2 Personal Training Myths About Stretching
October 21, 2013 11:49 pm / Posted in Blog, Exercise, Personal Training StudioA client at my personal training studio came in the other week in incredible pain, unable to exercise. When I asked him why, he said that he had recently started playing dodgeball with the Ottawa Sports and Social Club and he must have over exerted himself.
I had a feeling that wasn’t all the story, so I asked him to walk me through his day up until the point of the game. He had enough sleep. He was a little stressed out about work, but that was about it. Then he arrived at the game, warmed up with his teammates, stretched, and began to play.
That’s when I saw the culprit: stretching.
This is a tricky mistake that I’ve seen many people in my Ottawa personal training studio make. They think that stretching will help limber them up, but they end up overextending themselves. Like any physical exercise, you can stretch too much.
Below I bust 2 myths about stretching that I’ve come across over my years in personal training. It’s Burke Cleland, Mythbusters edition!
Personal Training Myth #1: Stretch Before You Exercise
Fact: We’ve all heard this one multiple times: limber up so you don’t. It’s an idea that dates back a few decades, to a time when people didn’t really know much about the science behind exercise, other than it was “good for you.” The fact of the matter is that stretching exhausts the muscle, leaving it weaker and more susceptible to injury during physical activity.
Bonus Burke Tip: At my personal training studio, I use mobility exercises instead of stretching to get things started, instead. It gets the body moving and activates the muscles without weakening them!
Personal Training Myth #2: Stretching is Perfectly Safe
Tags: ottawa exercise coach, Personal Training, stretching
Category: Blog, Exercise, Personal Training Studio
Posted by Burke