Stretching: The Truth

If you work out regularly, or if you’re a sports-person, you probably know the importance of warming up the muscles before you start your cardio routines or your running. To avoid injury we’ve been told to do a lot of stretching. Well it seems this can be bad advice. If you’re stretching and holding the pose this can actually be damaging.

This article from http://www.nytimes.com/ states that ‘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.’ The article goes on to explain exactly what a warm-up should do, the best way to do it, and for how long.

Stretching is important, but it must be dynamic to be effective. As they say ‘Stretching muscles while moving, on the other hand, a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion. Muscles in motion don’t experience that insidious inhibitory response. They instead get what McHugh calls “an excitatory message” to perform.’

There follows a selection of the best dynamic stretches to do after a warm-up and before the hard training. These include The Scorpion and Handwalks. ‘These exercises – as taught by the United States Tennis Association’s player-development program – are good for many athletes, even golfers.’

So if you want to improve your workouts this article is essential reading.