Do you have to stretch?
Today on Dad Strength
Do you have to stretch?
Health vs fitness
The Zone of Proximal Development
A book, a quote, and a dad joke
Do you have to stretch?
I’ve been waiting to share this (paywalled – sorry) piece on stretching I wrote for The Globe and Mail with you. Baseball shenanigans wound up pushing back the publish date. Now that it’s finally out, I can add a few thoughts:
I’m always interested in the kind of things where experts can have wildly different opinions. Stretching has always felt that way to me. Some people insist on it – stretching with deep intent several times a week. Others treat it like anchovies on a fitness pizza – anything but that. And both seem to do just fine.
So what’s the truth of it?
If we were talking one-on-one, I’d help you build a personal inventory of your own acceptable minimum ranges of motion. If in doubt, we would imagine you as an old guy trying to stay out of assisted living and work backwards from there. However, we may also want to layer some more stringent criteria on top - the kind of ranges you need for the physical activities you like. Or at least the ones you want the option of taking part in.
The short answer is that we should all maintain range and control. And the younger we start, the more successful we’ll be (10 years ago was ideal, right now is the next best thing). However, you don’t necessarily have to stretch. Strength training through a full range of motion is also effective.
Warm up first
Challenge your own sense of discomfort
30 seconds per rep when integrated into warm-ups or workouts
2-4 minute holds when done as a separate session
There is a minor (~5%) decrease to power or all-out strength from stretching beforehand. Personally, I think people make too big a deal of this:
a) most people aren’t pushing to 100% in every workout
b) tightness often exerts more than a 5% level of inhibition to performance – i.e. a lot of guys are worried about engine size while driving with the parking brake on
Health vs fitness
Health and fitness are not the same thing. Health is the foundation that fitness is built upon. It’s dynamic and complex. It is sufficiency in every domain, from nutrition to stress management. Movement is required but not in extreme doses. Fitness, on the other hand, is adapting to the demands of a specific task – and that’s where we’ll sometimes see extremes, e.g. to compete as a bodybuilder or maximize your 400-metre run time, or form the offensive lineup of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Health and fitness share a great deal but it’s possible to push specific fitness to the point that it harms health.
The Zone of Proximal Development
Lev Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is powerful for parents. It lives a bit (sometimes, a lot more) beyond the toughest challenges kids can tackle on their own.
The ZPD is where kids are able to push beyond their current boundaries through juuuuust enough support. This might be from setting them up for success (the right tools and resources nearby); giving tools that provide better/faster feedback (e,g, a metronome or guitar tuner with visual display); providing a simple but challenging focal point (e.g. describe this painting mathematically – or describe this math with a painting); or simply through presence, encouragement, and being the Morpheus to their Neo. Here, a parent or teacher’s touch is light… just enough wind at their back to reach new destinations and reimagine what they can achieve.
What I’m reading
Deep Black by Miles Cameron
I read mostly non-fiction but figured I could use a break – and who better to take a break with than someone who strings together thoughtful action with descriptions of daily (space) life that feel like a buoyant conversation.
Some dark examples of the internet world we’ve created
We’re Not the Anxious Generation
Written by a perceptive young man, this piece balancing up two opposing ideas: that there is plenty wrong with the internet (see above) and that trying to control access to the internet is a reactionary approach that misses the bigger picture.
Cats return as historic cat door reopens in Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace
A quote
“All children need for healthy cognitive growth is: Food, Shelter and Unconditional Love.”
— Carl Rogers
A dad joke
I asked a turbine what kind of music it likes. It said, “I’m a big metal fan.”
Take care of yourself, man!
GG
—
Geoff Girvitz