Stretching and weightlifting.

[Fatality]

Can someone please verify the validity of the following article I found on buildingmuscle101?

Have you ever woken up the next morning after a weight lifting workout so stiff that you could barely get out of bed? If you answered yes, then you might not be stretching enough before, during and after your weight lifting routine.

Many people do not recognize how important stretching is for weight lifting. Stretching gently lengthens your muscles before or after any form of exercise. Here is just a few of the many benefits to stretching for weight lifting.

• Improve your flexibility. Flexibility is defined as the joint’s ability to move through a full range of motion. Stretching helps balance your muscle groups that may have been overused during your weight lifting session.

• Decrease your risk of injury. It is well accepted that stretching loosens muscles and connective tissue, thus lowering your risk of injury. Many coaches and trainers believe that the more prepared your muscles and joints are for an activity, the more protected you are against injury.

• Improved circulation. Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. In addition, improved circulation can help shorter your recovery time if you have had injuries.

• Enhanced coordination. Stretching for weight lifting enhances coordination and gives you better balance. Improving your coordination and balance will keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls, especially as you age.

• Provides stress relief. When you stretch, it relaxes tight, tense muscles that can occur when you are under stress.

Stretching for Weight Lifting Basics

Now that you know the many benefits of stretching for weight lifting, let’s review some of the stretching essentials.

• Perform static stretching. Static stretching is a gradual, slow and controlled elongation of the muscle through the full range of motion and held for 30 seconds in the furthest comfortable position. If you feel pain when you stretch, that’s your body’s signal that you have gone too far.

• Warm Up. Warm up gently for around five to ten minutes before stretching. The warm up could be walking while pumping your arms, light aerobics, or any exercise that gets your blood circulating throughout the body and into the muscles.

• Hold the stretches. Many people do not hold their stretches long enough. Conventional rules are that you should hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds to lengthen your muscle tissue safely.

• Don’t bounce. I’ve seen many people in the gym bouncing as they hold their stretches and this is just asking for an injury. Bouncing while stretching causes micro tears in the muscle. These micro tears can leave scar tissue when your muscle heals, which tightens your muscle even further. The end result is less flexibility – not more.

• Stretch between your weightlifting sets. If you are aiming for optimum flexibility, I recommend stretching between your weightlifting sets. During the time that you would normally rest between each set is a great time to stretch the specific muscle that you were working. This rest period between sets is the optimum time to stretch because your muscle is warm.

• Breathe freely and relax. A common occurrence during stretching is holding your breath. Be sure to breathe through the stretch, which can actually help you to stretch a little deeper.

• Stretch both sides equally. Don’t favour one side or the other because it’s more flexible. Stretch each side equally, for the same amount of time. Always remember to stretch each of your major muscle groups.

Sample Stretches to Perform

One of the most important things to remember is that you should stretch all your major muscles groups when stretching for weight lifting. Also, be sure to follow the principles outlined above to ensure you are performing your stretches safely. Below are just a few ideas of great stretches, perfect for when your weight lifting.

• Quadriceps stretch. While lying down, straighten both legs and relax. Pull left leg and knee in towards your chest while keeping the back of your head on the mat. Hold and repeat with right leg.

• Hamstring stretch. Sit with your right leg straight - out at a slight angle. Place the sole of your left foot on the inside thigh of your straightened leg. Lean slightly forward from your hips and stretch hamstrings of your right leg. Hold stretch and repeat with left leg.

• Thigh and groin stretch. While sitting on a matt, place the soles of your feet together in a comfortable position. Put your hands around your feet and slowly pull yourself forward until you feel an easy stretch in your inner thigh and groin.

• Lower back and hip stretch. Sit with your right leg straight out in front of you. Place your left foot outside of your right knee, with your left knee bent. Now, bend your right elbow, resting it outside of the upper left thigh, just above your knee. Your left hand is resting behind you; slowly turn your head to look over your left shoulder while rotating your upper body toward your left hand and arm.

• Calf stretch. Stand with your right leg out behind your left leg until your feel a stretch in your calf. Hold and repeat with your left leg.

• Chest and shoulder stretch. Interlace your fingers behind your back. Slowly turn your elbows inward while straightening your arms. Hold and repeat.

• Triceps stretch. With your arms overhead, hold the elbow of one arm with your other hand and drape the other arm behind your head. Gently pull the elbow to stretch the tricep muscle. Hold and repeat with other arm.

• If you’re very tight in your neck and shoulders, finish off your stretching with some gentle head rolls and neck stretches.

Stretching for weight lifting can provide you with a great many benefits including improving your flexibility, coordination and reducing your chance of injury. Regular stretching will leave your body feeling great!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know the whole benefit of stretching part, I just need some clarification of the actual stretching concept. For example, the time duration and the different types of stretches I should do. So really, all I need to do is stretch the major muscles for about 30 seconds each, breathe easy and don't bounce?

 

[Tonyk212000]

Lot of people know im a DC guy and I do the stretches after every exercise and I still feel sore alot.

 

[tim290280]

Can someone please verify the validity of the following article I found on buildingmuscle101?

Have you ever woken up the next morning after a weight lifting workout so stiff that you could barely get out of bed? If you answered yes, then you might not be stretching enough before, during and after your weight lifting routine. No proof that stretching can offset DOMS

Many people do not recognize how important stretching is for weight lifting. Stretching gently lengthens your muscles before or after any form of exercise. Here is just a few of the many benefits to stretching for weight lifting. True

• Improve your flexibility. Flexibility is defined as the joint’s ability to move through a full range of motion. Stretching helps balance your muscle groups that may have been overused during your weight lifting session. No flexibility is the muscles ROM, joint ROM is mobility

• Decrease your risk of injury. It is well accepted that stretching loosens muscles and connective tissue, thus lowering your risk of injury. Many coaches and trainers believe that the more prepared your muscles and joints are for an activity, the more protected you are against injury. No proof of decreased injury risk

• Improved circulation. Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. In addition, improved circulation can help shorter your recovery time if you have had injuries. Null point as you are already exercising the muscle

• Enhanced coordination. Stretching for weight lifting enhances coordination and gives you better balance. Improving your coordination and balance will keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls, especially as you age. I haven't read anything that supports this although it could be true.

• Provides stress relief. When you stretch, it relaxes tight, tense muscles that can occur when you are under stress. True

Stretching for Weight Lifting Basics

Now that you know the many benefits of stretching for weight lifting, let’s review some of the stretching essentials.

• Perform static stretching. Static stretching is a gradual, slow and controlled elongation of the muscle through the full range of motion and held for 30 seconds in the furthest comfortable position. If you feel pain when you stretch, that’s your body’s signal that you have gone too far. Static stretching is only for after sessions of lifting or activity

• Warm Up. Warm up gently for around five to ten minutes before stretching. The warm up could be walking while pumping your arms, light aerobics, or any exercise that gets your blood circulating throughout the body and into the muscles. Dynamic stretching can be used as part of a warmup, not static stretching

• Hold the stretches. Many people do not hold their stretches long enough. Conventional rules are that you should hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds to lengthen your muscle tissue safely. Time under tension principles apply to stretching as well, actual length of stretch relates to how many you do.

• Don’t bounce. I’ve seen many people in the gym bouncing as they hold their stretches and this is just asking for an injury. Bouncing while stretching causes micro tears in the muscle. These micro tears can leave scar tissue when your muscle heals, which tightens your muscle even further. The end result is less flexibility – not more. Blah blah blah, you get micro tears from any strenuous activity. This is actually PNF stretching and is quite good but has to be controlled with good form.

• Stretch between your weightlifting sets. If you are aiming for optimum flexibility, I recommend stretching between your weightlifting sets. During the time that you would normally rest between each set is a great time to stretch the specific muscle that you were working. This rest period between sets is the optimum time to stretch because your muscle is warm. No evidence of any benefit but evidence of decreased exercise benefit and muscle activity.

• Breathe freely and relax. A common occurrence during stretching is holding your breath. Be sure to breathe through the stretch, which can actually help you to stretch a little deeper. Breathe? Nah I've given that up recently.

• Stretch both sides equally. Don’t favour one side or the other because it’s more flexible. Stretch each side equally, for the same amount of time. Always remember to stretch each of your major muscle groups. No only stretch your favourite side and favourite muscles.

Sample Stretches to Perform

One of the most important things to remember is that you should stretch all your major muscles groups when stretching for weight lifting. Also, be sure to follow the principles outlined above to ensure you are performing your stretches safely. Below are just a few ideas of great stretches, perfect for when your weight lifting. Minor muscles are just as important

• Quadriceps stretch. While lying down, straighten both legs and relax. Pull left leg and knee in towards your chest while keeping the back of your head on the mat. Hold and repeat with right leg. Not a good quad stretch, sounds more like a glute stretch to me.......

• Hamstring stretch. Sit with your right leg straight - out at a slight angle. Place the sole of your left foot on the inside thigh of your straightened leg. Lean slightly forward from your hips and stretch hamstrings of your right leg. Hold stretch and repeat with left leg. Once again sounds like a glute stretch, maybe a bit of the isotibial band stretch too.

• Thigh and groin stretch. While sitting on a matt, place the soles of your feet together in a comfortable position. Put your hands around your feet and slowly pull yourself forward until you feel an easy stretch in your inner thigh and groin. True

• Lower back and hip stretch. Sit with your right leg straight out in front of you. Place your left foot outside of your right knee, with your left knee bent. Now, bend your right elbow, resting it outside of the upper left thigh, just above your knee. Your left hand is resting behind you; slowly turn your head to look over your left shoulder while rotating your upper body toward your left hand and arm. You shouldn't be trying to stretch your lower back. This is actually a glute and latisimus stretch.

• Calf stretch. Stand with your right leg out behind your left leg until your feel a stretch in your calf. Hold and repeat with your left leg. True

• Chest and shoulder stretch. Interlace your fingers behind your back. Slowly turn your elbows inward while straightening your arms. Hold and repeat. Shoulder and pec minor stretch but who's counting....

• Triceps stretch. With your arms overhead, hold the elbow of one arm with your other hand and drape the other arm behind your head. Gently pull the elbow to stretch the tricep muscle. Hold and repeat with other arm. True

• If you’re very tight in your neck and shoulders, finish off your stretching with some gentle head rolls and neck stretches. Most neck tightness is actually the traps.

Stretching for weight lifting can provide you with a great many benefits including improving your flexibility, coordination and reducing your chance of injury. Regular stretching will leave your body feeling great!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know the whole benefit of stretching part, I just need some clarification of the actual stretching concept. For example, the time duration and the different types of stretches I should do. So really, all I need to do is stretch the major muscles for about 30 seconds each, breathe easy and don't bounce?

The article is crap. I've posted a couple on stretching in the past that would have a better overview. I don't know if I posted the roundtable discussion that one of the science journals did but it was interesting. Basically most of your stretching has to have an aim which for the most part should be the gaining or maintenance of flexibility or ROM. This will be specific to your activities and sports. The type (PNF, static, dynamic and one other I can't remember) and duration will be determined by the goal and overall program. Once gains have been made they can be maintained relatively easily with only an hour or so a week (from memory, but it was only one or two sessions as opposed to every day for long periods to gain).

 

[Tonyk212000]

Tim your knowledge is always insightful to the Mecca

 

[philosopher]

• Quadriceps stretch. While lying down, straighten both legs and relax. Pull left leg and knee in towards your chest while keeping the back of your head on the mat. Hold and repeat with right leg.

• Hamstring stretch. Sit with your right leg straight - out at a slight angle. Place the sole of your left foot on the inside thigh of your straightened leg. Lean slightly forward from your hips and stretch hamstrings of your right leg. Hold stretch and repeat with left leg.

haha the author knows his stuff well . Like Tim said both are glute stretches. Imo there are far better articles you can find for this subject

 

[Fatality]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Big_Guns_Lance]

Tim your knowledge is always insightful to the Mecca

Yeh Tim, that was great

 

[Bulkboy]

i gotta say though, when i strecth thouroughly after a workout i always seem to be less sore than normal the day after. like ive started stretching alot after my leg day because before i was so damn sore it was actually a problem for me(work etc). and i gotta say it has helped me tremendously.

 

[tim290280]

^^ so you have tested that only on yourself, without taking into account (subtle?) changes in the way you train and recover? There is a reason why science tested stretching against DOMS due to such statements and there is yet to be any conclusive evidence to support this statement.

 

[Bulkboy]

^^ so you have tested that only on yourself, without taking into account (subtle?) changes in the way you train and recover? There is a reason why science tested stretching against DOMS due to such statements and there is yet to be any conclusive evidence to support this statement.

well i havent really changed much at all when it comes to my training, i still do very high volume and high reps for legs, which always made me sore. and after i started stretching alot, much of the soreness just went away the day after and the following days. this is all my personal experience though, but i just find that for me anyway strecthing helps wear off the soreness. i havent really incorporated any other changes i can think off that would be responsible for the decrease in soreness the days following a workout...

 

[tim290280]

well i havent really changed much at all when it comes to my training, i still do very high volume and high reps for legs, which always made me sore. and after i started stretching alot, much of the soreness just went away the day after and the following days. this is all my personal experience though, but i just find that for me anyway strecthing helps wear off the soreness. i havent really incorporated any other changes i can think off that would be responsible for the decrease in soreness the days following a workout...

The reason why science uses many people in trials is to eliminate external variation and error. They have concluded no link between reduced DOMS and stretching. You are making what is termed an anecdotal statement (n=1)that by your own admission (highlights) cannot be 100% confident.

I'm not saying don't stretch, I'm not saying it doesn't have benefits, but I am saying that you may be drawing conclusions that aren't there. To put it another way if you have a sample of 100 people toss a coin you can expect roughly half to have heads, half to have tails. But it would be very easy to "prove" that a subsample of people had a coin that only had a head on it by only asking say 5 people who tossed heads thought.