation in the muscle indicates that you have achieved the proper intensity. The stretch should be held for 15-30 seconds. When stretching a muscle it can be helpful to think of stretching a rubber band: pull it too hard and too quickly and it will only want to snap back. Our muscles contain stretch receptors within them that respond in the same way to a rapid, violent lengthening.

At FIT-TO-GO we teach young athletes both dynamic and static stretching techniques. We use dynamic stretching after warming up to move the joints in a controlled manner into ranges of motion that they will encounter during conditioning and competition. This prepares the body for increased demand and helps maintain heat in the muscles. At the end of a workout we use static stretching to help lengthen muscles and lessen post-exercise soreness. By practicing flexibility training daily, our athletes see improvement in their performance and less time lost to injury.

Bruce Cohn is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Middlesex School in Concord. He runs FIT-TO-GO Total Sports Conditioning and is a nationally certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Bruce can be reached at 781-316-0061 or brucegym@rcn.com.