How to stretch after flexibility training

Stretching the core after flexibility training is to "stretch lightly and slowly without chasing pain." Don't think about pulling hard after training to consolidate the effect, which will add unnecessary burden to the soft tissues. At present, there is no completely unified conclusion on this issue in the industry. One group advocates doing low-intensity static stretching immediately after training, which can help soft tissues remember the stretched state and consolidate long-term flexibility gains. ； The other group believes that the muscle fibers, ligaments and fascia that have just finished flexibility training are still in a state of stretch stress, and additional stretching will increase the risk of micro-injury and even trigger the protective reflex of the muscles, making them tighter and tighter.

I have been doing strength training for almost ten years. I often communicate with friends who practice yoga and gymnastics. I have seen too many people make mistakes in this area. Last week, a girl who insists on practicing cross-spreads every day came to me and said that after three months of practice, not only her hips have not opened much, but her thighs are painful when she exerts force. When I asked her, I found out that she had to lie on the frog for 5 minutes after pressing her legs. The pain was so painful that she was sweating and had to carry it. When she went for an ultrasound, she could see slight edema in the adductor muscles. In fact, this kind of hard stretching is completely counterproductive. The ligaments and fascia that have just finished flexibility training are like rubber bands that have been stretched repeatedly. The elasticity has not yet recovered. If you stretch it too hard at this time, it will either exceed the elastic limit and become loose, but it is easy to sprain during exercise, or it will cause subtle tears directly, and the pain will not be relieved for several days.

If you really want to stretch to consolidate the effect, it’s not impossible, just adjust the method. If you have just finished practicing hip opening, first stand and shake your hips and shake your legs for half a minute to dissipate the soreness and swelling in the muscles. Then find a bar and gently put your legs on it. Keep the inner thighs at an angle where there is a slight stretch and no pain at all. Stop for 20 seconds. Do one or two groups to reach the sky. The total stretching time should not exceed 10 minutes. If you have finished practicing flexibility and then want to go to the gym or run, you don't even need to do static stretching. Just swing your arms and legs a little. Otherwise, the muscles will be too loose and you will be easily injured when you do explosive movements later.

Many people think that the more painful the stretch, the better the effect. This is really a big misunderstanding. Especially right after flexibility training, the pain perception of soft tissues will be much slower than usual. The pain you think you can endure has actually exceeded its tolerance threshold. After the rhythmic gymnastics team member I led before changed the habit of stretching, not only did the previous hip pain disappear, but the speed of the crossbar progress was nearly twice as fast as before when the exercise was hard. To put it bluntly, don't twist it with your body. A slight stretch is enough. There is no need to force yourself to cry in pain.