In March, I tried to find out if I could fit stretching into my fitness regimen and I like to do that. After almost three weeksI am Still doing more or less the same routine as I described in my last mail. My biggest focus this time has been consistency—I knew my biggest challenge would actually be making the stretching session (which lasts about 15 minutes), since you’ll find stretching boring and you’ll find any excuse not to do it. But I did learn a few things that helped me stick to a routine.
Find a time of day when you can relax
At first, I was fine: every night, I headed to my office (home), where my exercise bike lives. I would ride a bike later do my stretch. This worked pretty well the first week – I normally did a 15 minute session on the bike (more if I had time), or five minutes as a warm-up and then some kettlebell snatches. When I got to my stretching routine, I was already warmed up and ready to go.
putting tstretching session latest it was a great way to allow me relax and take my time with him. He didn’t need to rush me and get to work, or hurry up and go home to the kids. If you wanted to hang out a little longer at one stretch or another, you could. Sometimes he put on music. AND This isn’t a fitness trick, but: Sitting for a long time in a stretch is really fun when you’re stoned. Try it sometime.
set a timer
According to the instructions of the program I started with, you’re supposed to do some small, smooth movements, then stretch for 10 seconds, and then repeat the process for 20-30 seconds. i found this plan almost impossible to follow. If I’ve been stretching for 10 seconds, I want a break, not a deeper stretch, aand for some reason the sections I feel harder the more time I spend on them.
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I think I know why: I was expecting to “relax into” each stretch, but if you relax, you’re no longer actively pulling yourself into the stretch. Contracting one muscle tends to help its antagonist (opposite muscle) relax, so passively forcing yourself into a position isn’t necessarily the best way to stretch.
The compromise I settled on: I start a stopwatch at the beginning of each stretching session and put the screen where I can see it. (I use online-stopwatch.com; a watch with a second hand would work just as well.) When I start a stretch, i watch the stopwatch and spend a full minute or more on that stretch. If I need to take a break for a second, so be it. If I can go deeper, great. If I have go back, that’It’s fine too, while I I still feel a gentle stretch. I maintain a minimum of one minute for most slices, and two minutes for a select few, like the pancake.
remove barriers
In the second week, I noticed that I wasn’t doing as many stretching sessions, and when I did skip it, it was usually for a silly reason. Sometimes I didn’t feel like going for a bike ride, throwing the the whole routine off. Wsince it’s really worth stretching if you weren’t warming up first?
Once or twice I thought about doing the routine in my bedroom. while I was getting ready to go to bed, but I didn’t feel like going to look for the PVC pipe I used to stretch my shoulders. (I mean, it was all the way up.)
TThose nights I told myself it was okay to do it. plus of routine, and it didn’t have to be perfect. So I did a stretching session in bed the other day. Instead of the dislocations with a PVC pipe, I tried takeoffs in the prone position. Instead of using the foam roller to stretch my upper back, I threw myself on the edge of the bed. I skipped the knee lunge simply because I don’t like it. And I still have my stretching routine.
don’t do it halfway
I realize that my stretching routine is not as ambitious as it used to be. when I started. On the one hand, the program is designed to be done two or three times a week, keeping each section for a minute or more, and I keep hitting that low. B.areli
It seems i need to go back to my own principles to be consistent. One is to “periodize and prioritize,” which means I need to get through this challenge even if I plan to slack off later. TOanother week or two, and it will have been a full month; I have a time that works, a routine that works, and I just need to stick with it a little longer to be able to judge my results.. So far I feel like one or two of the sections are getting easier, while the rest are no matter how difficult they were in the first day. I took some “before” photos when I started, and will soon be taking the “after” photos and looking for targets. signs of gets better. Wish me luck.
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