stretching during workout

**the big lebowski** · 05-30-2007, 09:28 PM

it was in arnolds book and ive read bout plenty of people doing it and their reasons why

so if u stretch the muscle your working out at the gym between some of ur sets please give me ur opinions

just curious who out there believes it truly makes a difference in the body to gain strength and add size

obviously im gonna do it regardless and see how it affects me personally but was just curious to hear others opnions

**the big lebowski** · 05-31-2007, 12:13 AM

bump

**Colossus42** · 05-31-2007, 12:45 AM

When I am lifting I am continuously stretching. For a couple reasons that I will share, I feel that it increases growth. I lift fairly heavy and I want to insure that my muscle stays stretched and flexible to reduce my chances of injury.

**boostedevo8** · 05-31-2007, 06:58 AM

strecthing right before and right after a excersise can help strecth out the layer of fascia around the muscle.....strecthed out fascia =`s more space to grow...

flexing also helps rightafter to help engore the muscle with blood.....

both techniques are very helpful

**the big lebowski** · 05-31-2007, 03:19 PM

I was puttin it to use today for chest and afterward man i felt way more pumped than normal , thanx for ur insight guys

**MFT81** · 05-31-2007, 03:40 PM

Recent studies show that stretching before lifting decrease the power output of that muscle, but that stretching after can help with recovery,

so with that in mind, do I stretch before I lift, yeah, I do, its not very sternous, more like going through the motions i will also do a lot of light weight sets leading up to my working sets.

its a pretty recent study, will need more that say the same before its set in stone

**timtim** · 05-31-2007, 04:03 PM

any stretching prior to lifting (not light loosen up stuff but stretching) will pretty much rest the cns making the stretch response of the muscle and ligaments nonexistant creating alot more room for injury.

**boostedevo8** · 05-31-2007, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by timtim

any stretching prior to lifting (not light loosen up stuff but stretching) will pretty much rest the cns making the stretch response of the muscle and ligaments nonexistant creating alot more room for injury.

never heard that one before....

most of the times that I've been hurt were when I didn't stretch....

I usually do a light loosening up movement then I strecth, wait a little bit then start with a warm up set.....in regards to my physical structure this pre work out routine has keeped me from getting hurt....I do know that your weaker if you strecth to much before a lift but I don't mind the small sacrafice.......

do u have any info on that topic tim?....seems interesting, never heard that one before....

**timtim** · 05-31-2007, 04:45 PM

my chiropractor was telling me about it actually. i discussed the dc method with him and he went into all this shit about it. he has very, very close ties to world powerlifting and the competitiors in the olmpic meets. i take his word seriously.

i also worked in a training facility with some well known head trainers. they had spoke about this years ago but i never stretched then so i had little interest. their explanation went like so. take your ac joint for example. the ligaments are a rubber band around the joint. take that rubber band and stretch it out good. then throw up a hi cns stim exercise like a heavy bench. the joint will be looser with more give because its been relaxed and stretched. the cns activation will not be effective because the bulk of the stimulation will go to joint stabilization. this will greatly impact the stretch response action that would be present absent the deep stretching. their protocol was always warming up the body using the exercises. open with 2 sets to get the blood flow, low reps but slow and controlled, and then move to avoid wasting energy on warm ups.

i will look into literature on the topic though. hopefully i find something. hope this adds a little support for you though. these people are good at their crafts so i trust them.

**the big lebowski** · 06-01-2007, 01:40 AM

i dont actually stretch before i work out, all i do is warm up with jump rope then warm my shoulders with lying L flys and some arms circles

my question though had more to do with stretching DURING a workout session i.e. stretching the chest 3 sets into a bench already, after the warmup and blood has been pumped in

**Suworu~Nutsuki** · 06-01-2007, 05:05 AM

i think its one of those trial and error things, i personaly find streching in between sets or ex's that i dont have the same power after but you may not find this and i recon it can only be good for you to stretch your muscles so i recon give it ago see how you feel! Jst to add after i finish the muscle group at that point i will stretch that muscle. I was once told that you should spend 10 - 15 mins streching after your workout.... especially if you dont want to have problems when your old.

**boostedevo8** · 06-01-2007, 06:18 AM

interesting tim!! that ruber band to joint comparison makes sense to me......I understand the load concept to a " loosened" joint....

what about the strecthing concept in excersises that don't put that much of a strain on the cns ....??

like some light compound movements whichs goal is hypertrophy or some single isolated movements.....

the loading of the joint must be different in a person trying to reach hypertrophy vs a powerlifter or some conducting strebgth enhancing excersises....

were they commenting to strength excersises in specific ?

**Panzerfaust** · 06-01-2007, 12:52 PM

I just try to squeeze the hell out of the muscle i am working in between sets, try to force that blood into the mucsle.

I started doing that after watching some fitshow. It definately pumps my biceps and chest.

**timtim** · 06-01-2007, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by boostedevo8

interesting tim!! that ruber band to joint comparison makes sense to me......I understand the load concept to a " loosened" joint....

what about the strecthing concept in excersises that don't put that much of a strain on the cns ....??

like some light compound movements whichs goal is hypertrophy or some single isolated movements.....

the loading of the joint must be different in a person trying to reach hypertrophy vs a powerlifter or some conducting strebgth enhancing excersises....

were they commenting to strength excersises in specific ?

exercises that dont hit the cns i would assume would be ok as joint stabilization would not be a priority.

**timtim** · 06-01-2007, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by the big lebowski

i dont actually stretch before i work out, all i do is warm up with jump rope then warm my shoulders with lying L flys and some arms circles

my question though had more to do with stretching DURING a workout session i.e. stretching the chest 3 sets into a bench already, after the warmup and blood has been pumped in

yes you can do this. look into dc training methods and his stretch protocols. they are very effective but i got injured using them so be careful.

**Markosterone** · 06-01-2007, 02:44 PM

some time ago I read that stuff like yoga and shit, where you stay in the same position and strecth for long time is all bullshit.

they had done some "tests" and it showed that everything more then 30sek of stretching wouldn't do nothing.

they said that stretching 30 second's and 30 minutes would give the same result.

**PeteyK** · 06-01-2007, 02:45 PM

stretching, resting, and eating are all just as important as lifting imo

**B.E.N.** · 06-06-2007, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by boostedevo8

strecthing right before and right after a excersise can help strecth out the layer of fascia around the muscle.....strecthed out fascia =`s more space to grow...

flexing also helps rightafter to help engore the muscle with blood.....

both techniques are very helpful

I have been trying to find info about what you are refering to every where. I know that seems to be the assumption among the lifting community but I have not been able to find any science behind this and a general practioner could not provide any insight either.

Sorry to divert from the topic, but can anyone provide any hards fact on this issue? Curious...

**boostedevo8** · 06-06-2007, 09:05 AM

what part the strecthing or the flexing?

**max2extreme** · 06-06-2007, 06:39 PM

Stretching before any activity will not increase a prevention in injuries. More warming up however does greatly decrease the chance of injury. It is best to not stretch before activity and instead use that time to warm up more. Some "exceptions" would be things like a hurdler doing a hurdler stretch before a race, or other sports where there's a specific stretch for their activity.

As for stretching before lifting to help with size/str... Ive never heard that before. In fact, if it did, it must be very minimal to the point of not being able to really tell a difference except in a clinical measurement.. or else with all of the weight lifters, we would all know about it.

I have heard hearsay that stretching before lifting can increase your chance of injury during lifting, but I dont have a source for that.. I just remember it somewhere. There has been numerous studies concerning the 1st paragraph though if you want them. Or you can just do a google search on something like "lifting vs warmup injury".

OH and addition, just wanted to point out, that a flexible person is much less likely to be injured during any activity than someone who isnt. So my point is you should stretch daily so your ROM is best it can be, that will help prevent injuries overall, but stretching before an individual activity does not help prevent injury during that activity, better warmups do.

max

**max2extreme** · 06-06-2007, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by the big lebowski

i dont actually stretch before i work out, all i do is warm up with jump rope then warm my shoulders with lying L flys and some arms circles

my question though had more to do with stretching DURING a workout session i.e. stretching the chest 3 sets into a bench already, after the warmup and blood has been pumped in

Without reading much on the subject, though college educated in sports training, Im going to say no. I don't think that will make you get bigger/stronger. Now, If you flexed your muscles instead of stretching, that I could see would help get blood pumping into your muscles, possibly helping with strength and size. I remember watching one of Arnold's videos and seeing him do that. He'd do a lift. And then in between, he'd get a pretty light weight and flex, basically a drop set but not really, just to get the blood pumping through (i remember him doing it with his biceps).

Max

**the big lebowski** · 06-06-2007, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by max2extreme

Stretching before any activity will not increase a prevention in injuries. More warming up however does greatly decrease the chance of injury. It is best to not stretch before activity and instead use that time to warm up more. Some "exceptions" would be things like a hurdler doing a hurdler stretch before a race, or other sports where there's a specific stretch for their activity.

As for stretching before lifting to help with size/str... Ive never heard that before. In fact, if it did, it must be very minimal to the point of not being able to really tell a difference except in a clinical measurement.. or else with all of the weight lifters, we would all know about it.

I have heard hearsay that stretching before lifting can increase your chance of injury during lifting, but I dont have a source for that.. I just remember it somewhere. There has been numerous studies concerning the 1st paragraph though if you want them. Or you can just do a google search on something like "lifting vs warmup injury".

OH and addition, just wanted to point out, that a flexible person is much less likely to be injured during any activity than someone who isnt. So my point is you should stretch daily so your ROM is best it can be, that will help prevent injuries overall, but stretching before an individual activity does not help prevent injury during that activity, better warmups do.

max

ok this isnt to provoke an argument BUT im talkin about after you warm up and after youve done a few sets so maybe stretching inbetween exercises
NOT stretching before you workout and especially not before even warming up

GET IT? GOT IT? GOOD

K on with the discussion