Rx Girls Miami – 06.28.10

“Stretching the Truth”

Article by CrossFit Intrepid

I think I’ve used every excuse there is to avoid stretching.  Sure I roll on the foam roller or use the lacrosse ball to help loosen up my muscles, but what am I really doing to help improve my flexibility beyond the workout I’m preparing for?  Sadly, the answer is not much.

Roger Harrell discussed stretching and flexibility in a 2006 CrossFit Journal article.  In his opinion, gaining flexibility is primarily about discipline (exactly what I didn’t want to hear).  That’s right folks, there’s no quick fixes when it comes to improving flexibility, just like there’s no quick and easy way to get stronger either.  If we want to get stronger, we lift.  Well, if we want to get flexible we have to stretch…at least once a day, at a very minimum, is Roger’s recommendation…but shoot for multiple times per day in order to see quicker improvements.  Also, he recommends that shorter, more frequent stretching is better than longer sessions, less frequently.  That means that 7 ten minute sessions a week is much more beneficial than 1 seventy minute session a week.  He also emphasizes some light, dynamic stretching mixed into a warm-up, but that stretching post WOD is where we’ll get the most bang for our buck because our muscles are warm, more relaxed, and are better able to work through their range of motion.  That means instead of sprinting out the door as soon as you finish your WOD, consider taking 5-10 minutes to cool down by stretching off to the side… READ MORE