Stretchlab Austin Street

These guys opened up a while ago. As soon as I saw it advertised they caught my attention because if there is anyone who needs help with flexibility, it’s me.

So after months of dancing around with them on text messages I decided that the price was fair enough to give it a test run. The gentleman in the main picture is Patrick, he was the first stretch pro I worked with. He made my first experience pleasant and was probably instrumental in my decision to purchase a package afterword.

After settling in and your initial introductions, during your first visit you will perform a mobility assessment using some computer software. As you can see in the above picture, my assessment on the computer was mostly red. In case you haven’t deduced this already, red is not good. We had a chuckle about my horrible stats and then moved on to the work at hand.

Patrick guided me through a series of stretches that covered all the way from my feet to my head. This is assisted stretching, so it is very physical and hands on. If you are touch averse, this isn’t for you. Rolling around with grown men on mats is nothing new to me, so I was perfectly fine with this.

During my membership, I went through a few different stretch professionals and everyone is different in how they do things. Some felt like they went a little deeper with the stretches and others felt like they took a much gentler, softer approach. I’m not sure with way is better when it comes to stretching, though I tend to go a bit harder most of the time in life. I can feel that a bit more. But again, I’m not sure what is better so I defer to them on this.

I believe that the stretches are primarily laid out and scripted for us, as in there is a general template of stretches that they go through. However, I did notice that they do make adjustments based on the individual’s needs, wants, flexibility or lack thereof. Lack being the operative word for me. There were times I was meant to feel a stretch in a certain area, but because I am so tight, I felt it elsewhere.

It’s very similar to my experience in Yoga. I’m so tight it hasn’t even gotten past those primary muscles to reach the intended area. Though they did try their best to adjust my body in a way that I could feel it where it’s meant to stretch. I’m definitely a tough client though, because as I mentioned, I am tight as all heck!

I really enjoyed the experience here and if I were a wealthy man and money was not a factor in my life, I would 100% be there at least 3 times a week. It’s certainly not a cheap service, but the cost is in line with a private BJJ or boxing class. You are paying for an expert in their field to do one on one work with you for 25 or 55 minutes, so I get it.

I think that this combined with Yoga would really serve to improve my quality of life in so many ways, but unfortunately I’m not wealthy. Sadly, money does limit you in life. I also can’t afford to get some specialized treatments to fix my neck and other long term injuries. They do have good sales every so often, and if you are on the fence about trying it, wait for one of those and go give it a try. This can really be a game changer for you. I loved it.