Should I stretch ?

You might be asking yourself, should I stretch or should I not ? And why wouldn’t you ask, life is full of choices, some we can control, others…. well not so much.

What we decide to focus on really is a decision to waffle helplessly worried about that which we cannot change like the sate of America, or, we can focus on things we can control at least with a little discipline such as our health.

Would you rather worry about the state of the union, like who might win the election, insipid billionaire playboy or crooked bitter insider ? Or the state of your body which depending on who does win may matter more than you could imagine. Its these pressing issues that might cause us to ask a more simple question, should I stretch !

Depending on which puffed up buffoon wins this election, your personal health may become even more important to you, so why not make some pro-active decisions now.

A more important debate than our current political debacle would be whether to stretch or well…. Not to stretch. Just like our current political divide, proponents of Stretching are very convinced that its one of the most important things we can do to prepare ourselves for athletic involvement. Those against it are equally convinced that they are correct in their assertions that its not the best idea. Sadly for those of us in the middle there is a plethora of scientific studies that purport to support the opposite ideals. This leaves us with a HUGE question mark as per what do we do. There in lies the question, should I  stretch, yes or no ?

There is no need to throw up our hand in despair and well do the path of least resistance which is nothing, there are factors to consider that may serve to guide us where common sense fails. As Dad used to say, “Son, you have to use your own bullshit meter, if it makes sense to you, it probably works the way you perceive it.” And thank you Dad for that pearl of wisdom, it has served me well thus far in life.

My benchmark of do I or don’t I stretch is this. If you can stand up, and easily flop forward placing your hands on the floor, you probably don’t need to stretch though you may benefit from it none the less. If you are one of the lucky ones aforementioned, it would appear that you are amply flexible without going the extra mile of adopting a regular stretching regimen. On the other hand, if you can’t get your leg to point at the ceiling while lying on your back, um….. no doubt you need to stretch. The point I am trying to make is, there is a percentage of humans who are indeed naturally flexible and the other group who aren’t. Based on my examinations of more than a few patients in my twenty two years of practice, it would seem to me that most of us are NOT that flexible. Yet most of us know who we are and in which camp we fall, and this can be a legitimate guide as to how much stretching we need to do.

From my perspective, stretch or not, getting out there and doing some vigorous exercise is the most important aspect of our maintaining good health. You never know when you’ll need to take off at a sprint to save your life, but believe me, if you haven’t done so in a long time, you may not make it very far.

Bottom line; if you are naturally tight, stop kidding yourself and get busy stretching. Without doing so, you just might hurt yourself if you need a sudden burst of speed to escape an angry protester of some sort or other. You might also find an unpleasant surprise if you engage in some heavy lifting with those tight ham’s or glutes.  So, now that you know….. Should I stretch? I think you need to decide that for yourself.

If you know you are one of the lucky ones who are flexible by nature, by gosh by golly don’t waste that blessing, Should I stretch if I’m flexible already ? Even if you ARE Flexible, it certainly couldn’t hurt you to do some stretching.

Now lets all of us go get out there and get busy. You never know what will come your way if you put that cell phone down and get outside and busy yourself with yourself for a change rather than being a slave to our ever-accessible society.

We can all benefit from some alone time in nature on so many levels.

Hope some of you will find this somewhat inspiring, and thanks again for reading.