LPT: It's not enough to just "work out," you gotta stretch!

Submitted by LovingKindnessFGC t3_10q74fq in LifeProTips

It was early last year that I was really starting to get down on myself. I was 29, it was getting harder to run, harder to keep up a weight lifting routine, harder to do chores and life in general. My joints creaked, my chest felt tight and I was slouched all the time. I was about to chalk it up to just getting old.

Luckily I started a consistent yoga routine at the behest of my therapist and it's been simply amazing. I've gone from being barely able to touch my toes to sitting on the floor all the time and working up to being able to do a handstand for the first time in my life. I should've been doing this the whole time and maybe I would've been even more active when I was younger. Stretching is a meditation, cardio, and calisthenic exercise rolled up into one that also keeps your body from becoming a Stony tomb.

Some tips:

  1. 10 minutes is enough to start.

  2. Some easy beginner goals are being able to sit on the floor and being able to squat with your heels on the ground.

  3. Unlike with weight training or running, you can stretch every day (you just switch to static stretching).

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Comments

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[deleted] t1_j6o88th wrote

Yoga != stretching, though it incorporates stretching foundations.

Yoga includes a lot of other things, like isometric strength, strength at ends of range of motion, breathwork, and more.

I highly encourage yoga - however, 'stretching' on its own can open up the door to injuries if you're not properly warmed up.

I rock climb, and yoga is a fantastic way to counter the 'damage' done from climbing, so I generally agree with you!

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LovingKindnessFGC OP t1_j6o9dkd wrote

What kind of "damage" comes from climbing?

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[deleted] t1_j6osak6 wrote

overdevelopment of the pull muscles, underdevelopment of the push muscles

soft tissue damage from tendons/pulleys

extreme ROM usage of shoulders, back, hips, legs, toes

etc.

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akumamatata8080 t1_j6odem7 wrote

I'm in my 40's and absolutely agree with this. I was a gym bro for a long time. Now I'm paying for it. Now, I'm doing 15-20 min of dynamic stretching before being the gym bro again, then another 10-15 of static stretching at the end of the workout.

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LovingKindnessFGC OP t1_j6of0by wrote

I feel a lot stronger than when I was just going to the gym too, like my muscles aren't fighting eachother

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keepthetips t1_j6o7m77 wrote

Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!

Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.

If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.

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spageddy_lee t1_j6ofnga wrote

Eh, there's not a lot of science that supports this.

I think yoga is great. I practiced fairly religiously for about six years. Since then I have been weight training (heavy) only. I never stretch anymore. I don't feel like I am in better or worse shape than when I was doing yoga. Its just different, not better or worse.

I do know that with either I feel much better than if I was doing nothing.

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SpitefulJealousThrow t1_j6om8al wrote

This post isn't scientific. You started a different exercise system after cultivating the gains of an intensive, 6 year long flexibility program. One of the major limiting factors for lots of weight lifters is lack of flexibility, and a huge part of why people stop weight training is joint problems, which stretching helps with.

It would be like if a power lifter began running triathlons alone and claimed that their enormous tree trunk legs from 5 years of dead lifting had no bearing on their times.

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