The best exercise regimens come from an understanding of what you should be doing, how you should be doing it, and what you should avoid.
The same can be said for your stretching sessions, too.
“Stretching can be harmful if a joint is pinched, a nerve is stretched, or support structures like ligaments are stretched rather than the targeted muscles,” says Rick Richey, faculty instructor at the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
While stretching isn’t one-size-fits-all, there are a handful that are true time wasters for everyone – and they may even put you at higher risk of injury. Here are 4 such stretches you’ll want to avoid:
Sit and Reach Stretch
The best part about this stretch – sitting – is where the potential trouble comes from in this hamstring stretch.
“It’s easy to try to compensate for stiff hamstrings by rounding the spine (which defeats the purpose),” explains Richey. “Plus, the sit and reach also often stretches the nerves behind the knee and into the calves more than the hamstring.”
Wall-Supported Calf Stretch
Depending on the strength of your ligaments and muscles, “bending your foot against a wall might harm your arch and plantar fascia,” says Richey.
Posterior Deltoid Stretch
To keep it simple, this is simply an arm-across-the-chest stretch that’s a waste of time and energy.
“I have never worked with or even seen someone with tightness or overactivity in this muscle,” says Richey.
Instead of this one, if you’re feeling a pull in your upper back, consider exercises and stretches that work on your thoracic spine mobility.
Related: The Best Cooldown Stretches to Help Avoid Injury
Hip Flexor Stretch
This stretch was designed to loosen up those tight hip flexors. But, if your hip flexors are tight, that likely means you’ll do this move wrong; you’ll probably arch your lower back and raise one hip, resulting in a stretch that’s ‘inactive’.
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