Thoughts on Stretching
Anyone read this article? It basically claims stretching is a waste of time except for activities where additional range of movement is useful (eg. martial arts, gymnastics). It says stretching is no good for warming up, preventing injury or preventing muscle soreness. Any thoughts?
Without even readin that article, from personal injuries I’ve had in the past, I agree!!!!!
Without even readin that article, from personal injuries I’ve had in the past, I agree!!!!!
are you telling me you actually used to look after your body?
Without even readin that article, from personal injuries I’ve had in the past, I agree!!!!!
are you telling me you actually used to look after your body?
I’ve always followed the Food Pyramid!!!!!
With plenty of fluids to wash it all down with!!!!!
Watched lots of Exercise Programs!!!!!
Stretching helps me, no doubt about it. My body feels like crap when I don’t stretch. I can feel the difference. Keep in mind, everybody’s bodies are different and will react differently to stretching (and different types of stretching). I am naturally quite tight, so stretching helps me loosen up and gain mobility. Yoga has been the best thing I’ve ever done for my body.
you can find articles saying that stretching is good and those that say its bad.
I know that I have torn muscles straight away three times when running onto a training field without having time to stretch, I have NEVER had that happen when I have stretched. Could be lots of reasons why and its hardly a big enough sample size but its enough to make me stretch every time.
I have always thought stretching can be as simple as the walk from the car to the field/chairlift.
More warming up the limbs than stretching!
If you muscles aren’t warm (from movement) then how can you stretch?
Stretching helps me, no doubt about it. My body feels like crap when I don’t stretch. I can feel the difference. Keep in mind, everybody’s bodies are different and will react differently to stretching (and different types of stretching). I am naturally quite tight, so stretching helps me loosen up and gain mobility. Yoga has been the best thing I’ve ever done for my body.
Get Michelle to pour you a glass of wine, and maybe put on some soft music?????
I always warm up first, even if that means stretching in a hot shower.
This is also why I prefer Bikram yoga to other types of yoga. It heats you up from the inside and lets you stretch deeply.
Recent direction given to me by fitness coaches at my gym was to warm up via light exercise before hitting the gym, then stretch after gym.
I guess it depends what you’re doing. I wouldn’t bother stretching before swimming for example, but I always stretch before something like snowboarding or soccer.
Static stretching before exercise/sport has been shown to decrease performance and muscle activity, stretching post exercise has been shown to aid with recovery. Personally I don’t stretch much at all but can touch my toes when warmed up especially now that my gut has reduced significantly ha ha! I find most of my joint issues especially knees are more to do with weak supporting muscles rather anything that stretching by itself could correct. I have been beating my knees up quite a bit of late and am considering seeing the physio to get some strengthening exercise to deal with the problem.
One thing I do find helps immensely especially after my back injury last year is stretching my glutes and my hip flexors, the effect of this on my spine mobility/general sense of wellbeing is really astounding. Apart from that I would like to increase my flexibility in my ankles, it really lacks to the point where I can’t keep my my heel on the floor at all when I squat down. This also probably has a lot to do with the length of my legs and comparative weakness of them.
I never stretch instead just take it easy before hand get the muscles warmed up. Then once I feel good and warmth get more in to it. I usually head to the bar to stretch down. I did do a massive stretch after snowboarding a few seasons back first day at the mountain come back stretched. Felt a million bucks the next day no strains or pains.
Yep all the ex phys stuff that I have read, along with personal experience suggests that if you stretch when you’re body is cold, without a light jog or something to get the blood pumping first then you’re more likely to do damage when stretching.
The general principle I’ve always taught kids at school is to make sure to ‘sweat before you stretch’. This doesn’t mean sprints or some such, but just get your body moving and warming up. Ideally for peak performance, you do some light exercise and then stretch prior to the activity.
I personally don’t stretch before exercise though. Despite having ridiculously tight muscles in general, I’ve never torn a muscle in all my squillion games of touch footy, soccer, tennis, hockey etc etc.
I’ve found it is much more important for me to stretch after the exercise than before it….but that doesn’t mean no warm up all together…but running around passing a ball or whatever is enough for me before I head out on the field.
I yawn in the morning when I wake up - with arms reaching outwards and up, arching my spine. As a cat would after laying still. My muscles don’t get damaged from that, it feels good and wakes me up.
Lifting weights damages muscle - straining muscle is how muscle mass is increased. So if stretching does the same thing ???
I always stretch before surfing and snowboarding, it improves my ability ten fold.
But I am trained in a “martial art style discipline” from the age of 2, you could say a master in it.
Big fan of post exercise stretch or hot shower.
This has made me think - last week when I hurt my neck swimming I had done a good warm up on my neck/shoulder muscles before, I’m more inclined to believe that falling off a ladder a few days earlier more likely primed the area for later injury. Without stretching I would still be wearing a neck brace.