Are you Stretchy?

Do you stretch as part of your workouts?

Do you think about stretching at the end of your workout but then stop short because you prefer cardio or more intense workouts? OR you are just ready to be done your workout and move on to the next thing running out of time in the day?

Have you heard about stretch therapy and want to learn more?

You are in luck if you answered YES to the above questions. Stretching is such an integral part of your health, wellness and taking care of your body as a whole. This is gaining popularity, and it makes sense when you understand all the benefits of stretching…

The obvious answers are that stretching helps to improve your mobility, flexibility, and range of motion along your muscles and joints. But when we dig further, we can uncover what is important in the recovery process.

If we tighten or strengthen our bicep muscle each day making it stronger and stronger, that sounds like a good thing, right?! Well, gaining strength IS important for our body to be able to properly function and accomplish all our activities each day.

BUT if keep our bicep muscle tight all the time without lengthening or stretching it, then our muscles will become too tight. They will have a difficult time fully relaxing and recovering so that they can get stronger. When we lengthen our muscles out, they then can support the strengthening process so much better. We can gain more strength when we balance it out with stretching.

This can be such a quick part of your workout that many people skip past this recovery process. If you want to optimize your health, your strength gains and overall stability along your body, then you must set time aside for stretching.

Understanding the best stretches for your body and the best stretches for each body part is important so that you know where to start. We help guide patients when we see them for an injury (in physical therapy) and like to show them what to stretch, how to stretch and different stretches for the same muscle group. Then we figure out what works best for you so that you can have a program to use at home considering where you spend your most time (sitting, standing, walking, etc).

Some people sit a lot for work and want to work on stretching their body but can’t get down on the floor in the middle of a meeting. So, we can teach you how to stretch from your chair OR teach you how to stretch when you stand up to take a break from sitting all day!

Now maybe you are looking for another option to help you establish a stretching routine? This is where stretch therapy comes in because it will help teach you the best stretches for your body to complete on a regular basis. These can then be implemented easily into your workouts whether that is a stroll in the park, running along a trail, riding your bike and so much more.

Working on your posture and alignment is also a great advantage to stretch in the sense that these movements will help your joints be in the best position throughout your day. We tend to spend our days at a computer, on our phones, driving- all activities that bring us into a forward flexed posture.

Stretching can help you alleviate the aches you are feeling from staying in the same position for too long and improve how you hold yourself and your postural alignment. You should stand taller at the end of a stretch session and feel a marked improvement.

And learning more about YOUR body, what movements help it feel energized and ready to move more as well as what movements are more restricted meaning areas to focus on for improvements. Stretch therapy highlights ALL of this and so much more.

Still not convinced, come down for a FREE 15-minute session to truly experience the wonder of stretch therapy. It’s on US to show you how amazing you will feel afterwards and understand more about your health and wellness. Email us to book it- getbetter@breakawaypt.com Happy stretching!!