k_Promethean_struggle

Yes, weekly stretching is difficult, but half the difficulty is psychological/perception. Beside the very real physical tensions experienced in the targeted parts, our mind is constantly sending (amplified) negative signals, brainwashing ourselves “it’s futile … I can’t sustain it … I can’t really improve…”

sitting hurdler’s pose might be an example, though yoga sessions never include it.

I have done many types of physical exercises and programming exercises. Usually I could keep up for a month or so. Stretching is arguably the toughest to keep up.

We can gain insights from quick comparisons against group classes, jogging, resistance training, lunges, jumping jack etc.

–Factor: measurable (visible) improvement — flexibility improvement is less visible but not invisible.

Sugg: celebrate those small improvements as significant improvements. I would even say those small improvements are more worthwhile for my body than stamina improvements or strength improvements, or even __weight_loss__.

sugg: prefer those rare poses that show visible progress.

Sugg: if adductors (and external rotators) are the worst part and shows no improvement after a long time, then you don’t have to see visible improvement in adductors at this stage. Don’t hit a stone wall and frustrate yourself. Instead, target the lower hanging fruits. There’s no shame. They are also important. If ignoring those super-tight adductors helps you maintain the weekly effort then it’s better to ignore adductors for now. Once we have better flexibility elsewhere, adductors will be easier to manage.

–Factor: measurable effort — With chin-up for example, we can set a target to motivate ourselves. In contrast, with stretching on our own, I seldom know whether I have met a target output level. If I hard-stretch for an hour until I sweat then I would feel better but without an instructor it’s clearly too hard for me to stretch so long.

Sugg: set measurable targets like 20 seconds each time, at least once a day and reward yourself meaningfully.

Sugg: each minute of hard stretch earns 5X reward points (other exercise earns 1X) Keep daily record for a week.

Q: what would be regarded an insignificant effort?
A: nothing. To protect the tiny candle light we have, we should not set any criteria as a way to belittle and blame ourselves. Once a week of a quick stretch is better than nothing.

–Factor: energy spend — with lunges for example, I feel a lot of energy spent after x repetitions. In contrast, some of the steady stretches require me to hold and I too feel tired, but they are usually too uncomfortable to hold.

Sugg: if too uncomfortable to hold, then take it easy or skip them completely. Don’t sacrifice your enjoyment, or turn positive feedback into negative feedback. When stretching, we don’t need to feel energy spent.

–Factor: traction — Gaining traction/momentum vs spinning my wheel. Jogging is the most self-sustainable for me. (I now easily run for half an hour to one hour and I always feel very good afterwards.) Some people probably find resistance training or cross training rather boring and strenuous, but for me stretching is the most torturous and unsustainable.

Sugg: take it easy YET recognize the effort. It’s slightly easier but NOT worthless.

–Factor: enjoy — stretching can feel enjoyable to those who are already flexible. I can try to feel that way too. Automatically, I associate stretching with pain and endurance.

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Since stretching is clearly tougher than other exercises, it probably deserves special priority. Given my limited time, I should try to allocate more to stretching and less to jogging etc.