To stretch, or not to stretch?

[VABelle]

Hi Cathe!

This is my first post here, although I have been a regular visitor for quite some time

Here's a question that I've been looking to get answered for some time now:

What is the rule of thumb for stretching at the beginning of a workout? I know that stretching at the end is a no brainer (and feels terrific!), but what about at the beginning?

The reason I ask is because I keep reading that stretching at the beginning of exercising is a bad idea because it causes your muscles to lose strength during your workout, especially during a weight workout, thereby decreasing your performance. Is this true? And if so, does this only hold true for weight workouts? Should I still be stretching pre-workout (after a warm up, of course) on my pure cardio days?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[pace1987]

I also just read this in FitnessRx. I was curious of this one too.

 

[endorphin_junkie]

Hi There and Welcome. Obviously I'm not Cathe but hope I can help. There has been a definite trend over the past 5 or so years away from stretch at the beginning of a workout and concentrating on movement of blood from the core to the peripheral muscles. This increased blood flow to the muscles prepares us for the harder work ahead and decreases chance of injury or muscle pull. In the context of recreational fitness the beginning or preparatory stretch doesn't really affect our muscles in the long run but when the stretch is saved for the end when there is maximal blood flow in the muscles, the stretch becomes developmental in that you can gain range of motion if you hold the stretches and stick with them. Gains may be only a hair's breadth but with consistancy it all add's up and keeps us limber and supple.
HTH

Take Care
Laurie

 

[Aquajock]

There is a lot of controversy in fitness researchers about the value of stretching during the warm-up of either an aerobic or a strength workout. Yes, two of the primary purposes of a warm-up is to increase core temperature and increase circulation to the working muscles. However, another purpose of a warm-up is to increase the production of synovial fluid to all of the working joints (an aspect that has been neglected in much of the stretch debate) and overall increase comfortable range of motion from a resting state to a motive state.

When one talks of the value of warm-up stretching, one has to consider #1 what workout one is warming up for, #2 what one has done in terms of activity (or lack thereof) in the hours preceding the workout, and #3 what type of stretching you're talking about. One thing I've seen is that in warm-ups, briefer and gentle DYNAMIC stretches are more in use, whereas in cool-downs longer-held STATIC stretches are usually the norm. And I think that makes sense. If you try to do a long series of static holds you will lose your built-up core temperature, and that is counterproductive in the warm-up. But dynamic stretching, especially if the workout is after a long day of sitting (say at a desk job), I think has real value whether the workout is aerobic, strength or both.

A-Jock

 

[candi]

My husband is a runner and he used to stretch religiously before he ran. He started noticing some pain in his left ankle a year or two ago which he attributed to age, he's 46. It started really bother him so he went from running five days a week to three and then two and then he stopped.

He started putting on some weight and decided to start running again, but this time he decided to not stretch before his run. He has been running about 2 miles for approximately five weeks now with no pain at all. We're not sure whether to attribute it to the fact that he took a break or that he's discontinued his pre-stretching.

 

[Jennifit]

I am not Cathe, but I ran cross country in college and now coach both track and cross country and we do what is called "active stretching" before training and perform static stretches afertwards.

Active stretching was said to be invented by the Wharton brothers who were both professional runners at one point. IT is used by many professional athletes (their clients being Michael Johnson and other track stars, many NFL players, etc)

Below is a link that really explains it and some examples of the stretches. It is remarkable how it warms the muscles, ligaments, and joints up for all the work ahead. We have really seen a decrease in muscle pulls and injuries using active stretching before a workout.

I personally still LOVE to stretch slowly (static) AFTER a workout. FLexiblity is MUST to prevent injuries from my own experiences. I know studies vary on the effectiveness of stretching, but being a runner almost my whole life - there is a difference in my performance and recovery for the better when I take the extra 15 minutes to stretch.

Ok, enough already...here is the link
http://www.aistretch.com/exercises.htm

Jenni