How Often Should I Stretch?

“The number is needed! Specific! Give me the exact recipe! And guarantee!”

I will give no warranties, nor recipes.

But I will give you tools so that you can answer this question yourself, because no others will have the answer.

• How often do you need to stretch strongly depends on two aspects:

1) YOUR GOAL.

2) METHODS OF STRETCHING.

Stretching, like any other type of training, can be more intense, and less intense.

Due to anatomical and psychological peculiarities of people there is no unified solution.

It is obvious that if you chose the first option frequency of stretching will be less than if you choose the second, because muscles will need more time to recover.

Next. What is your goal?

Some do stretching because they argued with a girlfriend that they will do splits out of nothing within 6 months.

Others do stretching to win the Championship.

The third do stretching, because don’t want their muscles to lose elasticity with the age.

For the forth stretching is kind of meditation, time alone with the body.

And there are thousands more goals that can determine the optimal number of workouts.

• In addition to this, there are our individual peculiarities (elasticity of muscles to stretching , how much your muscles are over-trained etc.).
• The Answer, which I don’t like to give, but you will like it, looks like this:

If you stretch deeply and with a trainer, do stretch each large group of muscles (front and back thighs muscles, pelvis, back) ideally twice a week for moderate progress and every second day for steady progress.

If you stretch yourself, then for moderate progress you can stretch 3-4 times a week, and for steady progress even every day.

• And sincere, but unpopular answer looks like this: start stretching with a couple of times a week with an experienced trainer, see your sensations of the body, watch the pace of its progress, and you will come to a suitable schedule of stretching just for yourself.

Which, however, will always vary, because the body always feels different, and you are always in different emotional state.

And if you will listen to yourself and not to women from Instagram, success will inevitably come.

*Author of the article Kristina Dumanskaya