Active Isolated Stretching

Today was an off or recovery day for me.  My hamstrings and glutes were really tight, so in order to not potentially injure myself I decided that I should not workout today but to stretch instead using active isolated stretching because I am in PAIN!  Since my calves and hamstrings tend to always be tight in some areas I make sure I stretch them often. 

Static stretching or holding a stretch for 20 - 30 seconds and up to 60 seconds per muscle is probably the most common method of stretching because it's simple and user friendly and gets the job done. 

Active Isolated Stretching (or AIS) is a method used frequently by athletes because it can help improve an athlete's performance due to the increased range of motion of the muscles.  That's helpful for any athlete, pro or not.

This may be the first time many of you have heard of AIS.

AIS stretching are held for only 2 seconds as opposed to a longer period of time.  Holding the stretch for 2 seconds keeps your muscle's myatic reflex from kicking in (an involuntary contraction within the muscle to help keep it from tearing) which, in turn, helps you facilitate a deeper stretch throughout each AIS repetition.

Here's an example of an AIS stretch for your hamstrings:

1. Sit on the floor (easiest for most people) with one leg bent and the other stretched out.  Your legs should look like a backwards 4.

2. Activate (contract or squeeze) your the quad of the outstretched leg.

3. Gently reach toward the toe of that leg with both arms and hold for 2 seconds (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi).

4. Release the stretch and the contraction.

5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 for 10 repitions total.

You will see that you can stretch just a little bit farther each time and you will feel noticeably more flexible when you are finished.

That's the basics of AIS for now...I'll try to get to Part 2 tomorrow.

Sabrina Peterson

Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist