how often should i stretch?

I'm gonna be the odd guy out here and say you should start practicing yoga.

Don't sell it short, it's a lot tougher than it looks. I thought it was kind of silly to be honest, but since I've picked it up I feel a thousand times better, a lot less tense, and my flexibility continues to improve. I think every grappler should do yoga. Highly recommended for an alternative to standard stretching routines.

Hi Yas R My answer will go against most or all of the others. But I wish to emphasise the respect I have for other contributors, especially those like Lestermo (A Top Contributor) who, I've noticed, provides consistently good advice. The reason why my answer is so different is because 'stretching' is perhaps my biggest concern in terms of sports training. So many people accept stretching as a must do. But there is a growing debate in sports coaching as to its benefits. For instance - some soccer coaches believe that for under 14 players, stretching is not really necessary as their muscles are more than flexible enough already. Few junior players suffer hamstring strains. Adult sports people stretch - but still suffer injuries. Even top stars get hamstring strains. How can that be? After all their training and exercises are carefully managed by the best physios and coaches in the world. The suggestion is that it is very easy to over stretch. No matter how experienced and capable you might be. And if you over stretch it leaves the muscle on a knife edge. Think of a piece of elastic. Stretch it, it gets longer and you can use it better. But keep stretching it and - snap! Are you confident that you would know exactly when to stop stretching? If so you know a lot more about your body than I do about mine. Remember - we're all built differently. The stretch that might suit your muscle system might be too much for mine. What I'm very awkwardly trying to say is this.Think very carefully before setting out on a stretching routine. In my view no-one here (again with all due respect to other contributors) can tell YOU specifically how to stretch or indeed whether you should stretch. None of us know anything about your physical development or age. If you do decide to stretch, make sure you are doing everything to minimise risk. This means asking a properly qualified person - a physio or a coach - to check you out and to show you how to do the exercises properly. Any stretching routine should be tailored to suit the individual. And please don't concentrate on one set of muscles as this could cause an imbalance. OK I admit it. I'm an old codger banging on far too much. Stay healthy. Enjoy the running.

That's good to hear Brandon. Overstretching can manifest itself in a couple of different ways. Noticing a soreness around the joints, and tenderness of ligaments and tendons when you have not worked out otherwise for no particular reason is one indication. Also noticing a seeming lack of flexibility for no apparent reason is another indication. Now that you are on your way to training and using some good training regiments see if you can't better learn to listen to your body. You may want to look up on the internet the human body and a graphic of where and how all the muscles are laid out. There are some excellent graphics out there and if you have a chance to see the "Bodyworks"exposition that is touring the country I would encourage you to do so. It is great for athletes and people like yourself to see so that they better understand how the human body works and how complex the muscle and skeletal system really is. You should be able to stretch five days per week if you are warming up and doing slow, static and maybe dynamic type stretching and it sounds like you are. Make sure to hydrate and eat properly and most fighters and athletes I know keep it to that to give their body a chance to rest on those two days that they don't stretch.

It is good to stretch at least once a day for a good 10 minutes so that you will gain great flexibility. But for every stretch you have to hold it for a good 35 seconds (splits 35 seconds, turn to the left 35 seconds, etc) all this because you want your muscles (muscle memory) to know how it feels. Morning, afternoon and night any free time you have would help you out. Always stretch out before doing any sports, especially martial arts because you are always constantly moving your body in different directions.

Stretch in the morning, when your muscles are tight; you don't need to warm up, like people say 5-10 mins jogging. You don't have to do that if you stretch lightly. So stretch in the morning, LIGHTLY. Before your workout, and AFTER, which is the most important. If you have a time to stretch, do it AFTER your workout.

NOTE: Don't do it before you sleep. Do it 1 hour before if you must.. Very bad for you.

Also, if people tell you a warm up is a must before stretching, it's not. It depends what stretches you do. For instance, butterfly or straddle is great, but ones that bounce or require you to stand up like the lunge isn't so great without a warm up. Look up relaxed stretching, or stretches you can do without a warm up and not get hurt.

Follow this and get splits in 6 months or less

Every day. The time you stretch and how long is up to you but few things flee as fast as flexibility.

get the blood flowing, before stretching. I stretch morning, before training, and before going to sleep.