Stretch

S

shaun

Member
I've read conflicting views on whether you should stretch before your workout. We have all been told you should stretch pre-workout but experts are now claiming it can be detrimental to performance and it can increase the risk of injury.

I warm up thoroughly but I don't stretch until my workout has finished. What about you?
 
I do a lot of ballistic stretches before I start my workout. I then do a lot of static stretches after I finish my workout. Ballistic stretches gets the body warmed up and ready to exercise. Static stretches are used when your trying to cool your body down.
 
Yeah, research by the American Journal of Applied Physiology concluded that passive stretching can decrease strength and power by as much as 20%. The studies suggest dynamic stretching, not ballistic stretching, is the best form of stretching pre-workout.
 
shaun said:
I've read conflicting views on whether you should stretch before your workout. We have all been told you should stretch pre-workout but experts are now claiming it can be detrimental to performance and it can increase the risk of injury.

I warm up thoroughly but I don't stretch until my workout has finished. What about you?
Click to expand...

I still believe in stretching all the time before any physical activity. Whenever I don't, my body aches like hell afterwards. I wonder why other people would say that you should not do it. Stretching had always been part of warmup activities.
 
I agree with the dynamic stretching to get the muscles warmed up, first. But you don't have to go to that extreme for a warmup. The warmup is to heat the muscles so that they can perform like rubber bands to prevent injury. Then you do the static stretching for flexibility and restoration, as the warm down. So on the rowing machine, start with a six minute warmup nice and slow. Take your time and utilize good form. Then do your workout. Then do your cool down.
 
I just recently, like in the last week, read yet another article on stretching that said it isn't good. I'm wondering what to believe. Let's see if I can find it again and post the link for you, then you can form your own opinion.

Ok, here is one. Remember, I don't know what to believe, so I'm not saying I think these are right, opinions welcome:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/reasons-not-to-stretch/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

One more:

http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/08/why-stretching-may-not-help-before-exercise/
 
I think it is extremely important to stretch before a work out! You could do some serious damage if you jump right into a strenous workout without them! You benefit so much more from your workout if you stretch the muscle you intend to work, it gets you warmed up, and poses less stress on that muscle.
 
I think its a good idea to stretch before you work out. During P.E. in school we always did a lot of stretches before we got into whatever the main activity we were doing for that day. Pro athletes stretch as a team before every game. I think it's just common sense. You want to loosen your body up a bit before you get into physical activity. It will lessen your chance of getting injured. I don't think it's controversial at all.
 
Well this is really one of those things where you can do all the research you want to and you will still come up with conflicting answers. The thing is, is that when people research these things they usually go in with a biased and so they just find what they want to find. I have always assumed to stretch before working out, and afterwards too, and so that is what I am sticking with. Thanks for sharing.
 
outdoorgal said:
I just recently, like in the last week, read yet another article on stretching that said it isn't good. I'm wondering what to believe. Let's see if I can find it again and post the link for you, then you can form your own opinion.

Ok, here is one. Remember, I don't know what to believe, so I'm not saying I think these are right, opinions welcome:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/reasons-not-to-stretch/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

One more:

http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/08/why-stretching-may-not-help-before-exercise/
Click to expand...
thanks for the share, this is all a bit confusing for me. I always remember stretching before exercising so I don't really know what would happen if I didn't. Unfortunately many professional athletes don't show you their training routine, but it would be good to see what they do.
 
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