Cliff Notes
- How Stretching Actually Works
Our brain determines how much we can lengthen a certain muscle. This saved length is the result of years of movement. - How you will become more flexible
The brain needs to be “reeducated”. You do that by moving through these greater ranges of motion under load, thereby strengthening the muscles and improving your motor control. - How flexible do you need to be?
The degree of flexibility you need strongly depends on your sport. General recommendations cannot be made.
Recommended Resources
“Relax into Stretch”, by Pavel Tsatsouline“Conventional stretching attempts to literally elongate your tissues, which is dangerous and ineffective. Relax into Stretch simply teaches your muscles to relax into a stretch. If you compare traditional training to a messy hardware reorganization, then Relax into Stretch is an efficient software upgrade.While stretching tissues may take years, changes in the nervous system are immediate! Your muscles will start noticeably elongating from your first Relax into Stretch practice-and within months you will have achieved a level of flexibility uncommon in our species.” – Pavel Tsatsouline
Please note that this page only contains a fraction of the information presented in the Total Knee Health course. Reading the whole chapter in detail is therefore highly recommended.