To the casual observer it would seem that housekeeping and physical flexibility don’t have much to do with each other; with the possible exception of twisting yourself into knots trying to nab the dust bunnies behind your couch. In fact, stretching is one of the best ways to tidy up and set right a disorganized body. A well designed flexibility program lengthens the body, opens up the joints and returns us to a natural posture. A well stretched body is much like a freshly cleaned house just before the first party guests arrive, primed and ready for anything. Putting away your socks and taking the dirty dishes to the sink also keeps the body warm, which makes stretching more effective. When used in an interval fashion both of these modes compliment and intensify the effectiveness of the other.

I have recently developed a “stretch and straighten” routine that I do most mornings. The basic format includes two stretches, done back to back and then two items put away. I then repeat the same two stretches; attempting to go a bit deeper the second time around, and then return two more items to their proper places. I do 10 different moves, twice each for a total of 20 stretches and put away at least as many errant objects. I hold each stretch for 15 to 60 seconds.

After the workout my body feels limber and loose and my bedroom looks great, the floor as clear and uncluttered as my mind. This system works best for the type of person who enjoys multi-tasking and who doesn’t feel wrenched when switching between different activities.

Here are a few guidelines for creating your own “stretch and strengthen” routine:

Choose stretches that work more then one muscle group or target flexibility and balance at the same time. This will save you time and keep you challenged. It’s a good idea to take a few yoga classes and borrow some of their moves as most yoga stretches are multi-dimensional. It also helps to choose moves that flow from one to the other. This will make the routine more enjoyable and effective. An example from yoga that illustrates this is a downward dog into a cobra. Pick up a yoga or flexibility book to get lots of ideas and for quick reference.

Be flexible with yourself on the tiding part of the routine. If you accidentally get caught up in doing all the dishes and lose the flow of your stretching just turn off the sink and come back to it. The dishes will wait for you to complete your next two moves. Also, don’t try to do any major housecleaning while you are doing your routine. It’s more about eliminating clutter and creating order and less about sponges and giant bottles of 409.

Put the stretches that you really enjoy at the beginning and end of your routine. You will remember these most and they will keep you coming back. It is also important to choose moves that target the areas that you are tightest. For most people this is the long muscles of their legs (hips, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves) and spine.

My routine:

Warm-up:

Body Lengthening: reaching one arm at a time toward the ceiling.

Mountain Pose

Runner’s calf stretch (up against a wall)

Pick-up 2 items

Hanging shoulder stretch (arms on my dresser)

Forward bending

Pick-up 2 items

Arms overhead side bend

Half-nelson shoulder stretch

Pick-up 2 items

Standing hip stretch (with opposite twist) both sides

Backward bend

Pick up two items

Angry cats (on my bed)

Baby pose (on my bed)

By nature I am taut beast and inhabit a body that without vigilant lengthening likes to bunch up. Despite this fact, I have never found a flexibility program that I could stick too for more than a week. The issue became even more pressing a few years back when I hit thirty and began noticing that I was waking up stiff; even when I hadn’t done an outrageous workout the day before. With the help of denial, one of my top three coping mechanisms, I learned to live with being a grumpy 80-year-old man for the first 15 minutes of the day.

In my quest to loosen the heck up I tried yoga, but could never get into the groove of it. I found it difficult to surrender such large chunks of time to something that didn’t involve a ball or any opportunities for high-fives and beer. The type of people who tend to gravitate to yoga also irritated me and made me feel even more tense. I wanted to wrap their hemp, patchouli smelling yoga mats around their beatific faces and squeeze with all the power of my mighty and stiff muscles. I’m still looking for a beginning yoga class specifically designed for people who hate people who like yoga.

My other strategy was to buy stretching books and leave them by my bed. This hasn’t worked very well either, though I always have something flat to write on in a pinch. One of my pet peeves with stretching manuals is that nobody in them really needs to stretch. Every model pictured is already human taffy and probably would remain more flexible then me for the rest of their days if they never did another downward dog (or “bend and grunt” as I like to call it).

I think learning to incorporate stretching and flexibility into your life is something like quitting smoking, you have to try a bunch of times before you get it right. You also have to do it long enough to get results, which for me include a springy, light feeling that I don’t get with other kinds of workouts. It is also good to know that before I plop my rump down at the computer for the first part of my day that I have taken steps to avoid turning into a human question mark.

Recently I have hit upon a stretching routine that is actually working for me and I want to share it with all my comrades in pre-rigamortis. Stay tuned for “Straight, Supple and Feeling Fine” and sit up straight!

Have you ever stopped to consider the way people talk about the act of stretching? They say things like:

“I have to stretch,”

“We should stretch, right?”

“It’s too (cold, hot, late, windy, insert favorite excuse here) to stretch.”

They hardly ever say:

“It’s a great day to increase my range of motion.”

“That was some awesome strength, let’s combine it with some killer length.”

“I want to be as flexible as Gumby on a griddle. Let’s stretch Pokey!”

I say lose the word stretch and all of its negative mutations. Pursing flexibility is really about “range of motion training” or “motion training” for short. Flexibility work trains your muscles, bones and joins to operate in fuller ranges of motion, giving you freedom of movement and protection from injury.It’s time to think about flexibility as a positive, desirable part of your fitness life. Here are a few excellent phrases to get you started:

“Sorry dude I can’t bench press now. I’m focusing on motion training today”.

“Gee honey, maybe if you did more motion training you could scratch you own back.”

“Wanna see me grab my toes? That motion training is really paying off!”

It’s time to show flexibility some respect. Why is it that running without stretching is considered a workout and strength training without stretching is considered a workout, but flexibility training is not (usually) considered a stand alone workout. This is a shame because range of motion is every bit as important as endurance or strength. Without healthy, flexible joints and muscles strength and endurance activities become impossible. A flexibility session is every bit as important as any other component of fitness. Take this moment to consider how you really feel about stretching? Do you think it’s slow and boring? Is it something to be endured like taking out the trash or cleaning the bathroom? Do you check out and day dream when you’re stretching or are you fully present and aware of what’s going on with your body? Are you doing the same stretches you learned in junior high and do you wonder how long you’re really supposed to hold each position? Consider how much time you have invested in revising your flexibility routine, learning new stretches or setting new goals and you can see why you might be bored, confused or both. Come back next week for ideas on how to spice up your flexibility life and make motion training a valued part of your fitness routines.