In this video we will be doing something I call “Active Stretching”.

This is a form of
PNF stretching (which stands for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) in which
you contract the opposing muscles of the muscle or tendons you are trying to stretch.
This type of stretching uses your body's own neurological reflexes to facilitate a
deeper stretch. I won’t go into too much detail here on why this works the way it does
but simply put when you contract a muscle it’s opposite will relax. This is similar to
Contract-Relax stretching which uses the same body response but instead of
relaxing you try to hold your contraction while lengthening the antagonistic muscle. In
my opinion this results in a stretch routine that builds tone and control in your
maximum range of motion (ROM) and theoretically protects the joint better as it
approaches its max ROM in everyday life and exercise situations.
We have 32 individual stretches to go through and we will be holding each
position for a total of 30 seconds with a 10 second prep to get ready for each stretch.
Once the time starts for each stretch we will focus on contracting the opposite muscle
from the one we are trying to stretch. We will start out with a light contraction and
increase the intensity of the contraction as the time elapses looking to hit a 75-90%
contraction by the end of the 30 seconds. The level of contraction will be up to you
and how you feel in each position, however, be sure to try your best to match the
intensity of the contraction/stretch on each side of the body as we will be isolating left
and right sides often.
You can also do an easier version of this routine if you want more of a relaxing
stretch routine. Simply cut out the antagonistic contraction and use gravity, leverage
or even your arms to pull you into each position. This will ultimately turn this routine
into a static stretch routine which is also a great way to do a more relaxed corrective
stretch.
Let us know what you thought of this routine and if you would like to see more
routines like this one in the future in the comment section below. Enjoy.