You might be hitting the pavement or weights room multiple times a week, but if you’re not taking time to stretch, you could be hampering your own results. 
 
Stretching is the best way to increase your flexibility, which, studies have shown, can improve your overall performance, slash your risk of injuries, decrease post-exercise soreness, increase your circulation, improve your posture and balance and enhance your range of motion. 
 
Without stretching, your muscles may become short and tight, which can put you at risk of joint pain and muscle damage. People who weight train or sit at a desk all day will really benefit from stretching, but it’s also something that can improve your daily activities.
 
Yoga (specifically yin yoga) is a great way to increase your flexibility, but you can work on your stretching during a gym session, too. Moving through a full range of motion during exercises such as lunges, squats and deadlifts can help keep you flexible and will fit seamlessly into your everyday workouts.
 
Stretching can also be the perfect way to energise your mornings or unwind before bed and melt away the frustrations of the day. Stretches could include a simple cat-cow sequence, pigeon pose and forward fold.
 
While stretching regularly is important for maintaining your flexibility, don’t sacrifice form for quality. You need to feel strong and comfortable within a stretch. Likewise, if you’re injured or have recently strained a muscle, don’t push yourself to complete a stretch.
 
As a general rule, if you feel any nerve pain or strain during stretching, gently come out of the pose, move onto the next and ask a therapist for an assessment to identify the cause. 
 
1. Mix it up
Include both passive and active (or dynamic) stretches to your routine. There has been a lot of noise surrounding the efficacy of passive flexibility, but the empirical evidence supports the use of both and it's my favourite myth to bust. Try incorporating both moving and 'still' stretches into your flexibility work.
 
2. Track your progress
You can do this by taking pictures of yourself in each stretch, testing your flexibility progress over time. If you're not getting anywhere with a certain stretch, it's worthwhile changing up your routine or checking in with what you might be able to improve.
 
3. Focus on your breath 
The quality of your breathing is so important for flexibility as a part of our flexibility range comes from our nervous system. By breathing in a long, slow and deep way, we can calm the nervous system and relax deeper into stretches.
 
4. Don't be afraid to use weights
I love incorporating weights into my flexibility training for two reasons. Firstly, to help me move deeper into stretches and secondly to help me build strength at those end ranges of my flexibility. This can be hugely beneficial for injury prevention. 
 
5. Be consistent
A little every day is better than one big intense session every month. That is to say that frequency matters and you'll develop more range if you can practice flexibility in short bouts throughout your week.
 
 
On October 5^th and 6^th, Shona will join an all-star line-up of Australian wellness trainers at the FitHer Expo Melbourne – Australia’s largest women’s health and fitness expo. Get your tickets at www.fither.au. 

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