Answer from Donna Flagg: Myth. While 30 seconds can be a good guideline or average, what’s more important is that you listen to your body and respond to its needs. Some people may need longer than 30 seconds to get "into" their muscles in a meaningful way and others may be able to get to the same point in 5. I even find that it can vary by day. One way you can create intervals of time without the numerical measurement that can so often be restrictive is to take three long slow breaths and increase your stretch a little with each exhale. Then gauge how much more you may need, or not need, from there.

Answer from Ken Moody: TRUE!!! Celia, the American College of Sports Medicine found (in 1999) that holding stretches for 10-30 seconds was the way to acheive the proper flexibilty effect. However, I do agree with Donna about developing that sensitivity to become as intuitive as possible regarding our bodies. But in my 27 years of experience in this industry, few have truly developed this skill well enough to apply it effectively. In fact, I have a couple of clients who can put their feet behind their heads who still feel they have "tight hamstrings"!!! (And though it may be true that a lot of their flexibilty COULD be in their joints/ligaments, acheiving such a position would require a certain amount of hamstring flexibility!) So ultimately I think this quideline is a great standard for instructors and exercisers alike. And it is particularly good that ACSM, one of the most repected of our governing bodies, has confirmed that this is the way to go. This will keep the hyper-flexible from overdoing it, and give the ultra-tight among us some much needed help!

Answer from Donna Flagg: That's exactly it. Ken makes the perfect example. As one of those people who can put her legs behind her head, we don't need to hold them there for 30 seconds (or even 10 for that matter) in order to get the stretch in the muscles that enable us to do that. However, my hamstrings, or inner thighs may need me to give them 30 or 60 seconds, or sometimes even a few minutes to move into the muscle and work with it until it releases and relaxes. That is the point in the muscle at which you can begin to increase your flexibility incrementally over time.