The One Thing To Do Before You Stretch

Real quick, let’s do a body check.

How well are you moving without pain or stiffness?
 
Mobility is your ability to move without pain or restrictions during your daily activities. 

So how are you doing with that?

Before you throw the age card out, here me as I gently call B.S. to that. 

It's NOT a sign of healthy aging to wake up or end the day with a lot of tightness or soreness.

Healthy tissue doesn’t hurt.  It isn’t tender to touch.  It isn’t stiff.  It doesn’t hurt when you move. 

Inflammation, soreness and stiffness are signs of inflammation and over-training (or over-doing). 

I know you go, go, go and never take a time out to allow your body to rest. 

I see you...
 
Seriously, you may not be giving your body enough rest and recovery time between your workouts and activities.

Stiff, sore muscles are signs you need to slow down and work on your mobility.
 
Most people think about stretching as the way to better mobility.

We’re asked all the time what's the best way to stretch for this or that.

Yes, gentle stretching is a great way to work on your tight spots and improving your flexibility.

Going after your tight spots is one piece of the mobility puzzle.

But there's a flexibility hack you can do to maximize your stretch results.
 
It's a way to make lasting changes to your mobility, posture, and performance.

Before you stretch, you want to target your tender spots with trigger point massage.
 
We’ve all got tender spots.
 
Trigger points are the tender spots in your muscle that restrict your movement and performance.  
 
Trigger points can be caused by a variety of factors such as stress, fatigue, immobility, inflammation, or poor nutrition.
 
Finding and releasing your tender spots is key to moving better.
 
One of the most effective ways to release your tender spots is with trigger point massage.
 
It’s a bodywork technique that involves applying pressure to your tender spots in order to increase the blood flow and oxygen to the area and help the trigger point or adhesion release.
 
You can learn to do this technique on yourself using trigger point self-massage.

There are 2 ways to do self-massage:  your own hands or with tools.
 
Your own hands are very powerful and let’s face it are with you all the time.
 
Tools, like a foam roller or massage ball, come in handy for the spots you can’t reach with your hands and for those areas that have thicker tissue like the hips and legs.
 
It’s also easier to relax while you massage with the tools and focus on your breathing which is key to increasing blood flow to the area. 

The tools get deeper than you can with your hands.
 
They also travel easily so you can have them ready to go whenever you have a flare-up.
 
And you’ll decrease your risk for flare-ups if you use massage tools before your stretching for your daily self-care and after workouts. 

It only takes 5-10 minutes.  I know you can find time for that.

There are several massage tools available that mimic the pressure of a therapist’s hand.  

We’ve got a favorite massage tool, of course. It’s like having a PT, chiropractor, and massage therapist all in one!
 
Stay tuned for Monday, November 18th when we’ll share more about our favorite tool to help you spice up your stretch care by prepping with trigger point massage. 
 
We’ll also release details of how to sign up for our upcoming Austin December 8th LIVE MINI BODYWORK SHOP.  We’ll teach you a massage & stretch routine from head to toe using our favorite tool to help you go from flared-up to having more energy, ease, and flow each day.

There are only 8 spots so we can pamper you with flash cupping and partner stretch moves to release your most locked up tight & tender spots as well. 

It's been a few years since we've done a live workshop together.  And we're SUPER EXCITED!

If you’re part of our HIP FIT NEWS community, you’ll get the chance to sign up before we release any spots to the public.

You can get on our list, here.

Here's to stretching with lasting benefits!

P.S. Let's connect... Besides getting the inside scoop on our favorite massage tool & upcoming workshop, when you sign up for our newsletter you’ll be able to download our FREE DAILY PLANNER to help you pick out a few self-care & mini moves each morning for better mobility and more energy.