0 How to Create a Stretching Routine

Regular stretching can help your body to be less prone to injury (such as strains and breaks) and can improve the body's range of motion and blood circulation, but creating a stretching routine can be harder than it seems. I've put together some tips that I hope will help you put together your own routine.


1. Look into the Types of Stretching and Risks

Before you start stretching or decide on having a routine, I would first advise looking into the different types of stretches and the risks of stretching incorrectly. 
Some types of stretches are more suitable for certain people in their current situation, due to age, physical restrictions, athletic ability etc. So having a knowledge of the different stretches and which ones would be best for you would only be beneficial. 
I won't go into the different types of stretching in this post, but instead will direct you to a more in-depth post: Types of Stretching.

Also, looking into the risks is more than a sensible idea because having a knowledge of how easy over time it can be to injure yourself when performing stretching incorrectly, will help you to stretch sensibly - knowing the risks will cause you to take more care when stretching.

2. Choose a Spacious Area

When performing your stretches make sure that you are doing it in a spacious area where you aren't going to knock into things. You don't want to be restricted in movement by not being able to full extend your muscles. Trying to stretch in an area that is not going to accommodate your full range of movement could prove injurious and place unnecessary tension on other joints.  
Whether it is in your front room, a gym, or outside - make sure that you are somewhere that will allow you to move freely.   

3. Schedule what you are doing

Don't go into it headfirst but instead plan what days you are going to be stretching and what stretches you are going to be performing. You may decide to do the same ones each time, but if you have a lot of stretches then it would be a good idea to have different routines for different days. For example, I have over 125 stretches to perform so I split them up into separate sessions, that way each session is different. It mixes it up a bit and helps to make the sessions less boring.

Also, make sure to write it down. If your routine is small enough to remember then you might not have to, but if you have a lot of stretches then you will want to keep track of what you are going to perform and what you have already performed. I personally would be lost if I had to try and remember my stretching routine.

4. Warm up First

It's good to get your muscles warmed up before applying tension and pressure on them through stretching. A warm up doesn't have to be much, a quick bit of cardio. So it could just be jogging on the spot for 5 minutes or doing jumping jacks. Just get your body moving and your blood pumping.

5. Don't Include a Stretch that Causes you Pain

If a certain stretch is causing you pain then it may be that you are not performing it properly. If however you are performing it properly, then don't do that stretch anymore. If it's causing you pain then the likelihood that this stretch is going to cause more pain than gain is high.

Don't confuse pain with tight muscles though. For example, if your muscles are tight and you can feel a burning sensation or tension (or along those lines when stretching), then it could be likely that your body is just not used to stretching. But like I said, if it is quite clearly causing you pain when you perform that particular stretch, then cut it out of your routine.

6. Make it Regular

If you are wanting to start a stretching routine then you will be likely be doing so because of the benefits. I'll quickly divert you to here if you don't know of them: 11 Benefits of Stretching. In order to get the most out of your stretching (to gain the benefits), you are going to have to do it regularly. How regularly? I would say either everyday or every other day. If you don't stretch regularly then your progress is going to be slow.