Contrary to Popular Belief ...

More Stuff I Believe to be True

• Sometimes soreness will result from intense stretching, especially if your body is not accustomed to such training. When experiencing soreness, you should still stretch your body gently. You will surely feel more resistance to the stretch than normal, especially at first. But, you may find that after relaxing into a stretch for a long time, you can still reach your maximum range of motion. Even if the soreness is extreme, and you can't reach your normal limits, some light stretches will help prevent the muscles from tightening up further. You can also try taking a hot bath or shower, and then stretching before going to bed. You should also do whatever kind of stretching you can when the soreness is the result of over-doing strength exercises. However, I don't recommended that you continue heavy strength exercises until the soreness is mostly gone, because this will tighten up the muscles even more. As is true with lifting weights, you will find that you will experience less and less soreness from stretching as your body adapts to your new level of training.
  
  
• Most medical authorities will say that ligaments are not meant to be stretched. However, I am convinced that it is necessary to do this at least to some degree in order to reach positions like splits and backbends. Furthermore, I don't believe this causes any harm to the athlete, unless they are careless and push themself to the point of injury. You really can't say that only ligaments or only muscle is involved in moving a certain part of the body, anyway. All that someone training needs to know is how a stretch feels. You should be able to tell the difference between a stretching sensation and real pain. Try adjusting your positioning to relieve the stress on the painful area, but if it hurts, don't do it!
  
  
• Most medical authorities also discourage bouncing or ballistic stretching. And, again, I believe that such stretches are OK as long as you don't get carried away with them. After all, karate kicks and many dance steps (like leg swings) are in effect ballistic stretches. Ballistic and bouncing stretches got a bad name for themselves when people hurt themselves trying to do something like bounce into a split when they weren't capable of doing a split. Such injuries usually result when the bouncing movement has a large amplitude. So, don't try and bounce your way to a position that you can't reach otherwise, and you shouldn't get hurt. Also, keep the bouncing movements small, especially when you are near your maximum range of motion.
  
  
• Many of the stretches that have been deemed "dangerous" by the medical and fitness community (like the backbend bridge) have been the foundation of many activities for centuries (yoga, gymnastics). They may be unsafe for people who are out of shape, but many people have been doing these exercises for years, and are usually in great physical condition. In fact, people who develop back problems usually have a weak and tight back. A back that is healthy is both strong and flexible, so be sure to release your backbends by curling up into a ball and rolling on your back afterwards. Always remember to stretch what you strengthen.
  
  

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