I want to believe stuff like this, but the whole field is so mired in quackery and jingo it's hard to believe any of it. A PT with a radical personal theory, plus some youtubers and instagram influencers hardly inspires confidence. At least there are no doctors writing pop health books! But some studies in some scientific journal would be great.
That said, holding stretches longer and focusing on relaxing while stretching hardly seems risky, and could be worth a try.
> I want to believe stuff like this, but the whole field is so mired in quackery and jingo it's hard to believe any of it.
Haha yes I just saw a youtube video last night of a personal account that said something that seemed to directly contradict what the author of this post learned ("static stretches don't work" whereas this author is saying they worked for him).
I feel like for these kinds of cases where there is contradictory information that it is better to rely on direct experience in my own body rather than just scientific information about what's supposed to work. Use mindful awareness to feel directly what's happening in the muscles and tissues and how it changes over time using the different types of techniques. Then I don't really need to believe anything anyone says. The downside of this approach is that we may miss out on important information if we're ONLY relying on direct experience. But direct experience should be the foundation in my opinion.
I would say your foundation should be the science and you can fine tune to your personal experience. If you're starting from personal experience you're just going to miss out on the wealth of pre-existing knowledge and are likely very far from optimal if not completely wasting your time. AKA reinventing the wheel.
This would be similar to going to the gym and trying to figure out what works for you for gaining strength or muscle mass while ignoring the research/existing knowledge. Very likely you'll get nowhere. The proper approach is to do the research, start from a well supported base, and then fine tune to your own body/requirements.
I mean yeah, but we never start from nothing of course! Totally agree. But our experience should always be the ground truth we test against and if the science disagrees then we should hold the science lightly or ignore it. But if the science offers us something that works in our direct experience then great! And there is a progressive feedback loop as we continue to notice more about our experience and also learn more from research. That's been my experience anyway :)
The science supports that holding stretches longer helps. But it's hardly the best way to stretch vs. something like PNF. But sure, there's no downside other than taking more time and it's pretty standard in Yoga practices as well FWIW.
I don’t think there’s any harm in stretching more, longer and better.
Take a look at people walking out of yoga studios some time. They look fit, move well and seem healthy at rates far more than other people their age.
That was enough reason for me.
(With the usual caveat any good yoga instructor will give “never overdo it” or direct from the yoga sutras “relax the intensity of your efforts, because This. Never. Ends.”)
That said, holding stretches longer and focusing on relaxing while stretching hardly seems risky, and could be worth a try.