The Power of a good stretch

Think about your morning wake-up routine. I usually wake up a few minutes before my alarm, then when it goes off, I throw the covers off and jump (or lately it feels more like a roll) out of bed  and either throw on gym clothes or leave on my PJs and head down to the kitchen for breakfast (I'm a morning person, I can't wait to get out of bed!). Now think about the way an animal wakes up. Our dog begins her wake up process by stretching up her head and pressing her paws into the ground. She then rolls her body up and immediately reaches out her front paws, arching her back, sitting back on her back paws.  She follows that with a stretch forward rolling her back upwards and then arches the other direction.  It's fascinating! To give it some yoga terms: she does the cobra pose, a child's pose, downward dog and upward dog. She does all this and then she takes her first morning steps! Any animal that wakes up does a similar routine.

It's interesting how quickly we forget the raw animal nature of stretching and how important it is for proper blood flow. If you're not comfortable or familiar with a stretching and relaxation routine, check out local fitness studios for yoga/stretching classes-- many have classes specifically designed for pregnant women. The benefits of stretching are innumerable but one of the best reasons is to help alleviate pain from the strain on our muscles. I've noticed recently that the extra 20 pounds I've put on is exhausting by the end of the day. My hamstrings and quads are absolutely worn out and my abdominal muscles are tired causing my back to strain. We are essentially walking around with a heavy barbell in our pocket at all times.

Starting and finishing the day with a good stretch will help repair and recondition muscles and even taking some time midday  to stretch can help reduce specific aches. A word of caution, though (funny, there's always a BUT for the pregnant ladies): to help your pelvis bones and rib cage stretch for the baby, the homone Relaxin is being released to create joint laxity and allow ligaments to stretch. You may have already noticed your hips are feeling a little floppy but relaxing doesn't discriminate: it affects all your joints. This hormone is released as early as your first trimester and will continue to be released even post partum, it's usually gone by 9 weeks post-partum. Because of the laxity in your joints, you may find you can stretch farther but you are also more prone to injury.

To set up your routine, always stretch warm muscles and think of using the FITT principle:

Frequency: stretch daily within your limits.
Intensity: only go to a point of gentle tension (stretching should NEVER be painful) and breath comfortably
Time: This depends on what you want but generally we suggest holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds without any bouncing or jerking movements
Type: Focus on the areas that are the most strained: entire back, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, and chest

We're always encouraged to stretch warm muscles because stretching cold muscles (unused muscles) can lead to a greater chance of injury such as a tear. My swim coach always encouraged us to stretch immediately when we woke up because your entire body is warm from your bed. Another great place is in a warm shower or after finishing your workout. Even going for a 15 minute brisk walk at the end of a day will help warm your muscles enough before stretching.

Stretches to avoid, particularly after your first trimester:
Deep twists that force you to compress your organs (eg. seated spinal twists)
Stretches that begin laying on your stomach (eg. cobra pose, upward dog)
Inversions
Stretches that have you laying flat on your back (eg. corpse pose)
Forward bends over your legs (your belly's in the way, it's too uncomfortable!)

Great stretches: 

Cat stretch: Begin on your hands and knees, pull your navel to your spine and curl your spine upwards.  This is a great way to stretch your entire erector spinae muscle group. Follow this with a lion stretch by pressing your belly down and arch your back, looking up. Repeat a few times slowly, holding each stretch for 30 sec.

Upper Back and shoulder stretch: stand, knees soft, with your arms reached out over the back of a chair or a low wall. Tip forward from your hips and let your head fall between your stretched arms.

Back: Stand, knees soft, and place your forearms on your thighs.  Curl your back by tucking your tailbone under you and pull your pelvis forward to feel a separation between each vertebrae and between your shoulder blades. 

Biceps, shoulders and chest: Reach your arms out wide to the side and then press your open arms slightly behind you. Turn your thumbs down to get a deeper bicep stretch.

Seated Hamstrings: Sit on the floor, stretch out your right leg long and bend your left leg, pulling your foot into your groin. Bend forward over your right leg.  Flex your foot to get a deeper stretch. Aim to touch your toes but you may only make it as far as your shin. Switch legs and repeat.

Standing hamstrings: Cross your right leg over your left. Bend forward from your hips just to a flat backor until you feel a gentle pull in the back of your legs. Switch legs and repeat.

Glutes and hips: Sit on the floor with your left leg bent, left foot to the floor and hands behind you for support. Cross your right leg over, resting your right ankle on your left knee with your foot flexed to protect your knee joint. Press your right knee out and towards the floor. Keep you chest high and press forward to get a deeper stretch. Switch legs.

Inner thighs and hips: Butterfly stretch-sit on the floor, legs bent, with the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open. Let gravity pull your knees toward the floor rather than pressing your knees down to prevent injury.

Child's pose: Sit on the floor on your heels, your feet underneath your bum, toes and top of feet flat on the floor. Reach your arms out in front of you on the floor, your goal is to get your underarms to the floor while remaining seated on your heels. Spread your knees as wide apart as your need to for your belly. Feel the stretch through your shoulders, upper back and even the lower back.

Standing quad stretch: Stand on your right foot and use your left hand to pull your left foot back and up to your bum. Keep your knees together and press your hip forward. You may need to hold onto something for balance. Switch legs and repeat.

Hip flexors: Kneel on the floor on one knee (think of how athletes 'take a knee').  Your right leg forward, knee right over ankle and your left leg on the floor, knee under your hip. Press your hips forward to feel the pull in the front of your left hip. Switch legs and repeat.

Standing Calf stretch:  Stand with your feet under your hips. Slide your left leg back and press your heel down.  Keeping your foot flat to the floor, tip forward over a lightly bent right knee. Switch legs and repeat. Remember to keep your toes facing forward to activate your calves.

Wall calf stretch: Stand on your left foot and press your right foot up against a wall with your heel on the floor.  Press into your right foot to get a deep stretch. Switch legs and repeat.

Open twists: Sit cross-legged on the floor. Place your right hand behind you on the floor at the base of your spine and twist your upper body toward that hand, left hand reaching over your right leg. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat to the other side. Only twist as far as your feel gentle tension in your back and side
The benefit of this stretch versus a deep twist is that you're not compressing your organs and uterus.  If you're in a yoga class and they go into spine twists, twist in the opposite direction of everyone else, away from your bent knee to maintain an open twist.

This is just a few stretches to target specific areas that are commonly areas of pain for pregnant women. There are still so many more available!

Including a few good stretches in your life everyday will help maintain your fit body. Remember that the 3 parts of a good fitness program include Cardiovascular conditioning, Muscular Strength and conditioning, AND Flexibility conditioning.

See you at the gym!