Stretch marks from stretching

Anyone know how to prevent getting stretchmarks from stretching? I've been doing MS and FS for about 7 months now and I'm gaining new stretch marks every so often after a series.

I try to drink sufficient water and apply coconut oil every other day, but that does not seem to prevent the stretch marks I'm gaining in my hip area.

Hi Nico,

I am not sure. Maybe others have info on some topicals or other treatments that have helped them. 

Sometimes you can take zinc supplements and they can help (Stretch marks can result as a result of zinc deficiency). If you are training hard, you can deplete more zinc as well. And if you don't eat a lot of meat it is harder to get. I usually recommend zinc picolinate 25mg nightly as it is most absorbable and least likely to cause nausea. If you get nausea, I would try to eat half your dinner, take the zinc, then eat the rest. If you want to pop some vitamin c (not directly after a work out) that too helps build collagen etc. Zinc has the added benefit of being good for your brain, sleep quality and testosterone production. If you do well, and feel well with it after about two weeks, you can increase to 50mg. (If you have white spots on your fingernails, this is another good sign that you need more zinc, you can watch them grow out and then not return as your zinc gets repleted fully)

Thank you very much Lucy! I will definitely try your advice on using zinc supplements.

Are you getting strecht marks from stretching? If I understand properly a strecht mark is what you might get when you are fatter and then get thiner. Am I wrong? How s going to be possible to get this by stretching?

I was very very tight before, so maybe my skin was not used to being stressed in all these different new ranges.

I had stretchmarks on my hips before I ever did any stretching however. I guess it depends from person to person.

Sounds weird but you can use an old pregnancy trick, but try using coco butter lotion. 

I have never heard of getting stretch marks from actually stretching, but I can believe some people may be more disposed to it than others

Hi Nico,

as you say maybe you have all of them from before. I also have it but not due to stretching. Gaining flexibility is such a long proccess that strecht marks are difficult to happen, but as Jon says maybe some people is more disposed. 

I think it's because my whole hips + leg area has been "reconfigured" because of the stretch series. You have no idea how tight I was before. I've been sitting down A LOT in the past 2 decades.

My hips look stronger. Skin on the hip area looks a lot healthier (even despite the extra stretchmarks!). My knees, leg musculature looks tighter...

The thoracic series also fixed my shoulder injury completely. (at least in my experience so far).

Believe me, the few stretch marks is a very small price to pay compared to all the benefits I've experienced.

If you gain/loose muscle you can absolutely get stretch marks - it is not just because of weight loss/gain. I have a lot on my legs/butt/core area because of this.

It also depends on the athlete as well. For example some people might bump into something and have a huge bruise, while others you can bump into something ten times in the same spot and not get a bruise at all.