What to do When Stretching Doesn’t Work?
If you stretch daily for at least 6 weeks and do not see any effect from your stretching routine, this article is for you.
There is an alternative, and I want to share it with you.
But, before we go into that, I want to go through this checklist for stretching, so you can check if you’re making any mistakes when stretching.
Checklist for Stretching
Consistency
How often do you stretch? If your answer is two times per week, than its perfectly normal not to see any results from your stretching routine.
Especially if you’re training heavily at the gym four days per week.
Holding a Stretch
Static stretching for just a few seconds, even 10-15 seconds, is inefficient. It’s simply not enough time to achieve the desired effect. The most optimal duration is holding static stretches for 30 seconds.
You can go a bit longer if you wish, but then there’s an increased chance of decreasing muscle strength (temporarily).
Targeting the Right Muscles
Do you feel that the muscle you want to stretch is actually stretching during the stretch, or is it awkward for you to perform the movement?
Perhaps another starting position is more effective for stretching the target muscle?
If you’re unsure if you’ve chosen the right stretching exercise, that might be why you’re not seeing stretching results.
Stretching too Hard
If you’re accustomed to stretching your muscles to their limits, it can trigger the stretch reflex and cause a counter effect.
When the stretch reflex is activated, the muscle contracts, and muscle flexibility decreases.
This mechanism serves to prevent muscle injury during sudden movements.
Focusing On Only One Stretching Technique
Most people focus solely on static stretching, meaning they practice only passive movement, and the muscles aren’t activated in that extended state after stretching exercises.
One of the most effective methods for stretching is isometric stretching, also known as PNF stretching.
In this approach, muscles contract during stretching, signaling to the body that the stretch reflex is unnecessary and that the muscle can function in that elongated position. Interesting, isn’t it?
Here is what to do when stretching doesn’t work
If none of the above helps, you should do the following.
Check if the tight muscles are also weak.
You’ll best assess this by performing a manual muscle test for each muscle individually.
It often happens that muscles that are chronically tight are actually weak.
This means that stretching these muscles won’t yield significant results.
Next, pay attention to the choice of exercises in the gym. If you predominantly strengthen one muscle group, it can negatively affect the antagonistic muscles (leading to muscle imbalance) and result in weakness in that group.
I’ll give you an example. Chest muscles are usually exercised more frequently than the muscles between the shoulder blades, contributing to internal rotation of the shoulders, a rounded shoulder posture, and muscle imbalance in the upper body.
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