Forget 'Stoptober' try 'Stretchtober'

It's the first of October and everywhere I look today there seems to be initiatives for 'Stoptober'. Whether it be cleaning up your diet, cutting out alcohol or stopping smoking. These are all great ideas of course and good luck to you if you are taking up one or more of these challenges. It got me thinking though about how a smaller change made each day over a month could have a positive effect on your body and this led to 'Stetchtober'.
When treating patients I often prescribe stretches as part of home exercise plans to help with problems related to muscles imbalances and postural problems. Spending time stretching can have many benefits but unfortunately stretching is quite often the first thing to get dropped from our routine when we are pushed for time at the end of a workout or at the end of a busy day.

The Challenge

So here is the challenge - each day in October do an extra stretch on top of your normal routine. You can do any stretch, any time, any where. The only rule is to do it both sides (where applicable) and hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds. 

A few ideas are

• Stretch your calves over a step while your brushing your teeth
• Stretch your quads when your waiting for the kettle to boil
• Stretch your back before getting into bed

There are no strict rules as the idea is that you can mix up when, where and how you stretch and in the process will learn more about your body. By doing this you should become more aware of where you are tight and areas that are looser. This could help you develop a more personally specific post exercise stretching routine in the future. Hopefully after a month you will also start to notice and feel the changes that regular stretching has on your body.

So that's it - let me know how you get on by commenting on my blog or on twitter at @pos_movement using #stretchtober.

Good luck and happy stretching!