Whether you train to run, climb, or rollerblade, there is one step you don’t want to skip.
And it’s one that a lot of people pass by: the stretching.
Take it from Nichole Rae, a Colorado Springs fitness and lifestyle coach, who says stretching is just as important as diet or weight training.
“And so many people bypass it,” she said. “You’re just like, ‘What’s the point?'”
That kind of question makes Rae, 45, shake his head. In addition to helping people develop healthy eating and exercise habits, Rae says a “huge part” of her coaching business is teaching people the value of stretching.
“I tell almost every single person I speak to how important it is,” she said. “It’s a way of making ourselves better.”
That goes for the body and mind. The benefits of stretching include faster recovery between workouts, reducing the risk of injury, improving posture, managing pain patterns, and improving sleep.
Nichole Rae, right, directs the child’s pose before transitioning to the QL stretch with Melissa Munro.
The biggest benefit of stretching, says Rae, is reducing stress.
“We as humans are stressed to the extreme,” she said. “So most people don’t take time to stretch or breathe. They find it overwhelming to take 10 minutes for this. “
But those 10 minutes could change your mood that day and your health forever.
One of Rae’s most popular services is “Stretch Therapy,” which helps people learn safe ways to improve freedom of movement.
“Mobility and flexibility should be part of any well-rounded fitness program,” says Rae’s website www.nicholeraecoaching.com.
This is so important to her that Rae often offers a free stretch series “Rest & Recovery” on her website.
And the topic of stretching seems to be finding its way more and more into the wellness industry. Specifically, Rae says that myofascial stretching therapy has become “even a fad” over the past five years.
Fitness and Lifestyle Coach Nichole Rae will guide Melissa Munro on the 90/90 hip stretch in Colorado Springs on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. (Chancey Bush / The Gazette)
During these sessions, Rae will carefully manipulate, lengthen, realign, and reorganize the client’s fascia, which is essentially the body’s connective tissue.
“It’s probably a third of my practice and it could be my whole practice,” she said. “Because people love it so much.”
Rae offers her clients a holistic approach that she had to learn on her own.
“I call myself a coach, not just a coach, because I bring in so many things,” she said. “Part of it is my life experience.”
Rae’s trip involves sobering up at 32 when she weighed 300 pounds, and from a health standpoint, says she was so sick she was near death. This was after Rae had spent several years as a personal trainer in the Denver area.
She left this career to focus on getting clean and healthy. When she returned to the fitness world, she wanted to do it her own way.
As she says online, “My mission is to educate and empower others by providing sensible and sustainable solutions for exercise, diet and mindset.”
“I do it because I love exercise,” said Rae. “But basically, I do it because of the satisfaction and joy that comes from helping someone restore their health.”
Personally, Rae’s routine includes eating healthy (not dieting), going for walks or hikes, and lifting weights. And yes, stretching or foam rolling is part of your daily checklist.
“I always say it’s not about how much you do or how hard,” she said. “It’s about constancy. If you can only manage five minutes for it, you can still be consistent. “
