Before trying PNF stretching, I spent a lot of time on contortionists’ blogs and the depths of Google Scholar, and I can’t promise that I’ve figured it all out. PNF stretching is usually described as something that a trainer does to an athlete; but I figured, why not use the same techniques on myself? Why PNF stretching worksStretching isn’t just about how far your muscles can stretch; it’s also about how far your nervous system will let them stretch. So in this type of PNF stretching, after you use autogenic inhibition to get your quads to relax a bit, you then contract your hamstrings to get your quads to relax even more. There is research suggesting that a PNF stretching routine can be better for long-term flexibility than just doing static stretches.