Body Part Specific Stretching

ellenj73

Cathlete
I really enjoy the stretching DVD, and after recovering from a ruptured disc and resulting sciatica all summer, I've discovered the benefits of physical therapy! A lot of what they showed me was stretching that I did, just longer times to hold the stretch, and it was all lower back, hamstring and calf specific. I was thinking that it would be a Stretch Max kind of DVD, instead of 'on the ball, resistance band, body weight', it would be:

Lower Body Stretching - cross legged hamstring on the ball, crosslegged up the wall, calf stretch on the step

Lower Back Stretching - on the ball, on the floor, up the wall...

Upper Back and Shoulders - and a little neck work, too.

Think of it kind of like, gee I slept funny and my neck is all kinked up, let me pop my Cathe stretching DVD in and see if that will loosen it up. Maybe have a PT person as a guest workout that can inject some tips.
 
OMG, Yes!

Yes, what a great idea! As the contributer suggested, who doesn't wake up with a kink in their neck some mornings? I admit my neck/shoulder is always a killer for me from sleeping, computer monitor-staring, and non-ergonomic mouse use. Also, for the majority of us who spend much of the day sitting or standing, who doesn't get a chronic tightness in part of their back (e.g. lower or upper--seems to be different for different people). As a sitter, I also get extraordinarily tight hips/hip flexors. So yes, targeted stretching would be FABULOUS! I do Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga from time to time when my hips or back are unbearable but a Cathe stretch would be super. My suggestions would be to do segments on upper back; lower back; shoulders/neck; hips; legs. My overall suggestions would be to stretch both muscle AND fascia (where applicable); make sure the stretches are held for nice long periods; show options for people who are less/more flexible or who have bad joints (the yin yoga can be hard on my knees, for instance). Lastly, incorporate a body part-specific warm up at the beginning of each segment (so many stretching videos don't do this and we all know we need to be warm to stretch--Cathe would be great at making sure we were properly warmed up).
 
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