TIGHTNESS = WEAKNESS (Why Stretching Isn't The Fix)

One mistake I see all the time is someone who feels stiff or tight, so they go do endless stretching, figuring it'll make them more flexible.

There's a time and place for stretching. The best time is right after a training session, as part of a proper cooldown. After your muscles have spent a while contracting from squatting, deadlifting, pushing and pulling, a few minutes of static stretching helps lengthen them and kickstarts recovery. It also slows your heart rate and breathing, which signals your nervous system that it's time to chill out.

STRETCHING BEFORE A SESSION ISN'T THE MOVE

In the warmup, we want to prep the body for the movement patterns we're about to train. If we're squatting, bodyweight squats or tempo squats with a pause are a great warmup. If we're deadlifting, a good morning or a banded hinge does the trick.

If a muscle or joint feels stiff, a bunch of stretches isn't going to solve it. You might free up some range of motion for a few minutes, but it's not a long-term fix.

TIGHTNESS IS A SYMPTOM, NOT THE PROBLEM

Tightness is often the body's response to weakness. If you can't squat to a healthy depth because of weak hip flexors, stretching those hip flexors won't fix it. Strengthening them will.

Same with your squat. If tight ankles and missing dorsiflexion are wrecking it, ankle mobility drills buy you temporary relief. But for a permanent change, you've got to strengthen the calves and Achilles too.

If a lack of flexibility is holding you back, stretching can help. But it isn't a complete solution. Strengthening is the key to overcoming tightness.

So next time something feels tight, don't just stretch it and hope. Get stronger through that range of motion. That's what actually sticks.