The Fitness Biz Gets It Wrong

Typical. There is this great article, "Best Exercises to Live Longer, According to Experts" from Men’s Fitness with a roundup of exercises to help improve longevity. Five basics, with instructions on how to execute each one, include squats, lunges, planks, rows and push ups. The focus is strength. Then, at the end of the article there is a quick mention that suggests readers spend 10 minutes stretching for flexibility and balance.

This, right here, is my biggest beef with how the fitness industry treats flexibility.

Flexibility is not an afterthought and it’s not a cool down, per se. It’s work, especially if you do a lot of strength training because stretching releases excess energy that lifting puts in the muscles to contract them. Remember, the more power you pack into a muscle, the shorter and tighter it becomes. So, a more effective approach would be adding stretch to ease up the restrictions that repetitive muscle contraction creates.

That said, stretching can be used as a cool down in the sense that it is relaxing to release tension that tightens the muscles and joints in our bodies. But to achieve that would mean putting the same emphasis on flexibility that is put on strength, if the goal is a true and complete approach to longevity. In fact, I would argue that flexibility is even more important as we age because we tend to lose it faster and more drastically than we do our strength.

So, if you want longevity, you need to have balance, and to that end, below are some stretches you can add to the strength exercises put forth in the Men's Fitness article.

Squat

Balance by stretching your hamstrings and quads:

• For your hamstrings, start standing with your arms relaxed by your sides.

  • Roll down as far as you can.

  • Using the muscles in your legs, pick up your kneecaps. This will straighten your legs a little bit more.

  • Keeping your kneecaps up and your knees straight, rock your weight forward into your toes. This will stretch the hamstrings and calves from end-to-end.

• Moving into the quads, drop all the way down into a crouch position.

  • Lean back and place your hands on the floor behind you and gently lower your knees. They may or may not hit the floor.

  • Squeeze your butt cheeks together and then pull your belly button in.

Lunge

Balance by stretching your hip flexors:

• Start in a deep lunge with your hands on the floor on either side of your front leg and your back leg as straight as you can get it.

• Drop your hips as low to the floor as they'll go. Hold them there as you push through your back foot to straighten the back knee more - try to go all the way.

• From there, bend your back knee and gently place it on the floor allowing the hip being stretched to hang a little heavier. Relax the hip there and pull your belly button in.

• Release your belly button, and while keeping the hip exactly where it is, try to straighten the back leg again.

Push up

Balance by stretching your pecs:

• Sit on the floor with legs straight out in front of you. Walk your hands back behind you until you feel the fronts of your shoulders starting to stretch.

• Leaning back on your hands, lift your chest to the ceiling and arch your lower back a little. Keep your head looking straight ahead. Do not drop it back.

• If you don’t feel enough of a stretch in your chest, walk your hands back a little farther and/or move both arms closer together. The position depends on how much flexibility and rotation you have in your shoulders. Don’t push too far back. You need enough give to pull up into the chest muscles, and maybe a little into the biceps.

Row

Balance by stretching your back:

• Hold onto any surface (bar, TRX, tree 🌴😊 etc.) With arms straight, pull yourself way back into a deep C-curve initiating it by sucking your belly in. Holding on, round your back as much as you can.

• While there, pull your pubic bone toward your nose by pulling your belly button back further and rolling your pelvis under. Let your shoulders slide forward, head hangs heavy, as you continue to pull yourself back.

Plank

Balance by stretching everything:

• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Tuck your hands under your knees, palms down. If you are more flexible, you can slide your arms under and rest your forearms on the floor so that your elbows are under your knees.

• Press one knee down into the top of your hand. Hold it down while you flex your foot. Hold it down while you point your foot. Release and shake it out.

• Repeat on the other leg.

• Then, do both legs together. While both legs are pressing into your hands (or elbows), hang your upper body and your head heavy over your legs. As you pin your hands down into the floor, bend your elbows and try to get your nose a little closer to your knees.

Gave it a try? Need modifications? Drop your comments and questions below! 👇

Credit and thanks to our Fit Man, Hoyt Richards.💪💚