Stretching before workouts may weaken muscles, impair athletic performance
Those toe-touches and deep knee bends may be weakening your workout, two new studies show.
Static stretching — the act of stretching muscles to the point of tension while the body is at rest — has long been a staple of warm-up routines, from pro athletes’ playing fields to school gymnasiums, but recent research has discovered that warm-ups involving static stretching may actually impair an athlete’s performance.
A study published in this month’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that static stretching performed before weight-lifting made athletes feel weaker. Researchers suggest that static stretching before physical activity may alter or impair the neurological function in active musculature.
Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports featured similar findings. The authors of the study examined articles published over a 44-year period to determine the effect static stretching has on athletes’ strength, power and explosive muscle performance while they’re engaged in their sport. It was discovered that static stretching before exercise has a negative impact on athletic performance regardless of the subject’s age, gender or fitness level.
Both studies recommend static stretching be avoided before physical activity. Because static stretching is performed when the body is at rest and because it places emphasis on flexibility rather than preparing the body for physical activity, static stretching is best performed as a cool-down after an athlete’s workout.
A much more effective method of warming up is dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching mimics the body’s movements during physical activity with running, jumping, kicking and pumping motions, and primes muscle groups that will be accessed during a full-on workout. In warming up the specific muscles that will be used during a workout, and in ways and directions and speeds that the muscles would actually be used during sport, dynamic stretching prepares the body for peak performance and helps to reduce injuries.
KZpETMpS5vs[/media]]
Source: http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/04/05/stretching-before-workouts-may-weaken-muscles-impair-athletic-performance-studies/
Those toe-touches and deep knee bends may be weakening your workout, two new studies show.
Static stretching — the act of stretching muscles to the point of tension while the body is at rest — has long been a staple of warm-up routines, from pro athletes’ playing fields to school gymnasiums, but recent research has discovered that warm-ups involving static stretching may actually impair an athlete’s performance.
A study published in this month’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that static stretching performed before weight-lifting made athletes feel weaker. Researchers suggest that static stretching before physical activity may alter or impair the neurological function in active musculature.
Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports featured similar findings. The authors of the study examined articles published over a 44-year period to determine the effect static stretching has on athletes’ strength, power and explosive muscle performance while they’re engaged in their sport. It was discovered that static stretching before exercise has a negative impact on athletic performance regardless of the subject’s age, gender or fitness level.
Both studies recommend static stretching be avoided before physical activity. Because static stretching is performed when the body is at rest and because it places emphasis on flexibility rather than preparing the body for physical activity, static stretching is best performed as a cool-down after an athlete’s workout.
A much more effective method of warming up is dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching mimics the body’s movements during physical activity with running, jumping, kicking and pumping motions, and primes muscle groups that will be accessed during a full-on workout. In warming up the specific muscles that will be used during a workout, and in ways and directions and speeds that the muscles would actually be used during sport, dynamic stretching prepares the body for peak performance and helps to reduce injuries.
KZpETMpS5vs[/media]]
Source: http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/04/05/stretching-before-workouts-may-weaken-muscles-impair-athletic-performance-studies/