my visit to the local stretch zone

A few weeks ago, my Instagram scrolling pulled up an ad for my local Stretch Zone, asking if anyone was interested in a complimentary stretch. As you know, I am always up for new things and responded “yes”. Within a few days, I was all set up for my first appointment!

What Is the Stretch Zone?

Stretch Zone is a place where clients can receive practitioner assisted stretching to improve range of motion. They make use of patented strapping, proprietary tables, and “specific measures and protocols to properly position, stabilize, isolate, and manipulate muscles using powerful principles of neuromuscular behavior.”

Sounds exciting!

Benefits include

• feeling lighter and younger
• relief of stiffness and soreness
• enhanced athletic performance
• increase and maintain range of motion
• enhanced physical and athletic skills

What Happens At Intake

When I arrived, I got checked in and sat down with Kyle, the owner of the Stretch Zone near me. I was little nervous: when I arrived, I remembered how very much I hate massages and being touched, especially by people I don’t know. However, Kyle and the other staff members took that in stride, and were absolutely equipped to help eliminate my concerns.

We went through the waiver and forms, which was pretty typical to any physical-centric appointment. Topics of discussion were any health concerns, recent surgeries, or anything that would preclude my receiving an assisted stretch. We also discussed my current flexibility situation (which I feel is non existent) and goals.

Getting Started With The Stretch

After all questions were answered, we moved to the tables, and I put on my socks. Kyle invited me to hop on the table, and he got to work. First was a little, light warmup, where he guided my legs, hips and even ankles through some light circles and pulling. Then it was time to get to work.

We started with my “good” leg, the left side. For my analysis stretch, the focus was going to be on my calves, hamstrings, hips and glutes. Everything on the left got mirrored on the right. Kyle encouraged me to communicate what I was feeling: Stretch Zone uses 3-5-7 to categorize the intensity of the stretch – we want to start at a 3 and work up to a 7.

Deeper Into The Stretch

As Kyle worked, we kept chatting about my running and ways I want to improve. It was a little difficult to lean in and let him to do all the work, but that’s kind of the process. From my perspective, I didn’t feel very much in my right calf, because of my lower foot flexion, so he really had to dig in for that. I also didn’t feel much in my back – the stretches he used felt great, but it was hard to reach what I consider a 7.

On the other hand, there were some hip stretches that felt great, but showed how super tight I am. Also, things that were supposed to come through in my hamstrings, I felt in my quads.

For every stretch he performed, he worked slowly and cautiously, repeating the same move three times, in order to hit the 3-5-7. Each time, he relaxed, and then pushed a little further, until I communicated that level of good stretch, without hurting. There was no pain at any time, nor did he do anything that my body was unable to process.

Interestingly, I seem pretty stretchy by Stretch Zone’s definitions, which was nice to hear, but there are definitely areas where I would love to see improvement.

Reviewing My Results

After stretching, Kyle made some notes in my file: things I liked and didn’t like, as well as stretches that seemed more effective than others. At this point, we discussed our next steps. Stretch Zone recommends coming in at least once a week (with investment packages to match), but we agreed that for someone like me, once every two or three weeks might be most effective. I can also sign up for single sessions on their convenient app.

My Thoughts

Try it! Seriously! Stretch Zone offers a free 30 minute trial stretch, so take advantage and see what it’s about.

Obviously, one session isn’t enough to reap all the rewards, but I can tell you I definitely benefitted. The next day, I was a little sore, but not sore enough that I couldn’t participate in my regular activities. I also felt incredibly loose, which showed itself in the length and ease of my stride when running the next day. For someone like me, who battles stiffness and loss of range of motion after injury, this is huge.

I’ll also be honest. Yes, I can stretch myself. No, I won’t do it as often as I should. Having an assisted stretch is definitely a nice way to get it done, when I’m not motivated to do it on my own.

I am linking up with Kookyrunner and Zenaida this Tuesday for Tuesday Topics!

Have you ever tried an assisted stretch?