Stretching Before a Workout

For years, common wisdom has been to stretch out your muscles
before a workout.  It was thought that stretching loosened up the muscles and
prevented injuries.  It seems that common wisdom was wrong, and stretching
before a workout can increase the chance of injury and decrease your
performance…unless it’s done right.

Several recent studies, including a very large study in Hawaii, have shown that
stretching before exercise does not decrease the chance of injury, and in some
groups—notably, white males—pre-exercise stretching was associated with more
injuries.  On the other hand, people who stretched after their workouts had
fewer injuries.

Even in the light of new research about stretching before a workout, exercise
professionals and physicians agree that stretching itself has significant health
benefits.  Stretching improves flexibility and the range of motion of your
joints, helps your balance and posture, improves circulation, relieves stress
and feels good.  Although stretching does not increase the rate of healing after
a sports injury, it may decrease the pain associated with the injury. It also
helps prevent joint stiffness that occurs with age.  The question is not if you
should stretch; it’s when you should stretch.

The most important thing to remember about stretching is that it’s essential to
warm up first.  Stretching cold muscles is like stretching a frozen rubber
band—something is likely to break.  Ten to fifteen minutes of light cardio
exercise—just enough to make you break a sweat—will warm your muscles and make
them more supple and resistant to injury.

After warming up, light stretching of the muscles you will in your workout use
probably won’t hurt.  If maximum performance is important to you, however, you
might want to save the stretching for later.  Stretching forces the muscles to
relax and weakens them temporarily.

If you want to really stretch, you can do it as a separate workout or after your
regular workout, when your muscles are warm.  
The keys to a good stretching workout are:
 

Warm up first.

Stretch slowly and hold the stretch for about 30 seconds.  Stretching
slowly keeps the muscles from tearing and allows them to adapt to the
lengthening you are imposing.  Holding for 30 seconds helps maintain the muscle
lengthening, so you can often stretch further with the next one.

Stop if it hurts.  Don’t stretch past pain.  Just stop and hold that
position for a few seconds.  If the pain doesn’t subside, release the stretch.
 If it does subside, however, you can gently stretch a little further, again
stopping if it hurts.

Stretch opposite sides equally.  If one side is painful or injured,
there’s a tendency to either not stretch that side or, if it feels good, to only
stretch that side.  Make sure you stretch the opposite side an equal distance
and an equal number of times.

Breathe.  It’s natural to hold your breath, so check yourself to make
sure you’re breathing during stretches.

Don’t bounce while stretching.

Stretching before a workout is no longer universally recommended; stretching
after the workout may be more effective.
 

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