MJ HEALTH & FITNESS: The Essential Stretches

The Essential Stretches
Recent studies knock it, so perhaps stretching isn't necessary? OH YES IT IS. Do as athletes do, and work the following moves into your workout to stay fit, flexible, and injury-free.

Stretching hurts. It's time-consuming. It's dull. So when yet another study says stretching has little impact on athletic performance or injury avoidance (as a handful of recent studies have done), relieved weekend warriors are happy to cross it off their workout checklists. Don't be fooled. Sure, overextending your muscles can make them too elastic, or, if you haven't warmed up, even lead to muscle pulls. But in sport after sport, the most successful and enduring athletes are the loosest. NFL workhorse Eddie George, 33, credited his longevity to staying flexible through yoga, and Wimbledon champ Roger Federer is famously limber. "Stretching not only improves range of motion, it prepares your muscles and helps them recover," says Suzanne Meth, manager of ultraexclusive New York gym E. What's more, proper stretching can free constricted nerves, realign your frame, and even prevent muscle-degenerating fibrosis as you age. Whether you're running or lifting, the following basic stretches should be an essential part of your workout routine.

THE ALL-IN-ONE STRETCH Warm up before trying this all-body stretch. It's good for loosening up at the end of the day or when you just don't have time for more.

Lunge forward with your right leg, extend your left leg behind you, and lean forward to stretch the hip flexors of the rear leg. Then square your hips and tilt your pelvis back, abs in, to stretch the front of that hip. Finally, raise your arms overhead to stretch your upper torso and abs. If you can, also bend your left knee to stretch the quads. Switch legs and repeat.

WEIGHTLIFTING Warm up with dynamic stretching. Slowly flow between poses, holding each for a few seconds, then repeat the cycle.

HAMSTRINGS
Bend at the waist, leading with your chest, until you're doubled over. With your back and legs as straight as possible, try to bring your torso to your quads until you feel the stretch.

QUADS
Stand up straight, bend your left knee, grab hold of your left foot with your left hand, and pull it up and back, toward your butt. Hold for 3 seconds, then switch legs and repeat.

PECTORALS
Place palms or forearms on each side of a door frame at chest level and gently lean forward, until you feel a comfortable stretch across the chest.

LOWER BACK
With the door open, bend over with a straight back and grab both sides of the door handle with outstretched arms. Slowly pull back from the door with your back straight.

RUNNING A brisk five-minute walk is sufficient warm-up, but static stretches after, held for at least 30 seconds, are essential to proper muscle recovery.

HAMSTRINGS
With your left calf on a handrail, legs and back straight, slowly stick out your butt. Feel the stretch all the way down your left thigh, as well as behind the knee. Switch and repeat.

QUADS/HIP FLEXORS
With left knee fully bent, place your left foot behind you on the handrail. Lower your body until you feel a strong stretch in the left thigh and front hip. Switch legs and repeat.

EXTERNAL HIP ROTATORS
Bend your left knee and rotate the hip across your body, placing your left foot on the handrail (a chair is easier). Stick out your butt and stretch the glutes.

CALVES
Place the balls of your feet on the edge of a treadmill or raised platform, allowing your heels to hang off the back. Holding the handrails, press your heels to the floor.

By: Josh Condon
Photographs by: Monte Isom
(October 2006)