[I was thisclose to posting an adorable picture of a stretching cat, but fought the urge ... for now.]
Some athletes consider stretching a mandatory part of their fitness routine, believing it prevents injury, wards off soreness and/or boosts performance. Others skip it, remaining unconvinced of the benefits of stretching, even through the barrage of advice to the contrary from coaches, trainers and teammates alike. (What fortitude this latter group has! Or perhaps they're just lazy?)
Though most experts will still recommend doing what works best for you, the latest round of research goes to the lazybutts. Kind of. Under some circumstances, anyway.
It's a squishy, controversial topic that writer Kelle Walsh tackled in the June issue of Experience Life, covering when, if, and how stretching is most beneficial for athletic performance and musculoskeletal health. If you want to check it out, by all means please do so: "Stretch and Reach: The Unexaggerated Truth About Stretching."
If, on the other hand, you prefer your info bite-sized, allow me to synopsize:
- Static stretching immediately before activity does not prevent injury, and may, in fact, add to injury risk because 1) stretching weakens muscle for a short period of time and 2) it has an analgesic effect, masking pain that would otherwise serve as a warning sign to ease up.
- Additionally, preworkout stretching inhibits the stretch reflex, which helps you, say, jump higher. Stretching just messes with it for a short period of time, but still -- do you want to spend the first few minutes of a game even a titch slow?
- Dynamic flexibility drills (controlled movements done through full range of motion), are the exception to this rule. They're good preworkout and actually increase coordination and muscle response time.
- Ballistic (bouncy) stretching is bad for your connective tissue and insertion points. (But that's old news.)
- Stretching after a workout doesn't prevent soreness. That DOMS is gonna getcha regardless. (And the rhythm will, too, if you stand too close to Gloria Estefan.)
- Stretching after your workout can help you maintain your current level of flexibility, but if you want to see flexibility gains, you should add general flexibility to your regimen. Our experts recommended at least 20 minutes, three times a week. Yoga fits the bill.
- Incorporating a general stretching program (such as yoga) appears to help prevent injury and boost athletic performance. Yoga fanatic Kareem Abdul-Jabar is onto something: When muscle is stretched regularly, it becomes stronger and contracts more rapidly, resulting in increased force and speed.
Mike Robertson, MS, makes an important clarification about such stretches in his May 14 blog entry, and gives the go-ahead to include what he calls "acute corrective" static stretches, even in warm-up. It's up to you what you're comfy with, but here's how he describes his stretching strategy:
Pre-workout, we include what's called "Acute Corrective Strategies" to help re-groove better movement patterns in the muscles. For instance, we would stretch your hip flexors, and then follow that up with an activation drill to enhance neural drive to the glutes. In this case, we're very specific in the stretches that we would perform.ADDITIONAL READING: In our man Eric Cressey's latest newsletter, aside from a mention of his interview here (wahoooo!) he also digs into stretching and its myths. He calls static stretching "relatively outdated," which is music to my ears as I am a proud member of the lazybutts when it comes to the static stuff.
After you've included the "acute corrective" drills to optimize neural drive to the glutes, you'd move in to your dynamic flexibility drills. Just as an aside, you can do this either before or after your dynamic flex, it's really more of a preference than a physiological law.
Now at the end of your day, that would be the optimal time to go through an extensive static stretching routine. This is where we would stretch all the muscle groups that we outline within [the Bulletproof Knees program]. Most people have a very poor stretch tolerance, so this should help quite a bit.
Lastly, Gina Kolata of The New York Times covered the topic of stretching in March: "To Stretch or Not to Stretch? the Answer is Elastic." She concludes that "research to date is inadequate to answer most stretching questions."
How 'bout you? Do you stretch? If so, what works best for you?
I definitely stretch, but thats because I have always done it. For me it does appear to be a ritual, if I play without stretching I am worried the whole time that I didn't stretch!
Maybe it is just the mind fooling me, but I do feel less sore if I stretch down after a hard workout, the next day I feel better. Maybe it is just my mind fooling me? "Silly, you stretched, imagine how sore you would be if you hadn't of streched!" :)
Wendy
I'm definitely in the lazybutt camp when it comes to stretching. I used to do yoga regularly but stopped after I moved to London where classes cost a fortune. I loved it though, and thought it had more effect than the 5-minute stretch sessions I'd (occasionally) do before a run.
Wendy,
I hear ya on the ritualistic aspect of stretching, and anecdotally, stretching continues to be successful for many athletes -- which is why most experts are loathe to give firm do's and don'ts. Speaking of other, more outdated pregame rugby rituals, I was not at all sorry when the warm-up lap went the way of the dodo, were you? Hated it!
Monica,
Long live the lazybutts! They are my people.
Lastly, I received the following link to an Atkins newsletter on stretching from the inimitable MizFit (www.mizfitonline.com):
www.atkins.com/newsletter-archive/April-2008-newsletter.
She was worried about hijacking my post by posting the link in the comments, and it was lovely of her to ask, but for the record, readers, I don't care at all if you post relevant links in the comments.
I have to say I'm not clear on this bit of blog etiquette. I assume it has something to do with keeping readers on your page, but hey, this is a conversation, and I'm by no means promising to be The Expert on most of the topics I post about — so the more resources the better! I just ask that any links you post be relevant to the topic at hand.
youre so sweet.
*I* never care----but I didnt wanna roll up in herre all LOOK AT ME AND THE ARTICLE I WROTE. PLEASE TO WAVE BUHBYE TO THE FABULOUSITY WHICH IS EXPERIENCE LIFE AND HEAD OVER TO A DIET SITE.
:)
I find all this anti-stretching research a bit perplexing. I understand that it doesn't make sense to do it right before you work out, but it really seems like most people benefit from maintaining their flexibility with some regular stretching. I know I do--when I get lazy about it, my back starts to hurt and I'm more likely to injure myself.
MizFit,
Couldn't have faulted ya if you'da said that -- it's pretty funny. :)
Crabby,
That's the thing -- no one seems to be ANTI-stretching. Some are ambivalent, yeah, but even they don't warn people off of stretching entirely.
And the large majority of fitness experts seem to be coming down in your camp -- regular, general stretching is goodgoodgood for you. I think the pickiest parts have to do with WHEN to stretch, ya know?