3 Simple Ways to Make Your Stretching More Effective
Key insights: 60-second read
- Mobility comes before strength – you can't out-strengthen stiffness and tightness. Addressing joint mobility first creates the space for muscles to move and strengthen properly.
- Target the joint underneath the tight muscle – if a muscle feels tight, the joint it crosses may be stiff. Use a ball or band to mobilise the joint capsule before stretching the muscle.
- PNF stretching is far more effective than static stretching – tense the tight muscle for 5-10 seconds, relax, and you'll be able to go deeper into the stretch immediately.
- Use your new range of motion – after mobilising and stretching, perform an exercise that takes you to the end of that new range to tell your brain and body that you value that movement.
- Do mobility work before your workout – freeing up restrictions before you exercise removes hidden "handbrakes" and allows you to strengthen through a fuller, healthier range of motion.
If you've ever felt like stretching isn't getting you anywhere, you're not alone. Most people stretch because they feel they have to, but ultimately rely on older, ineffective, passive techniques of the past.
In this guide, I want to show you three extremely simple techniques that may genuinely improve your stretching effectiveness. And as always, I don't want you to have to trust me – I want the results to speak for themselves.
So let's get into it.
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Why Mobility Comes Before Strength
When trying to resolve aches, pains, and injuries, our default is often set to strength work. If you present to a physiotherapist with knee pain, the majority of treatments often revolve around strengthening your knee to make it more robust.
While it's clearly important, I've found that mobility is often that little bit more important. In a lot of ways, we can't out-strengthen stiffness and tightness. If a joint is stiff and restricted, strength training alone may not resolve this long-term.
Similarly, tissue restrictions may actually be contributing to a lack of strength and power through their reduced function and capacity.
"If you can't express normal motion through the joint, you can't expect to express normal flexibility through the muscles that govern the joint."
Technique 1: Mobilise the Joint Underneath the Tight Muscle
Let's start with the most overlooked aspect of stretching: the joint underneath the tight muscle.
If you're doing a hamstring stretch and consistently trying to reach a point where you can target muscular tightness, but the hip joint underneath is stiff and restricted – thanks to sitting or other modern habits – you'll never really be able to express as much normal flexibility through the muscle tissue. The joint simply won't have the give that it should.
For the Trunk: Using a Ball
If you deal with constant neck tightness, upper trap tightness, or lower back tightness, we want to make sure you have a targeted stretch. But we can also take a ball (lacrosse ball or tennis ball) and mobilise the joints underneath - the spinal joints or the rib joints.
For example, if you have tight upper traps (which anchor from your upper back and shoulder blades into your neck), place the ball just below the bump at the base of your spine, roll it off to one side, and lie down on it. Go looking for spots that feel stiff, tight, hard, and restricted compared to the other side.
- Find a stiff spot and just stay there – let the ball press in for 30-60 seconds (or up to 2 minutes).
- Take some deep breaths to help your nervous system feel safe and allow relaxation.
- Systematically move the ball up or down and go hunting for any other restrictions.
If you free up the underlying joints, you might instantly find that your ability to move and express motion through the tight muscle improves straight away.
For Peripheral Joints: Using a Band
For your shoulders, hips, and limbs, use a power band. If you're stretching your hamstring but the hip joint capsule is a limiting factor, slide the band right up into the hip crease. Perform the same hamstring stretch, but this time the band is pulling back on the joint, opening up the underside of the hip joint capsule as well.
- Go looking for anything that feels stiff, tight, and restricted.
- Hang out there for 30-60 seconds, asking that capsule to mobilise.
- Recheck the same hamstring stretch – you might find it doesn't feel as tight as before.
The nuance: you want the band pulling in a way that opens up the area you're trying to stretch. If you're opening the front of your hip (for a hip flexor stretch), you want the band pulling the front of that hip open.
Key Concept: If you don't have normal movement through the joint, it's almost impossible to expect you to express normal motion through the muscles that govern that joint. Free the joint first.
Technique 2: PNF – Contract, Relax, Go Further
One of the biggest misconceptions about traditional stretching is that the best way to stretch is to passively hold a position for 30 seconds. We can do so much better.
The second technique is PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching – sometimes called "contract-relax" or "tense-relax."
How to Do PNF Stretching
- Find the stretch: Get into your stretch (e.g., hamstring stretch) and find the point where you feel tightness in the muscle belly.
- Tense the muscle: Find a way to tense up that tight spot for about 5-10 seconds. For a hamstring stretch, you can push your heel down into the floor or chair, or try to bend your leg against resistance.
- Relax and go further: Stop tensing. The tissue will physically release a little bit, allowing you to go deeper into the stretch before you find tightness again.
- Repeat: Keep doing this – tense, relax, go further – until you stop making change.
- Immediate result: You should feel more mobile through that part of your body than you were beforehand.
This works because it creates a reflex where maximal contraction is followed by maximal relaxation. The fancy term is "autogenic inhibition" – your nervous system tells the muscle to relax after a strong contraction.
For upper body stretches (e.g., chest stretch), the principle is the same: find the stretch, find a way to tense the tight spot (like pushing your forearm back into a wall or frame), hold for 5-10 seconds, relax, and go further.
"If you add PNF stretching to your routine, you deserve to see an immediate improvement in how flexible that muscle feels."
Technique 3: Use Your New Range of Motion
Once you've freed up any joint restriction and stretched the muscle using PNF, the third and final step is to actually use that new range of motion.
How to Lock In Your New Mobility
- Use it immediately: If you've just worked on your calf muscles, do a calf raise off a step, going as deep as you can and coming back up again.
- Strengthen through the new range: This tells your brain and body that you value that new range, making it more permanent.
- Apply to any stretch: For a hamstring stretch, do a hip hinge and generate some fatigue at the end of your new range.
When to Do Mobility Work
Truthfully, the best time to do mobility work is whenever is most convenient to you. If it works at the beginning or end of your day, perfect. If breaking it up into smaller chunks and sprinkling it throughout your day fits better, perfect.
Having said that, I would always ask patients to do their mobility work before they exercise. If today is leg day, do all of your ankle, hip, and knee mobility work before you start your workout. This takes away any hidden "handbrakes" that might be holding you back from optimal performance, and allows you to use that new range immediately.
Each of these three techniques in isolation should improve the effectiveness of your stretching routine. But if you combine all three together – mobilising the joint underneath, using PNF stretching, and then using your new range – you'll see a profound difference.
So to summarise:
- Find the joint restriction – use a ball for your trunk or a band for your limbs to free up the joint capsule underneath the tight muscle.
- Stretch the muscle with PNF – tense the tight spot for 5-10 seconds, relax, and go further.
- Use your new range – perform an exercise that takes you to the end of your new range to lock it in.
If you follow these steps, you'll stop wasting time on ineffective stretching and start making real, lasting improvements in your mobility and function.
- Grant
Frequently Asked Questions
Is static stretching (holding for 30 seconds) completely useless?
Not useless – but it's far less effective than PNF stretching. Static stretching can provide short-term relief, but without addressing joint mobility and using your new range, the tightness is likely to return. PNF (contract-relax) is a much more efficient way to improve flexibility.
Can I use these techniques on any muscle group?
Yes, the principles apply to any muscle group. For joints of the trunk, use a ball. For peripheral joints (shoulders, hips, knees, ankles), use a band. Always combine with PNF stretching and then use your new range of motion with a relevant exercise.
Why do I need to use my new range after stretching?
Using your new range tells your brain and nervous system that the new mobility is valuable and should be retained. Without this step, your body may revert to its old, restricted range. It's the difference between temporary flexibility and lasting change.
Can I do mobility work after my workout instead?
You can, but doing it before your workout removes restrictions that might limit your performance and allows you to strengthen through a fuller, healthier range. If you only do it after, you may not see the same lasting benefits because you haven't "used" the new range under load.
One key insight from this video
"If you can't express normal motion through the joint, you can't expect to express normal flexibility through the muscles that govern that joint. Combine joint mobilisation, PNF stretching, and using your new range – and your stretching routine will never be the same."
Need personalised help with your aches, pains, or mobility?
If you would like help making sense of your pain, injury, or general musculoskeletal dysfunction, you can book with Grant either in Port Macquarie or via an online telehealth consultation.
