The Sports Workout: The Stretch

The struggle is always real. It is a blessing and a curse. That’s right. It is the sports workout mentality. Having a heavy background in sports and routines can be very beneficial. However, one must be very careful too. One of the biggest obstacles personally faced was knowing when to say when. 

Wait. There is a stop button? The answer to that question is undoubtedly yes. There are times when it is admittedly okay to step back, relax, and even reassess what you may or may not be doing.

That is okay. This is something that is not a sign of weakness. The key is to understand the tender difference between dedication and obsession. This is something which becomes a blurred line sometimes. 

Also, do not get discouraged. No matter where we are on this journey called life, know that there bumps in the road. 

Why make a confession about something like this? That answer is simple. The importance of wellness is paramount. Any former athlete of whatever level knows that their workouts can be different sometimes. There is a level of quirky, if you will. 

For myself, when I started losing weight, I set a goal of a certain time before I could flip my legs over my head and touch the ground. This sounds nuts. However, my personal focus was to be in shape and be more flexible. Again, this is not for everyone. 

However, for those wondering, it took me six months to be able to get to a weight and level of flexibility to pull off this stretching maneuver. From there, I was able to focus on using my stretching to further the strength training aspects of my workout. 

Again, this started with just simple leg lifts and placing my legs up on an elevated chair. From there, it was holding my body at a certain level. After that, combining those two aspects allowed me to start aiding my core in stretching out. 

Keeping one’s core is so important that it cannot always be put into words accurately. This is because not every person has the same limits or thresholds. It must be about what works for the person. For me, it was about achieving that first big goal. 

The first time I was able to place my legs above my head, I could not get my feet to hit the ground. Embarrassingly, I almost knocked my laptop off a chair. The second attempt was a few days later. Unfortunately for me, I went back too fast and banged my left shoulder.

There were quite a few more tries at this. Admittedly, the frustration level grew more intense with each failure. It was when that dedication started to become an obsession. Every day I would try and try. It was then, I stopped for a bit. That pause for a week was essential. 

I focused on other ways to stretch and exercise. Then, randomly it happened. One day, the legs went over the head, touched the ground, and finally stayed. The moment occurred and there was much relief.

I never looked back at just the success but all the times it took to achieve that success. The stretch was truly a lesson worth learning. 

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