Functionally Fit

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine: wake up, work all day at the desk, and then be so mentally exhausted that only a couch and some TV will help you relax.

Do this multiple times a week, and your body adapts until you have settled into a “routine of dysfunction.” I use the word dysfunction because our body is no longer functioning the way it is supposed to move and work. 

Stretching helps break any tense or weak muscle pattern

 by encouraging the muscles to extend their resting length and relax. To better understand this, let us first look at how muscles tighten or weaken in the first place. 

Odds are, if you work a 9-5 computer-based job, you have some dysfunction ranging from your head to your toes. Necks do not like to be cranked at a downward angle all day, jaws don’t want to clench away stress 24/7, hands don’t like to grip a mouse for 8 hours straight, glutes perform best when engaged, and legs want to bear weight. If 

muscles are no longer stressed physically, they become weak and knotted with tension. The best example of this is weakened glutes due to long hours of sitting. When we stand, the glutes are engaged and are working to keep us upright. If we devote most of our time sitting, the glutes weaken and become dysfunctional. 

Any weakened muscle can cause the following:

• Trigger points (or knots)
• Overuse of the muscles surrounding or opposing weakened muscle
• Injury
• Fatigue 

Referring to the example of glutes above, weakened glutes can cause knee, hip, and lower back pain. Contrary to popular belief, most weak muscles tighten. Why? Because most muscles need to contract, or shorten, to produce force. When muscles are weak, the Central Nervous System (CNS) will cleverly employ shortcuts to constantly contract muscles. In other words, when a muscle is strong, it will easily contract when under pressure or when it needs to produce force. So in the instance of weak glutes, because the glute muscles are so used to not being worked out, the brain has to compensate for their lack of functional contraction by having them constantly contracted, or tight. 

So how do we break the “cycle of dysfunction?” The first step is to stretch those muscles out! 

Some of the benefits of stretching are: 

Stretching the target muscle for 30 seconds 2-3 times is an excellent start. Every day is great but you will still see benefits stretching just twice or thrice a week. 

Why 30 Seconds? 

There are many benefits to holding a stretch for at least 30 seconds, but mainly because 30 seconds is how long it takes for us to move past the “stretch reflex.” Put simply, the stretch reflex is your body trying to shorten (or contract) the muscle in response to the muscle lengthening (or stretching). This reflex usually occurs 15-25 seconds into the stretch, so stretching for longer is telling our CNS that it is safe for our 

muscle to be at this stretched length. In other words, our brain becomes comfortable with the muscle at that length. 

Our brain not only becomes more relaxed at different muscle lengths but it also becomes more relaxed in general: stretching signals the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. When we feel stressed and anxious, our muscles naturally get tight. Our body is producing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which makes us even more tight. Stretching is letting our body know that we do not have to “prepare for impact.” Hence, if you are feeling down or the opposite, can’t seem to calm down, stretching your body has proven benefits to help you relax!

That said, having a stretch routine is very important. Starting at the top of the head and working your way down is a great way to ease into deeper and deeper stretches. 

I have created a Stretching Guide that is free and you can print. Do all of these stretches at least 3 times per week for best results. 

A couple of things to note: