I spent my three months in beautiful, urban Panama City doing many things...drinking coconut water, blogging, getting slightly less pale, drinking coconut water, taking beautiful runs on the Cinta Costera, being mushy with my boyfriend, trying the best foods in Panama, etc. Notice how stretching was so not on that awesome list.
Welllll it should have been. I came home to sunny, Southern California and hopped back into my routine of work, school, and workouts. The exercise component felt natural at first, as I'd been exercising pretty regularly during those three months, but after I'd been home for no more than two weeks I started to notice some dramatic differences.
2) Hip pain not only when squatting but in performing many lower body exercises
3) Overall aches & soreness that never really went away
Only have 30 minutes to workout? Stop at 20 and stretch.
Know you're running late to work? Cut your workout early and stretch. You can finish tomorrow.
Just stretch. No excuses. No more pain.
After a month of just 10 minutes of stretching 4-5 days a week, I can say I finally feel like myself again. I'm not constantly ache-y or in pain. I can exercise with better form and stamina. And most importantly I'm not putting myself in danger for injury. It really doesn't matter how you stretch. I generally just do what feels good. Your body will let you know what muscles need attention.
Tell me, what's your favorite way to stretch?
Do you do it, or do you need to re-commit yourself?