I’m in a state of churn. Retirement, or non-employment as I’m going to call it, is not instant fun. One doesn’t just drift from one experience to another. It’s closer to going back to the dating scene after 30 years. It takes a level of curiosity woven with experience to reach toward change.

I’m in better shape now and training is woven in to my daily fabric. Especially training that I know enables me to embark on new paths and adventures.

I’ve mentioned stretching and rolling as part of my workouts. It’s become more a release and need now. Many aches and pains of my muscles, tendons and etc. were the diminishing, shrinking and tugging as I aged and lost strength. So now I stretch and roll to feel limber and balanced.

Ballistic stretching, the stretching used in my youth, is that bouncy stretching. A combo of static and dynamic stretching that easily ends in pain or a pulled muscle. This isn’t really taught much anymore. This comes from the era where stretching was held for a count of 6, which really doesn’t do stretching justice. My personal trainer has me do both Static Stretching and Dynamic Stretching and we devote some time to both.

Static Stretching: Holding a stretch for a period of time. Recommended post workout or before bed. This type of stretching causes permanent elongation of the muscle. This will also tell the muscle to relax as actin and myosin filaments get farther apart (the elongation).

My trainer, Siera says “As I teach clients, holding a static stretch needs to be done for 1-2+ minutes. The longer the stretch is held the longer the muscles will become.”

Dynamic Stretching: stretching with movement.  Recommended mornings and pre-workout. Not to get confused with ballistic stretching *see above.

Siera says “This type of stretching is to be done actively – a way to prep muscles for the movements you are asking of them.”

I use rolling to get out kinks, muscle knots and some hard to reach spots – like my over tight calves. These can be done with a variety of aids such as rolling over foam, PVC pipe, ball, ect. Siera comments that ” [the] goal is to massage the fascia, which covers the entire body.” She recommends this for pre and post exercise. “It’s great for releasing knots (toxins entangled in muscle fibers). This is similar to trigger-point therapy and massage.”

May 30 we start our EPW walk. Distance hiking/ walking is a forward moving action. To counter the muscles that we use during the hike, we’ll be incorporating lateral stretches during our breaks. This will help us to avoid muscles tightening up when we take a break. Here’s our short menu of stretchs we’ll use during the hike; Lateral lunges, hip twist, head/neck/should twist, standing pigeon, lateral hip swings, alternating side bend.

Want to feel more youthful? Get stretching! Here’s some to consider  as good stretches for seniors or find a beginning yoga class.  Start small, the benefits are big.