Jycken: Why I stretch

Magnus "Jycken" Cedenblad is one of five Swedish fighters in the UFC. He is also one of all who have joined the movement challenge #stretchamore, which Sportamore magazine has together with @Naprapatjonas.

Why do you stretch?

- I want to become more mobile, a better athlete and feel better in my everyday life. Therefore, I spend half an hour a day on stretching," says Magnus "Jycken" Cedenblad.

What effect has it had on you?

- A few days ago, I was squatting down to assemble an Ikea kitchen and it was no problem at all. Before, I couldn't even get into the squat position because my knees were hurting. It was really hard to sit like that! I have bad knees and have operated on them six or seven times, but I worked through the pain and now it hurts less. It's a balancing act how much you can take, but I learned to recognize good pain and bad pain and slowly it has become more mobile and less painful.

What do you need to focus on when stretching?

- I have perfectly good mobility in my upper body, but am much more rigid in my lower body. Therefore, I give a lot of love to the back of my thighs, for example, where I am very stiff. I also hate the diagonal stretch, it's really hard!

Which stretch do you like the most?

- Hanging a lot has helped me enormously. Now I have better hand strength, which helps me in wrestling. I never get lactic acid in my forearms or grip and I have a much better clip. Now I'm going to develop that and start hanging in one hand.

What do you say to those who have trouble finding a place to hang?

- Make it easy for you! Look at me, I even hang out on the subway!

"Jycken" has taken part in Sportamore's stretching challenge in a double sense.