Stretching

[Introspective]

Do you stretch, before/after weight lifting or maybe on days that you don't lift ? If so what type of stretches and how long for ?

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

I stretch my shoulders and upper body for ~5-10 mins, then a few mins on my hams/quads and 3-4 sets of squats with just the bar. All before my workout.

 

[madteabagger]

i stretch a little before a training session, and then i stretch whatever I am training between sets.

 

[bignate73]

i stretch what I will be using to make sure I have the ROM I need and then anything that feels tight.

 

[Dposey]

On weight training days I usually stretch my hamstrings/quads/shoulders a little and limber up with squats using only the bar. Then I do a little stretching after the workout. Same goes with cardio days only I tend to stretch a bit more.

 

[Behemoth]

I never have stretched or warmed up before lifting. Ive been doing it that way for 9 years without any injuries. Just laziness on my part. However, I have lost a lot of range of motion from being bound up.

I couldnt hit a softball to save my hinder parts because I'm so bound up.

 

[curgeo]

Make sure if you do stretch before you start weight training, that you are warmed up first. Stretching a cold muscle is not the best thing and usually over time can lead to hurting yourself. Walk on a treadmill or eliptical to get blood flowing and then you can stretch.

I my opinion, I don't really stretch before, but after my workout. You really only have to be flexable enough to do your workout and function in life right? I don't see the need to do the splits or anything because what I do in life does not necessitate it.

PNF stretching is something totally different than regular stretching. That in my opinion is GREAT to do.....Intensive stretching before a heavy workout can actually lead to being a weaker in your set, unless it is an antagonistic muscle to what you are working.

You should probably do a search for PNF stretching to get an understanding of it.

 

[nelmsjer]

A few things on this one...

Static stretching before a workout has been shown in studies (several, if I recall correctly) to decrease force production. Dynamic stretching (not ballistic, there is a difference) is the best way to stretch before a workout after you have warmed up, as curgeo stated.

Curgeo also mentioned a nice trick for gaining a bit of strength on your sets. Stretch the antagonistic muscle (opposite the muscle that you are working) before your set. This trick capitalizes on what has been mentioned, already... a static stretch decreases force production. When you decrease force production on an antagonistic muscle, it does not inhibit your movement (through nerve reflexes out of our control). As a matter of fact, this is a trick that is heavily used in the vertical jump test (NFL combine, etc.): aggressively stretch your hip flexors immediately before a vertical jump test, and you will see instantaneous improvement.

After a workout it by far the best time for stretching. Solid static stretches or PNF stretching are best at this time, and can truly make an appreciable difference in flexibility. Some would suggest, and I tend to agree from experience, that stretching after the workout can also facilitate recovery.

 

[Introspective]

Thanks for all responses, much appreciated. I'm definatley gunna look into PNF Stretching.

 

[duke of angels]

Solid info here. If you wanna a good stretching book Kit Laughlin has one and it goes into PNF stretching (rather then using PNF he uses the term C-R for contract release is which is much simpler terminology...) He's based in Australia and as far as any resource even coming close to his book they all are blown out of the water in terms of stretching advice and technique.

Some studies have shown stretching only before working out INCREASES chance of injury.

As far as stretching cold vs streching warm... you can stretch further warm but as far I have seen there is nothing showing stretching is bad for your health "cold". Just don't stretch within one hour of waking up because the spine fills with some sort of fluid and it needs to drain... and don't give a muscle a nice good stretch and then contract it heavily (by lifting heavy weights perhaps). Let it return to it's natural shape...

Stretching aftward working out has been shown to decrease chance of injury.

I got studies from Lore of Running ( the book is huge don't feel like finding it... ).

Does this mean don't ever stretch before? No... but it means you should definetly stretch after.

Didn't know about the opposing muscle stretching bit. Last time I worked out instead of stretching in between every set I stretched the muscle I had worked and then worked the opposing muscle. So I seem to have stumbled upon this in training (mainly because I didn't want to work the muscle I just stretched).

And yes I've seen references to stretching before lifting actually decreasing performance... but what about injury? I think a warm-up set(s) (depending the weight your lifting) is more then enough for someone who's been weight lifting for a considerable amount of time and has good flexibily and range of motion.

 

[b fold the truth]

I stretch just a very little before training, with my warm ups. Nothing hard...just making sure that my shoulders and hamstrings have a little relief in them.

I stretch a good bit daily though...