There have been studies on either side of the flexibility debate saying stretching is helpful to stretching does absolutely nothing. On a subjective level, I know that after a good session of stretching, I am more flexible. Even more important, however, is what the act of stretching does for you.
Stretching is a great investment of your limited time becuase it connects you to your body. If you stretch regularly, you’ll know when your left calf starts to tighten up or your right glute isn’t cooperating fully. This is like having your own early warning system about potential future injuries. Armed with this information, you can adjust your training load to make sure you can recover and continue working out.
Most folks should stretch between 1-2.5 hours a week. Inevitably when I tell folks this, they roll their eyes and start complaining: “I don’t have enough time to train in the first place, ” they say. “How will I have time to stretch?”Â
The issue isn’t making more time, it’s making better use of the time you’ve got. 1.5 hours of stretching is no more than 15min a day. Can you find 15m in your day to stretch? First thing in the AM? At night before you sleep? At lunchtime instead of cramming in a workout that leaves you all sweaty and stinky? Whether you break the stretching sessions up OR you cram your time into two solid hours of yoga class a week, you’ll notice the difference!
Hi, I'm Patrick McCrann. 
