stretchin before workin out???

[time 4 a *CHANGE*]

i don't usualy stretch before workin out, so my question is do i really need to stretch before i workout?

[Bulkn]

keep stretching to a minimum before workouts, its important to warm up, stretch as much as u like after workouts.

[j4ever41]

I do some low wt high rep warm ups then a little mild stretching pre-workout but i do not stretch cold muscles.

[POPS]

I do a couple of one-handed 5lb'r movements, you know, to loosen up the shoulders and whatnot. Also I do few sets of push-ups on chest day for a warm-up. Been doing this for a few weeks and helps out a lot...

[Jon the Rooster]

I warm up on a treadmill, but always stretch out Shoulders before work'n them out, probally spend 10 min doing so too. Other than that do most of my stretching afterwards.

[energizer bunny]

i warm up.......skipping for 6 mins....i wouldnt do cold stretching....and i dont stretch before my workout.......or after(because of laziness no other eason).....

[stpete]

I always stretch before workouts and a little during. I use 5lb weights as well.

[MuscleScience]

an active warm up going through a full ROM before exercise is most beneficial.

[iTh3 Riddler]

I'd stick to a warmup before and do a stretch afterwards.

[time 4 a *CHANGE*]

what is the reason for not stretching cold muscles?

[M302_Imola]

what is the reason for not stretching cold muscles?

more prone to injury w/ the muscle being cold!

[Venom111]

what is the reason for not stretching cold muscles?

Think of your muscles like a rubber band- if you put a rubber band in the refrigerator, got it cold and then tried to stretch it, it wouldn't stretch far before it broke. On the other hand if you set the rubber band in the sun, warmed it up, it stretches much further and is unlikely to break.

[Klimax]

I heard that stretch muscles before using them for lifting decrease strength.

[tballz]

I heard that stretch muscles before using them for lifting decrease strength.

I've read that also, so I don't stretch before workout but I do a little afterwards to get the blood flowing to the muscle.

[liftsmore]

I do 10min on the elliptical and then the normal lighter weight warm-ups.

[CJG560]

I heard that stretch muscles before using them for lifting decrease strength.

I have read this before and thought I would test it. I did 4 chest day workouts over the last month as part of my regular split. Two of them I did significant stretching before (15 minutes) and two no stretching.

I was able to lift the same weights for all sets on all days but I actually did two less reps on the last exercise on one stretching day and three less reps on the last exercise of the second stretching day. Now there are a million reasons this could be (did more physical exertion at work those days, ate less than proper those days, etc). But kinda funny that it happened twice in a row on stretching days.

[MuscleScience]

I heard that stretch muscles before using them for lifting decrease strength.

There is a fair amount of research on this effect, in-fact some exercise organizations are starting to recommend stretching post exercise only if one is a weight lifter. (ACSM) For athletes it is still recommend that a pre-competition stretching session be performed as it has been associated with increase in ROM in athletic competition. Though there is no conclusive evidence that this enhances athletic performance or reduces risk of injury.

[Okinawa_Power]

On chest day I warm up with 135. I don't stretch because it decreases strength.....I warm up Shoulders by doing light sets without any weight on the bar then I move into the heavy ass weight (10's on each side) for a combined weight of 65lbs.......

[MANIMAL55]

Look into Ballistic Stretching . it is more of a warm up with differnt movements rather than stretching, it is great before a workout, a lot of athelets are moving to this being that stretchign cold muscles is terrible for you

[skeldno]

I just walk in put the heaviest weights on and lift! I have never had an injury but always grow :-)

[green182]

On chest day I warm up with 135. I don't stretch because it decreases strength.....I warm up Shoulders by doing light sets without any weight on the bar then I move into the heavy ass weight (10's on each side) for a combined weight of 65lbs.......

Can any one back this with a Research study?

[green182]

Personally, I like to stretch before my workouts for 5-10 min just some 5 lb'er rotates to get my shoulders and maybe some arm pulling on the squat rack in diff positions..

[Okinawa_Power]

Post Below....

[Okinawa_Power]

STATIC STRETCHING

Many coaches advocate the use of static stretching prior to exercise. Static stretching involves reaching forward to a point of tension and holding the stretch. Static stretching has been used through out the years for two main reasons: injury prevention and performance enhancement. (1) Does static stretching prior to activity achieve the goals of injury prevention and performance enhancement? Research has shown that static stretching can be detrimental to performance and doesn’t necessarily lead to decreases in injury. Below are a few studies done on the topic of static stretching:



Rod Pope an army physiotherapist in Australia, recently carried out a wide study to assess the relationship between static stretching and injury prevention. Pope monitored over 1600 recruits over the course of a year in randomised controlled trials. He found no differences in the occurrence of injury between those recruits who statically stretched and those who did not. (1, 2)

“Gleim & McHugh (1997), would also challenge the premise that stretching, or indeed increased flexibility, reduces the risk of injury” (1,3)

New research has shown that static stretching decreases eccentric strength for up to an hour after the stretch. Static stretching has been shown to decrease muscle strength by up to 9% for 60 minutes following the stretch and decrease eccentric strength by 7% followed by a specific hamstring stretch. (4)

Rosenbaum and Hennig showed that static stretching reduced peak force by 5% and the rate of force production by 8%. This study was about Achilles tendon reflex activity. (5)

Gerard van der poel stated that static stretching caused a specific decrease in the specific coordination of explosive movements. (4)

Three 15-second stretches of the hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf muscles reduced the peak vertical velocity of a vertical jump in the majority of subjects (Knudson et al. 2000). (6,7)

Moscov (1993) found that there is no relationship between static flexibility and dynamic flexibility. This suggests that an increased static range of motion may not be translated into functional, sport-specific flexibility, which is largely dynamic in most sporting situations (1)

Static based stretching programs seem best suited following an activity. (8)



In soccer it is vitally important to have explosive muscles that allow a player to jump higher for the winning header or to explode past an opponent to get to the ball quicker. Almost every movement in soccer is preceded by an eccentric movement. For example, when you run you bend your legs first then explode forward. In jumping you must bend your legs first then jump. Finally, cutting in soccer requires a lot of eccentric power. Wouldn’t it make sense to have optimal power, coordination and eccentric strength to succeed in soccer? If we shouldn’t static stretch before a game or practice then how can we stretch to optimize performance on the field? The answer is dynamic stretching.






DYNAMIC STRETCHING



Many of the best strength coaches support the use of dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching consists of functional based exercises which use sport specific movements to prepare the body for movement. (8) “Dynamic stretching, according to Kurz, "involves moving parts of your body and gradually increasing reach, speed of movement, or both." Do not confuse dynamic stretching with ballistic stretching! Dynamic stretching consists of controlled leg and arm swings that take you (gently!) to the limits of your range of motion. Ballistic stretches involve trying to force a part of the body beyond its range of motion. In dynamic stretches, there are no bounces or "jerky" movements. (9) Several professional coaches, authors and studies have supported or shown the effectiveness of dynamic stretching. Below are a few examples of support for dynamic stretching:



Mike Boyle uses a dynamic warm-up with his athletes. He goes through about 26000 workouts over the course of a summer. In 2002 he did not have one major muscle pull that required medical attention. (10)

Flexibility is speed specific. There are two kinds of stretch receptors, one measures magnitude and speed and the other measures magnitude only. Static flexibility improves static flexibility and dynamic flexibility improves dynamic flexibility which is why it doesn’t make sense to static stretch prior to dynamic activity. There is considerable but not complete transfer of static stretching to dynamic stretching(11)

One author compared a team that dynamically stretched to a team that static stretched. The team that dynamically stretched had fewer injuries. (8)

There are few sports where achieving static flexibility is advantageous to success in the sport. Therefore according to the principle of specificity it would seem to be more advantageous to perform a dynamic warm-up which more resembles the activity of the sport.(12)

Dynamic Flexibility increases core temperature, muscle temperature, elongates the muscles, stimulates the nervous system, and helps decrease the chance of injury. (13)

Another author showed that dynamic stretching does increase flexibility. (11)



As coaches, trainers and parents we all want our athletes to lower their incidence of injury and increase performance. Dynamic flexibility has been used successfully by trainers and coaches to increase flexibility and possibly lower the incidence of injury. It is the job of the coach or trainer to pick the method they feel is best suited for the sport and athletes. The above evidence suggests the possibility that static stretching prior to activity is not the best solution. Static stretching doesn’t necessarily lead to a decrease in injury and but may actually decrease performance. If one purpose of the warm-up is to warm-up the body, wouldn’t static stretching actually cool the body down? If static stretching is not the solution to a pre-game warm-up what is? Dynamic stretching.



A sports performance program could look like this:



Beginning- Dynamic warm up

Middle- Actual workout

End- Cool down/static stretching





1. www.pponline.co.uk, So what about dynamic flexibility.

2. Rod Pope, 'Skip the warm-up,' New Scientist, 164(2214), p. 23

3. Gleim & McHugh (1997), 'Flexibility and its effects on sports injury and performance,' Sports Medicine, 24(5), pp. 289-299.

4. Mick Critchell, Warm ups for soccer a Dynamic approach, page 5.

5. Rosenbaum, D. and E. M. Hennig. 1995. The influence of stretching and warm-up exercises on Achilles tendon reflex activity. Journal of Sport Sciences vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 481–90.

6. Knudson, D., K. Bennet, R. Corn, D. Leick, and C. Smith. 2000. Acute Effects of Stretching Are Not Evident in the Kinematics of the Vertical Jump. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport vol. 71, no. 1 (Supplement), p. A-30.

7. Tomas Kurz, www.scienceofsports.com,

8. Mann, Douglas, Jones Margaret 1999: Guidelines to the implementation of a dynamic stretching routine, Strength and Conditioning Journal:Vol 21 No 6 pp53-55

9. www.cmcrossroads.com

10. Boyle, Mike, Functional Training for Sports, pg 29

11. Kurz, Tomas, Science of Sports Training, page 236

12. Hendrick, Allen, Dynamic Flexibility training, Strength and conditioning Journal, Vol 22 no 5, Pgs 33-38.

13. Frederick Gregory 2001 Baseball Part 1 Dynamic Flexibility, Strength and conditioning Journal Vol 23 No 1 Pages 21-30.

[**TOP**]

On chest day I warm up with 135. I don't stretch because it decreases strength.....I warm up Shoulders by doing light sets without any weight on the bar then I move into the heavy ass weight ( (10's on each side) for a combined weight of 65lbs.......
.......

HAHAHA i NEEDED THAT LAUGH!!

[Okinawa_Power]

HAHAHA i NEEDED THAT LAUGH!!

Top your the only one that caught the joke......

[hybrid83]

I think stretching has it place, but I don't think its an end all kind of thing. I mean its certainly important if your trying kick an apple of someones head lol. Defiantly important to be limber in most sports. But is it gonna add 30 lb to my bench, I dont think it matters one way or the other. The important thing is to get blood to the muscles before you go all he-man. I usally rotate a 10lb plate to open up my shoulder, and always do a light set of every workout I do.

[420daytona]

Stretching after a workout certainly serves a purpose. Stretching before a workout though will negatively affect your muscles ability to work.