Classical Stretch

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This strength-and-suppleness regimen offers gain without pain

Giancarlo La Giorgia

No pain, no gain? A clichéd but trusted gym- class truism: many of us overexert ourselves with weights or aerobics until we’re fatigued and sore all over — not the best incentives to keep up with a fitness routine we’d rather not be doing, anyway. Stretching beforehand can help prevent post-workout pain, but few people stretch long enough or deeply enough for it to help much.

But what if you turned the traditional exercise routine on its head and made stretching itself the workout? This is the basic premise of Classical Stretch, a combination of movements drawn from ballet, tai chi, yoga and physiotherapy. It focuses on eccentric muscle toning — that is, methodically stretching out, instead of contracting muscles as in concentric toning — to produce a sleek physique and greater flexibility without the workout pain. During an eccentric contraction of the bicep, for example, the muscle elongates while it’s under tension (picture the opposite of a bicep curl, with the weight moving away from the shoulder). This is what weightlifters refer to as “negatives,” which eventually allow the muscles to bear more weight than traditional concentric exercise alone.

Eccentric exercise has other benefits. An Austrian study compared the health of two groups of subjects: one that performed solely eccentric exercise by only hiking down a mountain and one that performed solely concentric exercise by only hiking up. Each group rode cable cars the opposite ways. They did this several times a week for four months. Surprisingly, the study found that the eccentric muscle toning of hiking downhill was better at helping the body process blood sugar.

Naturally, practitioners of Classical Stretch may feel a little burn while doing the more intense moves, but there’s no aching in the days that follow. In fact, its proponents claim that the program’s unique combination of muscle toning and stretching can reduce pre-existing joint and muscle pain, improve posture and flexibility, and make the body both more resistant to injury and faster to heal. It can help slow the progression of osteoporosis and potentially reverse the disease in its early stages. And even though it isn’t a cardio workout per se, you do work up a bit of a sweat by the end of each routine.

“I designed Classical Stretch 15 years ago, partly as an antidote to my own recurring back pain and partly as an antithesis to traditional aerobics. No brash music, no pounding and certainly no yelling,” says Miranda Esmonde-White, looking far younger than the woman in her 50s that she is.

Esmonde-White was originally a ballerina with the National Ballet of Canada. After an injury ended her dancing career, she eventually found a new calling as a fitness trainer — though considering her contagious enthusiasm about Classical Stretch, fitness guru might be more appropriate. Dissatisfied with the intensity of aerobics, the rigidity of Pilates and the contorted positions of yoga, she scientifically developed her own safe but effective stretching and strengthening program, refining it over time with the help of Sheena Gilmore, a physiotherapist and long-time Classical Stretch student.

“Miranda knew her exercises worked, but not why,” says Sheena, a sprightly Scot in her 70s, who has practised Classical Stretch regularly for more than a decade. “I spent a year teaching Miranda about anatomy and the science behind stretching. She soaked up the information like a sponge.” The proof is in the exercises. Two or three classes a week will improve your mobility, strength, balance and overall feeling of well-being — without the slightest risk of injury,” she adds. And you’ll also notice your waistline has shrunk by a few inches within several months, says Esmonde-White.

Most people want results from their workout routines, and Annick Chartier is one person who got them. The 44-year-old makeup artist is a member of the Club Sportif MAA — one of a handful of high-end Montreal fitness centres offering Classical Stretch — had tried many different activities, from cardio and weight training to trampoline jumping, before discovering Esmonde-White’s program a couple of years ago.

“I had managed to lose 20 pounds, but I still didn’t feel in shape. I couldn’t touch my toes, even though I used to be in ballet,” she says. “Pilates and other routines weren’t effective and interesting enough for me but with Miranda’s program, I started feeling fantastic almost right away.”

Annick practises Classical Stretch at least four or five times a week and credits it with greatly improving her posture and eliminating her job-induced back pain. “My body has become leaner, with muscles that are strong without being bulky — my jeans just slide on, which was not the case when I was doing weight training,” she says, adding that she’s set what would have been the unimaginable personal goal of doing the splits by the end of the year. “I wasn’t sure that I could do it, but I’m almost there.”

Although Esmonde-White’s main devotees are women in their 40s and 50s, her daughter, Sahra, has developed a new, more energetic program called Essentrics, which offers more of a cardio workout and promises to draw in a younger crowd. Still, Esmonde-White is sought out by high-performance athletes in Montreal — Olympic diver Alexandre Despatie and figure skater Joanne Rochette, world squash champ Jonathon Power and several pro hockey and football players, to name a few of her clients. Nevertheless, her program is still largely unknown in the rest of the country, though not for lack of trying. Repeated attempts to turn her uniquely Canadian fitness program into a Canadian TV program have yet to pan out.

Our loss, it seems, is the U.S.’s gain. Esmonde-White’s largest fan base resides south of the border, where her TV series, Classical Stretch: The Esmonde Technique, is broadcast by more than 100 PBS stations. It almost didn’t happen, however, owing to a health crisis that might have ended her TV career before it started.

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and scheduled for surgery just six weeks before we were supposed to tape the first PBS shows. I was already worried, but after the mastectomy, when I couldn’t lift my arm above my waist because my lymph nodes had been cut, I became so depressed,” says Esmonde-White.

“I forget what physiotherapy had been suggested to me, but the recovery time would have taken too long. That’s when I started putting my own techniques into practice, improving my range of movement little by little, until I was completely healed,” she says, smiling at the irony that Classical Stretch is what allowed her to film that first TV series. The show is now in its sixth season.

After this experience, Esmonde-White decided to develop a special Classical Stretch program for post-breast cancer surgery rehabilitation. She consulted her surgeon, Dr. Henry Shibata, senior surgical oncologist at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital, to produce an effective exercise DVD for cancer patients. After breast cancer surgery, most patients are sent home with an explanatory pamphlet for arm exercises, and they may see a physiotherapist once for instructions, notes Shibata. “But they are then expected to do much or all of the exercises at home — alone.” Unfortunately, many do not follow through with their rehabilitation because of post-surgical pain, which can cause stiffness of the shoulder joint, muscle contracture and, possibly, lymphedema, an accumulation of lymph fluid in the arm of the affected side that restricts the limb’s motion.

The DVD also connects with women because it features a fellow cancer survivor encouraging them to get better. “We give free copies to patients, and we have also sent some to medical colleagues, all of whom seem to be happy with both the exercises and their results,” says Shibata. According to Esmonde-White, the DVDs have been sold to women as far away as Japan, South Africa and Central America. The DVDs are available for little or no charge at certain oncology centres and can be purchased online. Go to www.breastcancerrehabilitation.com. The cost per DVD is $19.99, plus applicable taxes, and $7 for shipping and handling.

Fortunately, you don’t have to get breast cancer to get into Classical Stretch. For Canadians without access to Esmonde-White’s PBS series, there’s a whole line of Classical Stretch and Essentrics DVDs for sale at ww.classicalstretch.com.

Only a handful of teachers outside of the Montreal area offer classes — so far just in Edmonton and Vancouver, although Esmonde-White is training instructors from other parts of Canada. In the meantime, anyone interested can sign up for an intense 12-class, six-day fitness holiday at a luxury resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, where the PBS shows are taped. Don’t worry, you won’t be on camera!

Arm toners

Illustration by Kveta

Standing tall with feet both shoulder-width feet apart, raise your arms to the side to shoulder height, keeping your elbows straight. Flex your wrists so that your palms face outward and your fingers point to the ceiling. Stretch out your arms as if you were pushing against a wall on either side. Simultaneously pump your arms downward (as though you’re erasing opposing blackboards). Do three sets of eight repetitions. You should feel a stretch and burn right through your arms.

Rearguard stretch and strengthen

These exercises target the spine, the muscles of the back and the hamstring muscles at the back of the thighs. Stretch out one leg, placing the heel on a low bench or table slightly bending the leg you’re standing on. Bend your body forward slightly, keeping your back straight, until you feel the pull in the hamstrings or lower back muscles (each person feels this differently). Now reach your arms straight up above your head, arms in-line with your ears and close together. Reach for the ceiling one arm at a time, extending and hold position for two seconds. Do eight repetitions with each arm. You’ll feel your back muscles working (don’t overdo it) and, again, you should feel a stretch through your hamstrings and your entire back. Change legs and repeat. Do two sets with each leg.

Illustration by Kveta

Quadriceps raisers

Illustrations by Kveta

These will create strong, lean quad muscles at the front of the thighs. Sit with your body relaxed and both legs in front of you, your knees straight and your toes pointed forward. Keeping one leg in the neutral position, shift your hips to extend your other leg, pushing it forward an inch (2.5 cm) or so along the floor. Once the leg’s extended, try to lift it off the ground, again keeping the knee straight and the toes pointed. Lower and repeat seven more times. Switch to the other leg and repeat eight times.

Torso-toning lunges

These stretches take aim at the abdominal and the oblique muscles (the ones that run along either side of your torso). Lunge as deeply as you can to your left side, with your left knee at a 90-degree angle directly over your foot. If need be, place your left hand on your left knee for balance. Lift your right arm over your head, keeping it next to your right ear, and tilt your torso to the left side, making sure you hold your right hip down to feel the stretch. Now pull even farther and hold for a few seconds. You’ll feel this pull through the obliques and the abdominals. Switch to the opposite side, using your abs to lift your body as you change positions. Do four stretches on each side.

Illustration by Kveta