Hi TSSFam, my name is Whitney and I am the marketing coordinator here at The Sculpt Society. I’ve been a TSS member for a little over 3 years now and I truly love everything about it. To challenge myself this winter, I decided to commit to doing 30 days of stretching, and now that it’s complete, I want to share a little about my journey with you. 

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love to be prepared. Since I knew I’d be doing lots of stretching, I wanted to create a space in my room that felt calm, relaxing, and free from distraction. The yoga mat I’ve had for years is The Mat 5mm from Lululemon. Thick, durable, soft, and perfectly comfortable for stretching, it made the perfect foundation for my stretch set-up. I also decided to finally invest in a foam roller for myself, and again, turned to Lululemon. Their Double Roller seemed like a great fit because of the two-for-one deal. Now that I had the basics, I wanted to spruce things up a bit, so I brought over one of my favorite candles, the Hudson Grace Original Candle, and added it for extra zen

The Process

I know it sounds intense—30 days of stretching, for what? What could possibly be so great about setting out time to stretch for 5-30min a day? Well, at first I simply did it for the purpose of writing this. I had no goals in mind, just that I was curious what would change with my body within these 30 days. However, what I discovered was much more than that. Before I get to that though, here’s a little info on how I was able to fit in all this stretching in 30 days. 

Unfortunately, even though I know how essential it is for anyone who works out, I am almost always guilty of not stretching post-workout. This challenge allowed me to change that bad habit. For context, my typical workout schedule is 6 days a week with one active recovery day. So I decided on the days where I scheduled a workout I would commit to stretching not only post-workout, but also one additional time per day. On recovery days, I committed to one long stretch session.

Here’s a more detailed view at a typical week of workouts + stretching I did in the past 30 days:

Monday - 45min full body + 8min stretch 01, 20min stretch flow 09

Tuesday - 30min dance cardio + 8min plank abs 31 w/ iskra + 9min arms 13 + 6min stretch 13, 9min foam roller recovery 05

Wednesday - 47min full body 30 + 9min stretch 12, 17min hip opener 06

Thursday - 30min sculpt 33 + 6min neck + upper back stretch 08, 10min stretch 09

Friday - 30min sculpt 31 + 30min dance cardio 25, 12min stretch 14

Saturday - 45min full body 26 + 6min stretch 13

Sunday -  15min stretch 15

Takeaways

Initially I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to stay dedicated to completing all 30 days. However, once I fell into the routine of mapping out how stretching would fit into my day, it felt odd if I didn’t log into TSS daily. This challenge provided me with a moment to quiet my mind, focus on my breath, and challenge my body to relax. Oftentimes, I find myself holding stress in my back and neck, especially since I’m bent over a computer on a daily basis, so having this time to release that has made such a difference. I truly looked forward to carving time out for stretching each and every day. 

That wasn’t even the best part! I grew up as a dancer and runner my whole life and after I stopped dancing two years ago, I haven’t been able to do the splits since. However, after completing these 30 days I am incredibly proud of myself because I got my splits back! It truly made my day when I tried and it didn’t hurt the entire time. This accomplishment may seem little, but to me it provided that extra motivation boost to continue with these stretches. 

Prioritize participating in movement to make you feel happy, healthy, and confident. For me, this challenge is the break I needed in my fitness routine to grow beyond superficial reasoning and instead, put my feelings and emotions at the forefront of my fitness journey.

Looking For Guidance?

If you would like more guidance feel free to check out our 30 day programs that come with printable guided calendars! Whether you prefer quickies, longer workouts, sculpt only, or lots of dance cardio, there's something for everyone.