[HN Gopher] Show HN: A 15 min daily stretch routine for desk wor...
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       Show HN: A 15 min daily stretch routine for desk workers
        
       Author : almara
       Score  : 366 points
       Date   : 2023-04-20 13:46 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (stretch15.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (stretch15.com)
        
       | zakokor wrote:
       | Congrats! Looks great. Any plans for the future?
        
         | keerthiko wrote:
         | It is really good as is, do there really need to be any further
         | "plans for the future" beyond "keep it up and running, minor UX
         | fixes"?
         | 
         | I wish we were more okay as a society with _some_ good things
         | staying good and simple.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | I'd like the main focus of the app to continue to be the daily
         | routine as I think it's a nice nudge to a create a simple habit
         | with great health benefits.
         | 
         | Having said that, I have a couple of routines lined up that
         | target specific body parts for those days when you want to
         | really go for the stiffest areas (ETA: these would just live
         | permanently in the page).
        
       | almara wrote:
       | I created this side project for my partner, who is constantly
       | complaining about how stiff his body is. Hopefully it'll help
       | other tech workers stretch out and feel better!
       | (PS: this is my first project launch so any feedback would be
       | greatly appreciated).
        
         | balls187 wrote:
         | Is the intention to have tech workers do this during a short
         | break or before, after work?
         | 
         | Seeing the iconography of women in yoga clothes invokes
         | "workout" which means "I do this before/after work" and "I need
         | to change out of my work clothes."
        
         | movedx wrote:
         | You've done a great job. Well done. I went through about 10
         | minutes. Some of the stretches I couldn't do at my desk - they
         | require too much room.
         | 
         | Make sure you've giving people time to see what the exercise
         | is, to learn it, before starting the count down.
         | 
         | Also, if you could show a hint of sorts of the next, up coming
         | exercise, a user might be able to get ready for it and
         | continuously flow between stretches once some experience with
         | them has been gained.
         | 
         | And maybe see if you can provide an option that allows one to
         | stretch actually at their desk, with little to no getting up
         | from the chair... I know, not ideal, but a 3-5 minutes routine
         | in the chair is better than the nothing most of us do now.
         | 
         | Thank you!
        
         | peter_l_downs wrote:
         | Just wanted to say congratulations on launching your first
         | project! This is quite well done.
         | 
         | One piece of feedback: I'm sure your partner trusts you and has
         | asked you how you came up with this routine, but we random
         | internet users can't do that and the site currently doesn't do
         | anything to convince us that we should follow this routine. One
         | way you could build trust with your users is by including a
         | link to the source for the routine, or a short explanation of
         | why you've chosen these stretches, in this order. Another way
         | you could approach the problem of building trust is by making
         | the routine adjustable or editable, or allowing the user to
         | pick between different routines or exercises. I think it will
         | be hard to get someone to commit to doing 15 minutes of
         | stretching, every day, without doing some kind of education or
         | somehow building this trust.
         | 
         | Again, great launch / v1, and congratulations! No need to try
         | to make it anything more than this if your target demographic
         | (your partner) is already happy :)
        
       | TomK32 wrote:
       | Faaaaar tooooo maaaaany bits in that routine, I can't even bother
       | counting beyond ten. How about just six and repeat then two or
       | three times? I won't need it myself as I have a standing desk
       | with a bar stool if I need some rest and go to the gym during
       | winter and roadbike in summer, but at the gym I have a muscle
       | routine (turns out cyclists only have muscles in their legs) that
       | is just eight stations with the classic 3x10-15 repeats.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | For this first version I followed the recommended guidelines of
         | holding stretches for 30s (and if they are different for left
         | and right then it would should as 2 exercises but in reality
         | it's one if that makes sense). Having said that, still working
         | on the best formula so thanks for the feedback!
        
           | TomK32 wrote:
           | Yes, make one out of the two, people pick up the mirroring
           | instantly. Assuming a five-day work-week it's okay not to
           | stretch every part every day, is it like with muscle
           | exercises where you actually need a rest day to give the
           | muscles some time to grow?
        
         | dogma1138 wrote:
         | Standing desk doesn't do squat for your flexibility.
         | 
         | You should be able using both hands to reach every spot on your
         | back or there about.
         | 
         | You should be able to sit down on the floor with your hips bent
         | at 90 degrees whilst both your legs are straight and your knees
         | pointing upwards and unbent.
         | 
         | You should be able to sit at 90 degrees to the floor straight
         | on your ass whilst having your legs inter locked ("Indian
         | sitting")
         | 
         | You should be able to sit down on your shins by bending your
         | knees the top of the foot should be in line with your shins and
         | your ass should be comfortably sitting on your ankles.
         | (Japanese sitting)
         | 
         | You should be able to touch your toes without bending your
         | knees and preferably without flexing your back especially the
         | lower and mid back.
         | 
         | If you can't do all 6 you need a routine to work on at least
         | your weak spots.
        
           | brailsafe wrote:
           | I agree, but looking at the routine it doesn't seem to do
           | much for ham/mobility except the deep squat hold. What part
           | is supposed to help with what you mention, assuming I'm
           | missing something
        
             | dogma1138 wrote:
             | It wasn't a comment about this specific routine but more a
             | reply to the GP.
             | 
             | One of the reasons why I don't like this specific routine
             | is that it doesn't stretch under load, to actually improve
             | mobility your stretches need to be accompanied with a
             | dynamic load such as body weight, balancing, free weight or
             | a resistive band or cable.
             | 
             | I also do not think that a routine that does not have a
             | test to identify which muscles are too weak and which are
             | overused and one which does not allow you to set specific
             | mobility goals is going to be productive either.
        
               | brailsafe wrote:
               | I guess I agree and disagree with that sentiment. If you
               | do at least this routine frequently, it'll probably be a
               | good thing, but you won't necessarily progress anything
               | in any measurable way.
               | 
               | Whenever I know someone who wants to become a bit
               | stronger or feel better, but hates the routine or gym or
               | doesn't feel like they have time, I always recommend just
               | showing up to a gym as frequently as you can, but 3 times
               | a week is a good number. You can't optimize what you
               | aren't already doing, so it's not really necessary to
               | tell someone to fet into any particular exercise until
               | they're there and feel comfortable with that.
               | 
               | To that effect, this routine doesn't seem like it's for
               | someone who already has literally any existing training
               | experience, it's for someone who sits all day and doesn't
               | really have anything in movement.
               | 
               | As for my comment, I just mistook you for OP, it was
               | early.
               | 
               | I personally love pullups, bench etc.. and that changes
               | over time, but I'm usually chatting with people at the
               | gym and making connections, which inspires me to try what
               | they're doing and keep the habit strong. If I wanted to
               | apply more rigor to it, I'd probably note my progress in
               | some meaningful way, try to ingest more protein, pay
               | attention to more detailed nutrition elements, but that's
               | like a tertiary optimization that doesn't interest me too
               | much.
        
           | TomK32 wrote:
           | > You should be able to...
           | 
           | I'm afraid quite a few of those have become a no-can't-do
           | since they've put a few plates and screws around one of my
           | hips... result of a cycling mishap, of course.
           | 
           | One thing the standing desk allows me as a music fan is to
           | sway or even dance a little when I listen to music during my
           | workday. A sitting desk is simply more restraining and will
           | (in my case) often lead to that bad habit of placing my legs
           | on the corner of the table. The curse of freelancing my my
           | own office.
        
       | throwaway45467 wrote:
       | Thanks! FYI, on 2016 iPhone SE Safari, the pause
       | button/counter/progress bar cover the text and make it
       | unreadable. Will likely be using your app daily, though. The
       | images clearly show what to do.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | (Should be fixed now!)
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Thanks for letting me know (and so happy that you'll be back)!
         | I'll do more responsiveness fixes tomorrow as I based my media
         | queries based on responsive testing in the chrome console and
         | it definitely needs some work
        
       | zufallsheld wrote:
       | More feedback: I used it on my mobile but the screen went dark
       | and the timer stopped. Is there a way for you to stop this?
       | 
       | Awesome tool!
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Thanks! I had a couple of things implemented to avoid this but
         | they haven't worked in mobile (in desktop it behaves as
         | expected AFAIK, not turning off the screen while in the
         | routine). Do you mind sharing your OS and browser?
        
       | ziti wrote:
       | Thanks for sharing!
       | 
       | https://www.wellandgood.com/release-stress-muscles/
       | 
       | Found this post the other day, similar vein - movement is
       | medicine!
        
       | arco1991 wrote:
       | Very nice! Maybe would be nice to have some different options,
       | like a 5, 10 and 15 minute course and maybe some variance with
       | different courses on different days of the week.
        
       | hecanjog wrote:
       | Boy did I ever need to do this, thanks! I've bookmarked it.
       | 
       | If you'd like feedback, it would be nice for new users like me to
       | see the instructions for the next move during the "get ready"
       | phase.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | So happy to hear that! Yep, another person commented the same
         | thing so I do need to sort that out. Any ideas on how to make
         | it clear that it's a break if I add the description to that
         | screen? I don't really have much more space to play with sadly
         | (for mobile at least).
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Just changed the break btw! Now it says 'Next:' in the title
         | and displays the description as suggested :)
        
       | Brystephor wrote:
       | looks neat! I think I found a couple of bugs:
       | 
       | 1. East seated twist left and right have their icons switched.
       | The twist left states to put your left hand on your right knee,
       | but it shows the person with their left hand on the back of the
       | chair. 2. When you first start and are on the 5 second count down
       | page, you can scroll through exercises. 3. Once that 5 second
       | page moves on, if you're on the first exercise and click back, it
       | takes you to the last exercise in the routine. I found this
       | unintuitive since I was actually trying to see what the 5 second
       | page was telling me and didn't realize it was just a "get ready"
       | countdown.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Well spotted!
         | 
         | 1. Fixed 2. Sorry I didn't quite get this, do you mind
         | explaining it more in detail? 3. Working on it
        
           | zufallsheld wrote:
           | As per 2:
           | 
           | If I have to use my left hand, the figure should use its
           | right hand. This way I can mirror the figure so from my
           | perspective both hands move to the left.
        
       | shekhar101 wrote:
       | This is excellent! I just followed along the routine and 2 small
       | feedbacks: 1. Please show the instructions before the stretch
       | begins. Right now it says get ready for the next stretch. It
       | would be useful to be able to read instructions before the
       | stretch starts. 2. Beeps can be slightly shorter. In long term, I
       | can see it getting a little annoying. Other than that, excellent
       | work and great illustrations. Thank you!
        
         | rottencupcakes wrote:
         | Just fyi, feedback is uncountable, similar to knowledge.
         | 
         | If you want to provide a number, you would say "2 small pieces
         | of feedback"
        
           | tehnub wrote:
           | Another one I see is _pushbacks_. This one is less clear to
           | me. You can treat it as uncountable like feedback, but you
           | can also say there was _a pushback_ , which maybe makes
           | _pushbacks_ okay? Although no one says it, _pushes back_
           | seems to me a reasonable option as well.
        
             | boc wrote:
             | IMO they are two separate things.
             | 
             | Pushbacks are countable in the context of a debate with
             | both parties present. It's fine to say "I have two
             | pushbacks on this proposal" because those are specific,
             | countable, contained arguments.
             | 
             | There's also the nebulous "pushback", which is used to
             | describe general resistance to an idea or plan in an
             | uncountable way. "The general's proposal was met with
             | pushback from the oversight committee".
        
           | jascii wrote:
           | I think OP's meaning was clear as it is. No need to put
           | someone down over a small grammar mistake.
        
             | yakubin wrote:
             | Correcting someone's language is not putting them down.
        
               | jascii wrote:
               | It certainly tends to be perceived that way by the person
               | corrected. It's also debatable whether nitpicking on
               | someone's grammar is "correcting their language",
               | linguists tend to think it's not: https://journals.plos.o
               | rg/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
        
               | lkbm wrote:
               | I suspect part of this is that there's prescriptivist
               | nitpicking and non-prescriptivist, uh, non-nitpicking.
               | 
               | Pointing out that "feedback" in uncountable is giving
               | information on how to better match _actual_ usage. A
               | prescriptivist will agree with it, but so would a
               | descriptivist.
               | 
               | Contrast this with "lion's share": traditionally, it
               | meant "all", but nowadays is usually used to mean "most,
               | but not all". If I convince someone that they should use
               | it to mean "all", they'll be _further_ from matching
               | actual usage. I think that 's what qualifies it as
               | nitpicky and rude vs. just helpful.
        
               | pantojax45 wrote:
               | In this case, the person was happy to be corrected:
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35644828
        
               | lemming wrote:
               | I don't agree with this - it really depends on how it's
               | done. I think the way it was done in this thread was non-
               | accusatory, and generally I find that these suggestions
               | are very helpful. Once you get to a certain level in a
               | second language, your communication tends to be good
               | enough that no-one corrects you any more, which makes it
               | really hard to progress. I really like it when people
               | correct me, FWIW.
        
               | yakubin wrote:
               | I'm a non-native English speaker and I always appreciate
               | corrections. Same is true for most non-native speakers I
               | know personally. Most commonly I see this concern for
               | possible offence at being corrected for bad English come
               | from native English speakers, which is peculiar. (I don't
               | know if it's true in this instance.)
        
               | digging wrote:
               | Anecdotally I have seen the same. It's easy for a native
               | speaker to be offended when corrected because it's their
               | first (and often only) language... they _should_ be good
               | at it. Language-learners tend to be quite open to
               | correction in any language.
        
               | masukomi wrote:
               | I'm a native speaker and I always appreciate corrections.
               | 
               | Getting upset about being corrected means you've got so
               | much hubris as to think that you think you couldn't
               | possibly be making any mistakes, or so much ego as to
               | think you are above being corrected... or both.
               | 
               | To NOT correct people because we might "offend" them
               | leads to a world of clueless idiots thinking they're
               | infallible geniuses.... Crap. We're too late.
        
               | wccrawford wrote:
               | The only time I'm annoyed by corrections is when it's
               | halting the conversation and stopping others from
               | progressing towards the goal.
               | 
               | Since this forum has threaded conversations, someone can
               | correct grammar at the same time that someone else is
               | progressing the discussion, so I wouldn't have a problem
               | with it here.
               | 
               | Well, okay, there's another time: If they're obviously
               | being mean about it. But I think most people would
               | dislike that, regardless of context.
        
           | shekhar101 wrote:
           | Thank you! I am not a native speaker and I found this
           | helpful. :)
        
         | withinrafael wrote:
         | +1. I too had trouble understanding how to get started until I
         | realized there were "get ready" prompts in-between the
         | exercises. That could use more clarity. The illustrations
         | looked great and were on-par with what is shown at our local
         | gym.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Makes sense, thank you! I initially thought having the 'get
         | ready for the next exercise' would help people understand that
         | it's a break but given the feedback I definitely need the
         | descriptions there too. Any idea on how to still make it clear
         | that it's a break?
         | 
         | Re: the beeps, couldn't agree more. While building it I also
         | found them annoying but I deprioritised that for the first
         | launch.
        
           | cachecrab wrote:
           | You could use this stretching video as inspiration:
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAf67xFS-qE
           | 
           | I've watched this one several times and like how she presents
           | it.
        
             | ochoseis wrote:
             | Here's another I really like. It adds in some light static
             | strength holds.
             | 
             | https://youtu.be/4BOTvaRaDjI
        
           | Vinnl wrote:
           | > Any idea on how to still make it clear that it's a break?
           | 
           | Not a UX designer, but you could consider having a de-
           | emphasised (smaller font, subdued colour, no illustration)
           | "Next:" underneath every instruction that describes what's
           | upcoming. For regular exercises, that could just say "Break",
           | whereas during the breaks, it could show the next exercise.
           | That way, it's always clear what's the current task and
           | what's up next.
        
           | sylphaenos wrote:
           | Not a designer, but for me it would help if breaks were
           | distinguished visually from exercises-both types of screens
           | look the same.
           | 
           | A different background color, font, or something visual in
           | addition to text clues would go a long way for me. I
           | definitely paid more attention to the timer & beeps on break
           | screens than the text.
        
           | jdmichal wrote:
           | "Take a break while you get ready for the next exercise:"
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Just changed the break btw! Now it says 'Next:' in the title
         | and displays the description as suggested :)
        
       | postsantum wrote:
       | Should have named differently. Title:
       | 
       | Show HN: Stretch HN
        
       | danielvaughn wrote:
       | I've been trying to get into a routine where every time I take a
       | bathroom break, I do like 10 pushups or something. Even a very
       | small activity like that does wonders in getting the blood
       | pumping, and actually helps me with my typical afternoon
       | drowsiness.
        
       | danieltait wrote:
       | Nice! A good reminder for me to stretch today.
       | 
       | I'm currently working in the least ergonomic position possible
       | bent over on the sofa with laptop on my chest. Will try your full
       | routine later
        
       | dukeofdoom wrote:
       | Blood clots in your legs from sitting at a computer too long can
       | kill you.
        
       | jamie_ca wrote:
       | Looks awesome. If you can swing it with a proper manifest.json to
       | let it add to iOS home screen without throwing it into Safari
       | (https://johan.im/writings/ios-homescreen-web-app/) that'd also
       | be amazing.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Done, thank you!
        
       | ajonit wrote:
       | Kudos! Desk workers are going to love this. You have kept the
       | duration short and gamified it as well in the form of streaks. It
       | should go viral.
       | 
       | A piece of feedback for the transition between two exercises. You
       | may want to stop the bottom watch altogether during transition
       | and - somewhere on top right -start a simple circular time
       | animation 5..4..3 In the current form the transition looks bit
       | confusing.
       | 
       | In any case, congrats again for the launch.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Yep I definitely need to work on that transition (I'm the type
         | of person that spaces out easily and would lose track of
         | whether I'm in a break or exercise). I'll play around with a
         | couple of ideas and hopefully resolve it tomorrow
        
       | M4v3R wrote:
       | I literally got back from a doctor today after having back pain
       | and he prescribed me to do stretching exercises. These will come
       | in handy, right on time. Thanks!
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Look at that!
        
       | sva_ wrote:
       | I thought its a bad thing to stretch without warming up, or is
       | that incorrect?
        
       | it_citizen wrote:
       | 15 min is too much for me to stay motivated, especially with all
       | the other things I have to deal with, but I have been using that
       | 5min routine in the morning to wake up my body
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef6LwAaB3_E
       | 
       | It worked well. I have done it for the past 6 months.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | toddmatthews wrote:
       | nice work!
        
       | 01100011 wrote:
       | Stretching is great. If you're older and having chronic back
       | pain, consider the advice of Dr. Stuart McGill and avoid
       | stretching your back. It probably feels good for you in the
       | short-term, but you could be weakening the tissue surrounding
       | your discs, setting yourself up for herniation, and causing other
       | joint issues.
       | 
       | I've had chronic back issues since I was 19 and they ended in my
       | late 40s when I stopped stretching my back and focused on static
       | strength exercises(McGill "big 3" plus lots of lat & trap
       | strength training).
        
       | cadooo wrote:
       | Really like this.
       | 
       | For the timer you should use a mono font so it doesn't jump
       | around so much as it's ticking down.
       | 
       | A sound between stretches would be helpful for the times I can't
       | see the screen. Would be good to be able toggle off/on.
        
         | markhnthoraway wrote:
         | Or if a mono font is too limiting - any font that supports the
         | CSS rule `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums` can be made to
         | behave like a fixed-width font in this situation.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | I have a (malfunctioning) beep but it doesn't work on mobile
         | right now, I have to look into it. If you tried on desktop and
         | it didn't work for you could you share what browser you used?
        
       | brodouevencode wrote:
       | Recommend adding a couch stretch to the routine. It's basically
       | the silver bullet for most hip flexor issues (which may manifest
       | as lower back pain)
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Great idea thanks! That's what I'll be working on next,
         | creating fixed routines besides the daily one for people to do
         | in various situations/with different objectives.
        
       | replwoacause wrote:
       | Will give this a try. My lower back pain has been awful lately.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Awesome! Let me know what you think
        
       | civilaircraft wrote:
       | On the same topic, I highly recommend the new book Built to Move
       | that can benefit all of us desk workers.
        
         | ericmay wrote:
         | I'm reading that now as well. One of the interesting things so
         | far is the author asserts that stretching does _nothing_ for
         | you, which I find controversial and doesn 't align with my
         | experience but I also don't have any evidence or reason per-se
         | to contradict that claim either.
         | 
         | I do know that a 15-minute "stretch routine" should either
         | substitute or incorporate push-ups, squats, and other, similar
         | basic movements in the routine. Stretching on its own is quite
         | pointless if it's also coupled with continued sitting the
         | entire day and not much other physical activity (walking,
         | weight lifting, running, swimming, sports, w/e).
        
           | shagymoe wrote:
           | >the author asserts that stretching does nothing for you
           | 
           | I'm struggling to find a response to this. My personal
           | results from daily stretching are so profound but could be
           | written off as "anecdotal". I'd find it very hard to take
           | this person seriously unless there was some caveat or
           | qualifying information.
        
             | ericmay wrote:
             | That was my response as well, though I'd say that if you
             | find that to be troublesome you can just ignore that from
             | the book and just look at the rest of the, in my opinion
             | from reading so far, good material. I was honestly very
             | surprised to see that. I guess, I don't discount everything
             | that someone says if I think they're wrong about a specific
             | thing, and in sports science there seems to be a lot that
             | is continuing to be discovered and argued about. It's a
             | fluid field.
             | 
             | I will say throughout my life I have heard a lot of
             | conflicting advice on stretching. "Don't stretch before
             | working out", "Don't stretch after working out", etc. and I
             | personally just do dedicated yoga sessions with deep/long
             | poses for my stretching and that's it. I'm not sure "the
             | science is settled" there so to speak, but my own personal
             | results suggest that stretching is beneficial and helps
             | prevent injury.
        
             | yamtaddle wrote:
             | I could see "it does nothing for you" for some set of
             | _things_ , but it cannot possibly be absolutely true. For
             | one thing, stretching has been very successful in
             | increasing my range of motion. It _may_ be, however, that
             | it e.g. doesn 't do much for reducing, say, back pain or
             | improving overall health outcomes
             | 
             | It clearly does _something_ , but it's possible that _in
             | the context of the claim_ it does indeed do  "nothing"
             | (nothing, or so close to nothing that it might as well be
             | nothing, to affect the _specific_ things in question)
        
             | mscccc wrote:
             | The author is Kelly Starrett, a legend in the physical
             | therapy/movement world. I've read a lot of his work.
             | 
             | I don't think his message is that stretching "does
             | nothing". It's more that, research has shown that combining
             | stretching with strength (using the range of motion) is the
             | way to create lasting change.
        
               | ericmay wrote:
               | I may be misremembering but I thought his wife and him
               | (since they are co-authors) explicitly said something
               | along the lines of don't even bother wasting time
               | stretching. It's near or at the beginning of the first
               | chapter. "Do it if it makes you feel good but it's a
               | waste of time" or something. Please correct me if I'm
               | misremembering or outright incorrect. I don't have the
               | book nearby to check.
        
               | count wrote:
               | Historically his perspective was that it wasn't
               | _necessary_. If you 're getting full range of motion
               | exercise, you don't need to stretch, because the exercise
               | itself is doing what needs to be done.
        
               | tomjakubowski wrote:
               | Right. Personally I've observed my squat form and ROM are
               | much better if I stretch my hamstrings first. So I
               | stretch first to get more benefit from the exercise.
        
               | ericmay wrote:
               | I bet it changes based on a few factors including age,
               | prior mobility, etc. I do a few things at my current age:
               | I wear Vibram "toe-shoes" so that my heel isn't lifted
               | off the ground when I squat or do other movements and
               | unless I'm lifting very heavy I go below parallel       I
               | warm up by doing either some prescribed warm-ups or by
               | getting on the air bike/rowing for a few minutes + other
               | warm-up activities       I do the exact exercise movement
               | I'm going to be doing if it's a movement like a snatch,
               | clean and jerk, deadlift, squat, etc. to warm-up
               | 
               | I don't do any stretching before or after. It's
               | absolutely fascinating that so many different things work
               | for so many people.
        
               | 1-more wrote:
               | > If you're getting full range of motion exercise, you
               | don't need to stretch, because the exercise itself is
               | doing what needs to be done.
               | 
               | I dropped powerlifting when gyms closed in 2020. I picked
               | it back up recently. With a garage gym it's now so easy
               | to lift without so much dang ceremony, just warm up
               | through the exercises themselves. Sessions all under an
               | hour, PRed all three lifts at my meet, and never got a
               | red light on squats when I used to get one for depth on
               | one side all the time. Stretching is all time fake in my
               | book.
        
           | oweiler wrote:
           | In the other hand regular running (w/o stretching) has fixed
           | all my back pain.
        
             | ericmay wrote:
             | Being more active in general (walking or running) should
             | alleviate some back pain. Stretching alone wouldn't and
             | shouldn't be expected to because the problem isn't "my
             | muscles need to stretch" it's "my muscles need to be in
             | use" and they need to be in use in a full-body context, not
             | in isolation.
             | 
             | Glad to see you've found something that has helped with
             | your back pain. I've been taking more walks now that my
             | life has gotten a little less chaotic and the weather is
             | warmer and what do you know? There goes the back pain.
             | Standing desk helps too but it's mostly the walking.
        
           | diarrhea wrote:
           | Mankind has pushed boundaries far beyond anyone's wildest
           | imaginations in countless scientific fields.
           | 
           | Yet in 2023, there's no consensus on _stretching_. Boggles
           | the mind.
        
             | simmerup wrote:
             | You say stretching as if it's simple. But there's plenty of
             | components it affects that are anything but. Hell, the
             | importance fascia is only just really getting unravelled.
             | 
             | Plenty of opportunity to further humanity's knowledge on a
             | subject there.
        
       | awb wrote:
       | Thanks for sharing! Super helpful and easy to follow.
       | 
       | One suggestion: Audio queues would be great. I heard a beep when
       | it was first starting but not after that (iOS). And maybe a gong
       | or chime sound would be more relaxing.
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Glad you enjoyed it! And ouch, just tested it and indeed the
         | sound isn't playing in iOS. I'll have a look and also fix the
         | responsiveness
        
       | 12907835202 wrote:
       | A small improvement in my life I made was to always use the
       | disabled toilet at work and spend a few seconds stretching and
       | sometimes even doing 10 squats or push ups.
       | 
       | I don't have the confidence to do something like that in front of
       | other people.
       | 
       | But now I do it 5 or so times a day everytime I pee.
       | 
       | Perhaps I could add these stretches although 15 minutes is too
       | long, perhaps in 5 lots of 3 or 2 minutes once an hour or
       | something.
        
         | mhb wrote:
         | You're doing pushups on a bathroom floor?
        
           | ekzy wrote:
           | I see your point but an office disabled toilet with staff
           | cleaning it daily, and little use, could be cleaner than most
           | people home. And you can wash your hands right after :)
        
       | dugmartin wrote:
       | Thanks for building this! Next step is hooking up a Slackbot with
       | daily reminders and selling it to businesses as an employee
       | wellness program. I think the 40+ person I work at would sign up
       | for it
        
         | almara wrote:
         | Thanks! You might see a B2B version coming soon ;)
        
           | dugmartin wrote:
           | Add a login and a private employee leaderboard for social
           | pressure :)
        
             | almara wrote:
             | Yep! Who doesn't love a bit of gamification?
        
               | TomK32 wrote:
               | I have just one KOM on strava but I keep telling everyone
               | about it. It's also the most stupid one in town, a sprint
               | on a bridge...
        
               | Aaronstotle wrote:
               | in 2020 when i got really into cycling, I was local
               | legend of a big hill I would climb and I was very excited
               | about it
        
       | glonq wrote:
       | Stretching is one of those things that you ignore when you are 20
       | but becomes vital when you are 50+.
       | 
       | The main reason why we lose strength, flexibilty, balance, and
       | endurance when we get old is because _we let that happen_. We
       | stop exercising those attributes so they atrophy.
        
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