Before throwing themselves into an athletic activity, many people stop and wonder whether or not they should prepare for the action like we often see professional athletes do. Even our gym class trainers and physical education teachers would make us stretch the muscle groups in preparation for physical activities.
A little later in the story, in the era between the 90s and the 2000s, a new study showed that the idea of stretching muscle groups in preparation for physical exercise is actually conducive to serious injury and sprains. Another study was done that supported this claim, proving that static stretching actually decreased athletic performance from 5 to 7 percent.
That brought the stretching phase to an abrupt stop. The quandary wasn’t over though, there was reason to believe that the performance of an athlete after the muscles and joints were properly prepared for action was far superior to someone jumping into the game.
Now many experts are taking a 2nd look at the question “Why stretch before working out”, and they say we should not scratch the practice so fast. Memorial University in Newfoundland employs one such expert.
David Behm is a professor of human kinetics and publisher of some important articles on the subject, some of which have found their way to prestige in the Journal of Applied Physiology and Nutrition. This study was done with a much closer look at the exact activities and warm up routines being practiced and by which type of athletes.
Here is what the team at Memorial University found: static stretching is a threat to pique performance, but only under certain conditions. First, if the stretching pose is maintained for any longer than one minute and second, if the stretch is the only form of warming up.
Behm’s team also found that, most athletes will only perform a single static stretch for 30 seconds before moving on to another muscle group. Many will also accompany this stretch with some jogging or other aerobics that can help the body “warm up”.
The Meta-analysis was quite revealing. when athletes preceded their activities with a more comprehensive routine of stretching and warming up they were able to reduce the occurrence of injury to nothing.
This more comprehensive type of warm up included a static stretching of several muscle groups but none for over 30 seconds, as well as a dynamic stretching that would simulate the actions the sport calls for, swinging, stretching, throwing or jumping.
So what does all this mean to you about to jump into the ball game wondering “Why stretch before working out”?
According to Behm, the answer really depends alot on the sport being practiced, the age of the sportsman, the level of professionalism and competition and a few other pertinent issues like how often the practitioner practices.
Studies have shown that the muscles of the body lose their supple quality and begin to get more rigid, this makes them more susceptible to injury. People coming back from extensive bouts of inactivity are also susceptible. Injury can be avoided by a little stretching and moving about.
Certain sports will also require more stretching than others; according to Behm, sports with a lot of stop-and-go action such as squash, basketball, tennis and hockey, are more tough on the body and require more warming up than cycling and running which can be a good warm up in themselves.
But if you are going to stretch, remember there is a right way and a wrong way; the wrong way can get you injured.
Behm suggests, “…warming up or about 5 minutes by jogging around or getting the body working in some other way. Then you can move on to some static stretching for another five minutes, but spend no more than 30 seconds on any muscle group. The best number is three stretches per group at no more than 20 seconds each.
Finally, complete the work out with sport-specific warm up like shooting hoops, skating around the rink or throwing a ball back and forth with a buddy.
Behm also emphasizes the importance of stretching after the exercise as well. Be cautious and slow as your muscles are likely to be more warm and limber after the exercise, and you will not wwant to twist them out of place, but a post-exercise stretch is a major benefit for preserving muscles.
The post Why Stretch before Working Out? New Answers to an Old Question appeared first on NUTRITIONCLUB.
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