With many of us working from home these days, we are moving less than ever before. The quick walk from the couch to your desk means you spend almost all of your time sitting. But sitting for too long can put pressure on your joints and lead to muscle tightness, which can not only cause discomfort but also make exercise harder. This is why it’s so important to make time to stretch! Stretching improves posture, decreases pain, improves range of motion, and even reduces stress! Knowing what stretches are most helpful, and how to do them, is crucial. This includes what stretches may not be worth your time! We asked Liz FitzGerald, a certified yoga instructor and co-founder of Daygold, how to save time and get the most out of your daily stretches!
You may underestimate the power of stretching as a form of movement, but it’s actually really important, and skipping it is one of the biggest mistakes you can make for your long term physical health! “Stretching helps to relieve tension, which increases blood flow to your muscles, organs, and brain. It increases mobility in the muscles and joints which can help to stave off injury.” When you’re sitting at a desk all day and start getting the midday slump, it can also help re-energize you and give you that extra boost you need to finish the day strong!
However, it’s really easy to do stretches wrong, or do ones that don’t really benefit your muscles. One big mistake that FitzGerald sees is people doing stretches that put a lot of pressure on your joints and tendons. “Don't sink into your joints while you stretch. You want to stretch your muscles, but not the tendons around your joints so be sure not to sag into your joints or hyperextend while you stretch,” she says, “Engage the opposite muscle while you stretch, so for example if you're stretching your hamstrings, pull up on your quadricep muscle while you stretch the hamstring.” You want to make sure you’re targeting your muscles when you stretch, if you put too much pressure on your tendons you really aren’t benefiting your muscles at all.
Aside from this, what are some other mistakes you may be making when it comes to stretching everyday? One of the biggest, according to FitzGerald, is thinking you have to stretch for a prolonged period of time each day. “The biggest misconception is that we have to carve out big chunks of time in order to get the benefits of stretching—not at all! Something is better than nothing. I find it easiest to habit stack,” Habit stacking is doing shorter periods of stretches multiple times a day, as opposed to one long session. “I will do some warm up stretching before I workout (targeting the back of my legs, hip flexors, hip rotators, shoulders), and then I add a few stretches after I've worked out (a simple twist, gentle backbend and hamstring stretch), so I'm ready to go the next day.” This is also a great option if you spend a lot of time sitting--it will keep you comfortable throughout the day!
Being sure to get up and move throughout the day is essential for keeping up your energy, preventing back pain, and maintaining good posture! Making sure to be gentle with your movements so you don’t put pressure on your joints, and habit stacking throughout the day, are two things you should try to get the most out of your daily stretching.
