Static stretching can weaken your workout

If you’re like most of us, you were taught the importance of warm-up exercises back in grade school, and you’ve likely continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg’s muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sp...in&oref=slogin

I've been reading about this elsewhere, I will make an effort to compile different sources of information on this soon.

What you should take away from it is that static stretching (holding your knee to your chest for 20-30 seconds, for example) before a workout is bad. Dynamic stretching (jogging around the gym or using the elliptical for 5 minutes) is better.

The problem with this article is that it is too vague.

Stretching is by far a very useful technique to prevent cramping in your muscles. That's what needs to be kept in mind. If you pull a muscle from not stretching before and after a workout, or even get a cramp can dampen your workout regimine, and if you pull a muscle or strain it a week to a few weeks can be lost until you can get back to 100% of your workout.

Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually bad for you.

I would completely disagree with this. There have been NUMEROUS times where I had not stretched before working out our playing basketball and noticebally pulled a damn hamstring, strained a damn calf muscle, or even just getting a cramp somewhere, which could have been easily prevented from stretching.

Static stretching should be done AFTER working out, but not BEFORE. Dynamic stretching should be done before.

Mm, that's a personal argument for each person. Everyone responds to both stretching techniques differently. Atleast from what I can tell.. Atleast that's what they taught us in weightlifting.

It almost seems to counter common sense, but everything I have read in the past half a year has supported this.


This article on the topic cites its sources: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni43a4.htm

Research has shown that static stretching can be detrimental to performance and does not necessarily lead to decreases in injury.

Well when you stretch it to the point where it is past being clumped together, the normal explosiveness that your muscles contain is lost because your fibers are unlinked and don't perform the same. I think there is a point where most people that are active can tell where their muscles get to that point, in which you would then be over-doing it.

I see your points though that you are posting. I've got some reading up to do.

static stretching does lead to a loss on strength with the workout following, I've found from my personal experience. although stretching is still good if it is done for shorter amounts of time since it helps maintain and increase flexibility. and also, the only stretching i ever do is based around my shoulder joints since i've busted them up so many times from not doing so. with legs,chest, biceps, lower back and tri's i've found that two warmup sets of high reps ( 15-20) with relatively light weights is way better than any stretching.

I would only say that static stretching is only bad when the morons take it to the extreme and hold it for over a minute. A few seconds of static stretching has always been the best personally to relief any muscle cramps, and to prevent them in the first place.

When we arrive at the gym we typically take in a shot of water and hop straight on the eliptical. Depending how we feel we will do 1/2 - 1 mile of jogging around speed 8-10. After that regardless of the body part we are working we always start with a weight that we can feel our muscles kick in. Personally with bench I start with 25's on each side because lifting that makes me feel my muscles more then lifting say 35's or 45's. We do probably 15 reps and then do minor stretching and then go at our routine.

how long have you been getting into shape? for the first 2 odd months i went to the gym i found that doing higher range reps (12-15) helped a hell of a lot, and you dont have to lift so much that it makes you hit failure at the end of every set.

A technique I've found useful in benching if you can't move up a weight is to have a spotter aid you in a weight which is a lot higher than what you can lift. The spotter holds the bar with weight up, and you slowly bring the bar down straining your muscles to the max. The spotter guards you from injuring yourself, and when you reach your chest, the spotter lifts up the bar with two arms placed in an equilibrium up to the starting point. I usually do this three times before my muscles are in fatigue.

The spotter should really not doing more than the two finger assist. If the spotter has to use his whole hand at any point you shouldn't be doing it. IMHO.

A technique I've found useful in benching if you can't move up a weight is to have a spotter aid you in a weight which is a lot higher than what you can lift. The spotter holds the bar with weight up, and you slowly bring the bar down straining your muscles to the max. The spotter guards you from injuring yourself, and when you reach your chest, the spotter lifts up the bar with two arms placed in an equilibrium up to the starting point. I usually do this three times before my muscles are in fatigue.

that's a negative rep.. it can be used with more weight than what you can normally handle but i dont see much of a point in that.. negativ reps are usually used for the last few reps you cant push out by yourself, your spotter helps you push the bar up, then you'd lower the bar as slowly as you can straining your muscles a hell of a lot.

The spotter should really not doing more than the two finger assist. If the spotter has to use his whole hand at any point you shouldn't be doing it. IMHO.

Well, he's more like a guard so the bar doesn't split your face in half as you lower it down.

You have to sacrifice form too much to do that. Save "techniques" like that for when you plateau.

thats when theyre mostly used.. and as grav said, the best way to see results is to use good form, you'll end up like alot of the idiots you see in the gym, they swing high numbers around like they think they know what theyre doing, but theyre barely using the target muscle group(s) and they won't see the results they want , if they even see any at all. using good form puts the maximum strain on the targeted muscle which leads to better results in strength and size!