stretch before lifting

[toomoobee]

How important is it to stretch before and after a big lifting session ? My buddy says its not good cause it makes the muscles long instead of short.

 

[EZ_E]

THere are a few opinions on this; for me personally I will use bands & an abs pipe to loosen up before training

 

[SteveMobsterG]

How important is it to stretch before and after a big lifting session ? My buddy says its not good cause it makes the muscles long instead of short.

Ask him what that actually means.

 

[stevesmi]

your buddy has a point

stretching before makes no sense.. you should WARM UP the muscles, but save stretching for after or non workout days. take a yoga class on your off day

 

[cbbram]

I stretch a little bit but I definitely recommend warming up and easing into it.

 

[Fella Finn]

How important is it to stretch before and after a big lifting session ? My buddy says its not good cause it makes the muscles long instead of short.

Dynamic stretches are okay before workout session but I would avoid any type of static stretching because it can tire out the muscles and possibly weaken your performance to some degree.

 

[RickRock13]

I believe in warm up sets before lifting, and stretching after training. Doing those will help prevent injury, increase blood flow to the muscles. Stretch the fascia after resistance training, and improve recovery

 

[muskate]

Before lifting you want to do dynamic stretching.

After lifting you want to do static stretching

 

[MasonicBodybuilder]

I always stretch really good after training for around 15 minutes. More than just a physical thing, it is a time for me to mentally reflect on the training session I just crushed.