You can't touch your toes, someone tells you to "just stretch more", and now you wonder how much is enough. Is one stretch a day fine? Do you need to hold it for a minute? Will it hurt your lifting? Researchers have looked at exactly these questions, and the answers are simpler than the gym folklore suggests.
Yes, with a small catch. A 2023 review of studies on a single stretching session found a small but real improvement in range of motion straight afterwards, for example in the hamstrings and calves. Keep up a routine over several weeks and range of motion improves further.
The catch is why. Research suggests much of the change comes from your nervous system allowing a deeper stretch, a higher "stretch tolerance", rather than from muscles becoming permanently longer. That is why flexibility fades if you stop, and why a stretch should feel like a firm pull but never sharp pain, pinching or tingling.
In 2025 a panel of international stretching researchers published a consensus statement. For improving range of motion over time, they suggest 2 to 3 sets, held for 30 to 120 seconds each, per muscle, daily. Even a very short effort counts for a quick, temporary gain: two bouts of just 5 to 30 seconds can loosen you up for the moment.
So the useful numbers are small. One muscle, three holds of 30 seconds, is 90 seconds. Do it every day and that is under ten minutes a week for that muscle. The trick is not intensity, it is turning up regularly.
Only in one situation: long, deep static stretching right before a maximal or explosive effort. The same expert panel does not recommend holding stretches for more than 60 seconds per muscle just before heavy lifts, sprints or jumps. Short stretches inside a normal warm-up did not cause problems.
The simple rule: before training, do a few light warm-up sets and moves. Save your longer holds for after the session, or for a separate time of day.
Pick a muscle, then set how long you hold, how many times, and on how many days. The card adds it up and compares it with the expert panel's range for improving flexibility.
Pick the one or two areas that feel tightest. Hamstrings, calves, hips and chest are the usual suspects for people who sit a lot or are new to lifting. After your workout, or while a show is on, hold each stretch for 30 seconds, rest, and repeat once or twice. Aim for most days of the week. After a month, test yourself the same way you did on day one and compare.
This is general information for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you are recovering from an injury, have a joint condition, or are pregnant, ask a doctor or physio what stretching suits you.
At the small doses on this page it won't build strength or muscle; the researchers only see that with far longer daily stretching. It is a way to move through a bigger range comfortably, which is a nice thing to have. Lifting through a full range of motion, such as a deep squat or full press, can also improve flexibility over time, so your regular workouts may already be doing some of the work.