Stretching for 10 Minutes a Day Can Change Your Fitness Regimen – for the Better

Stretching may not always be on the top of your priority list when you are at the gym – why waste time sitting around when you could cram in some more lifting, right? Wrong.

Stretching can not only help with your flexibility, but also with your performance, stamina, and injury prevention.

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Doug Kechijian, D.P.T., who works out of New York City at the Resilient Performance Physical Therapy center, is a stretching expert. He spoke with Michael Easter, the Fitness Editor of Men’s Health, and convinced him to adopt this stretching routine to improve his health and fitness regimen. He and his family were skeptical at first, but, according to Michael Easter:

I felt relief after the first day, so I kept the circuit up. On gym days it was my warm-up. On rest days, I did it in the office or at home in front of the TV. I ignored the odd looks from my coworkers and girlfriend, who dubbed Kechijian “the witch doctor.”

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Stretching seemed to really pay off. Easter’s pain was eliminated within a month, and his ability to do maneuver into different kinds of exercises had increased exponentially.

Being more limber allowed me to use better form and build new muscles, but I’ll let my PRs speak for me: I soon doubled my pull-up and pushup numbers to 15 and 50 , respectively, and I could run 1 ½ miles in under nine minutes.

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You can double your PRs too by doing these four simple stretches for only ten minutes each day:

1. Counterweight Deep Squat
   • Using two light dumbbells and placing a foam roller or pillow between your knees, squat deep with a rounded back until your butt is right about the floor – Hold for 5 deep breaths, stand back up. That is 1 rep – do 5.
2. Couch Stretch
   • Get into a half-kneeling position with your back against a wall or couch. Fold the back leg so that the shin is parallel with the wall – hold this hamstring stretch for 1-2 minutes, switch sides and repeat.
3. Modified Pigeon
   • Get down on all fours, and put a foam roller or pillow under your right knee. Rock hips back and forth for hip stretch. Switch sides and repeat.
4. Lat Hang
   • Hang from a pull-up bar and take five deep breaths. This is 1 rep – do 5.

Curated article from:
Men’s Health