TempoLife › Features › Stretching and mobility routines
Every stretch, dosed
One page per stretch with the muscle it targets and how long to hold it, plus four routines — for desks, runners, hips and the lower back — built on the numbers the stretching literature actually reported.
This is mobility information, not physiotherapy and not a diagnosis. Pain is the border: a stretch that hurts at the attachment, sharpens, or sends pins and needles down the limb is loading a nerve or a tendon, not a muscle — stop and, for anything that persists or radiates, see a clinician. After an injury or surgery, stretching follows the treating clinician's protocol, not this page.
The four routines
Routines are the stretches in the order a situation actually needs them. Each routine page carries its sequence with the hold for every move, and each step links to the stretch's own page.
Every stretch
One page per stretch: the muscle it targets, how long to hold it, the steps, why it exists, and the specific caution that keeps it safe.
| Stretch | Targets | Hold |
|---|
Hold and frequency figures: the standard stretching and range-of-motion literature — 15–60 second holds, two to four rounds per muscle (about 60 seconds total), two to three sessions a week for measurable gains, static holds after activity or as their own session, dynamic movement before. The injury-prevention position: the systematic reviews — stretching does not prevent injury or soreness; it buys range of motion and comfort. Checked 2026-09-06.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I hold a stretch?
The studied range is 15 to 60 seconds per stretch, repeated two to four times for about a minute of total time per muscle. The pages here dose every stretch in that range — 30 to 45 seconds per hold, two or three rounds — because that is the combination the range-of-motion trials actually tested and found effective.
Should I stretch before or after exercise?
After, or as its own session. Static holds before activity do not prevent injury and can cost a little power; the same holds after activity cost nothing and give back the range the work just used. Before activity, the warm-up is movement — walking, swings, easy reps.
Does stretching prevent injuries?
The honest answer from the systematic reviews is no — stretching does not reduce injury rates or muscle soreness. What it does is buy range of motion and comfort, which is worth having on its own terms, and that is the framing every page here uses.
How often should I stretch to get more flexible?
Two to three sessions a week is the dose the studies used for measurable range-of-motion gains; more is not clearly better. For the desk population the rhythm that matters is daily short doses against daily sitting, which is what the desk routine is built around.
Should stretching hurt?
No. A firm pull — discomfort — is the working zone; sharpness, pain at the attachment, or any sensation that travels down the limb is the border, and it means the stretch is loading something that is not muscle. The caution on every stretch page here names its own version of that line.
Mobility you can see on the chart
TempoLife tracks daily movement and streaks, so the weeks you actually did the routine are visible — which is what keeps a stretching habit alive.