Take a hint from cats

F I T N E S S

There are no shortcuts when it comes to stretching

PHOTO BY SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

BY KATHLEEN HUNTER LEVY

Stretching, like warming up and cooling down, is a crucial part of any workout. It is difficult for beginners to believe the importance of stretching. Even athletes who train hard may slack off stretching and sustain an injury.

For many busy women, inactivity has become a goal. Sitting for long periods at a desk, in the car or on the couch can cause us to become inflexible or stiff. It is natural for our muscles to tighten as a result of exercise. Unless we stretch, we will end up more tight and sore.

Why? Because during exercise, our muscles burn more carbohydrates. This forms lactic acid --- kind of like the ash left from a fire --- which builds up, causing stress.

Stretching helps our circulation eliminate lactic acid, lessening discomfort. We want to avoid feeling a burn when stretching.

Stretching can make the difference between pleasurable, difficult or even hurtful workouts. There are no shortcuts. Proper stretching techniques need to be learned and practiced. This calls for conscious effort, planning and establishing good habits. Improper stretching can hurt.

Cats are my favorite example of instinctual stretchers. Cats are very flexible, and they stretch a lot. Yes, they curl up also, but that is because they can --- partly because they stretch so much.

The resting length of each muscle is predetermined. How far we can stretch, how limber we are, is to a considerable extent determined by our genetics. I once had a ballet teacher who told me my pelvis would break before I could ever accomplish the splits! Could I get closer even now? Probably, but I would have to stretch for hours each and every day.

Then there was a woman I used to work with who walked into the office and over to the water cooler each morning, where she would bend forward and put her palms flat on the floor in front of her with her knees completely straight. She was 65 years old. She did it to impress people. I was impressed.

After each workout, we stretch to lengthen tight muscles back to the length they were prior to exercise. A few general rules:

Do:

> Stretch when your muscles are warm --- after warming up before a workout, a soak in a hot tub or a visit to the steam room.

> Be sure your stretching always feels good. Never, ever stretch until it hurts.

> Stretch lightly on your longer/heavier workout days and more thoroughly after shorter, lighter workouts. This is because it is easy to overdo your stretching and get hurt when you feel on a roll after a big workout.

Don't:

> Go directly into a stretching routine while your muscles are cold. Be especially careful to warm up your muscles now that the weather is colder.

> Bounce. It may feel like fun, but you risk tearing a muscle.

> Allow the knee to go out over the toe when stretching the hip flexors as in the traditional runner's stretch or stretching the calf muscle with one leg straight behind you and the other knee bent in front of you. Take care to be sure that the front knee stays behind your toe. Ideally, the knee will be directly over the ankle.

> Bring the bar too low when doing a bench press with the idea of stretching your pecs. Not only do you run a risk to your chest and internal organs, but you can impinge your shoulders, overstretching the tendons and ligaments of the rotator cuff. Do your benching for strength. Stretch out your chest after you return the bar to the rack.

> Use free weights to stretch.

> Stretch forward and down unsupported before your back is strong enough. The swan dive, as it is sometimes called in yoga, is a good example. Bending forward in a T position with legs out beyond your shoulders and arms straight out to the sides can put undue pressure on the low back as you hinge forward from your hips.

> Stretch competitively. Whether you are in an exercise class, at the dinner table or around the water cooler at the office, stretching must be totally noncompetitive.

> Don't copy a stretch you saw someone else doing without making sure it is appropriate for you.

Go slow

Our muscles have a built-in defense mechanism called the Golgi response. When we stretch a muscle too far, a message is sent from the "Golgi tendon body" to the nerves that innervate that muscle, telling it to quit and tighten up to protect itself. The result --- muscles become even tighter because we overstretched. An injured muscle can take months or even longer to heal and may forever after be vulnerable.

Developmental stretches

I have been describing what are called easy stretches (held 20 to 30 seconds) restoring the muscle to its pre-workout length. Developmental stretches (30 to 60 seconds) are designed to work toward restoring the genetically determined length of the muscle. Transitioning from easy to developmental must be done carefully and slowly. See Bob Anderson's book "Stretching" for more details about this progression.

Therapy

Stretching also can be a part of helping heal an injury, what I call specialty or rehab stretches. Many of these stretches are first done assisted or even passively: The effort or movement is made by the therapist rather than the patient. This kind of stretching is vital until the patient becomes strong enough to do mainstream stretches again. Then they are given as "homework" by physical therapists, chiropractors and physicians following surgery or in treatment of trauma.

Also, stretching can greatly improve symptoms of common ailments, such as plantar fascitis.

The older we get, the more we need to work at staying supple. Always consult your physician before beginning any new stretching or exercise program.

Stretch beautifully, like a cat. hk

Kathleen Hunter Levy ,Topeka, LSCSW, is a social worker/

psychotherapist, personal trainer/clinical exercise specialist and Pilates teacher at a studio at Maximus Fitness and Wellness.

She has her own small business,

A Healing Place: Personal Training

for Body, Mind and Spirit. Readers can contact her at kathleenhlevy

@aol.com.

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Stretching

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