Training For The Season
Dr. James Claussen

It's getting that time again for everyone to start getting into softball shape. With a few months to opening day there are plenty of things that we could be doing. In my opinion one of the keys to avoiding injury is to remain flexible. This does not mean that you have turn into Gumby, but rather have muscles that are pliable and relaxed, which will help them resist strain.
Introduction
Flexibility is the ability of your muscles and tendons to stretch. The greater your flexibility, the more easily you can perform certain movements, and the less prone you are to injuries. The latter is maybe the most important one. Straining a muscle can be very painful, and it may also stop you from training or playing for several months. Stretching is the best way of improving your flexibility and to help you prevent injuries. One caution though: some flexibility exercises can cause injuries themselves, if you do them incorrectly. I will in the following paragraphs discuss a couple of different methods of stretching, not all types are covered, but I do mention the types I find most useful. Stretching can sometimes work on your patience as well, but don't let it discourage you, if you really want to get flexible, you can!
Static stretching
This is one of the safest ways to stretch. To do this, you have to be warm first, you assume a position where you feel your muscle stretch, and hold the position for some time. You are not supposed to feel any pain, maybe only a small discomfort. If you feel pain, don't push the stretch that far. As for the length of the stretch, there are various opinions. Some hold the stretch for ten seconds, others for five minutes. I personally find somewhere between 10 and 20 seconds is just right, shorter time will have no effect, and longer time will have no additional effect. As a matter of fact, I have discovered that if I stretch one muscle for more than one minute, the blood stream to the limb being stretched feels like it is nearly cut of. After the stretch, relax 15 to 45 seconds then go again. The number of sets is up to you, I would suggest 3-5, but remember that your body needs time to recover from stretching as from all other sorts of training. Therefore, I would only recommend to stretch hard one to two times per week, and lighter the other days. One thing however, if you are to see any progress, you have to stretch often, the best would be to do it every day, and over a long period of time. I now stretch about four times a week, and that is only enough to maintain my current state of flexibility. And as I said earlier: remember to be warm before you stretch. Jump rope for five minutes, or take a quick run around the block, but be sure you're warm!
Dynamic stretching
Some people go nuts when they hear these two words combined, and I can understand that. It is very easy to confuse dynamic stretching with bouncing, which is very wrong. I will explain why: Bouncing is when you assume a stretching position, and use the momentum of your body to force the stretch further than you would manage with only doing the static stretch for the same muscle. You then bounce back, and do the same over again. This type of stretch has for one thing no effect, you use the natural elastic abilities of the muscle to go further than you are capable of, but it doesn't stretch the muscle so you get more flexible! It's like stretching a rubber band, when you take away the force it resumes its natural position. And when you've stretched it too far, it snaps, and that's what happens when you sprain a muscle: one or more muscle fibers snap, and it takes the body a long time to do the repairs. Bouncing is a sure way to injury!
But then what is dynamic stretching? Obviously, you move, but you use the muscles to move the body part, not the momentum of that body part. Each body part has an agonist and an antagonist muscle, the agonist trying to do the movement, and the antagonist trying to slow it down i.e. your
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