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National Post: 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.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ( Acute effect of passive static stretchin... [J Strength Cond Res. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI )
Abstract
Gergley, JC. Acute effect of passive static stretching on lower-body strength in moderately trained men. J Strength Cond Res 27(4): 973-977, 2013-The purpose of this investigation was conducted to determine the acute effect of passive static stretching (PSS) of the lower-body musculature on lower-body strength in a 1 repetition maximum (1RM) squat exercise in young (18-24 years.) moderately trained men (n = 17). Two supervised warm-up treatments were applied before each performance testing session using a counterbalanced design on nonconsecutive days. The first treatment consisted of an active dynamic warm-up (AD) with resistance machines (i.e., leg extension/leg flexion) and free weights (i.e., barbell squat), whereas the second treatment added PSS of the lower body plus the AD treatment. One repetition maximum was determined using the maximum barbell squat following a progressive loading protocol. Subjects were also asked to subjectively evaluate their lower-body stability during 1RM testing sessions for both the AD and PSS treatments. A significant decrease in 1RM (8.36%) and lower-body stability (22.68%) was observed after the PSS treatment. Plausible explanations for this observation may be related to a more compliant muscle tendon unit and/or altered or impaired neurologic function in the active musculature. It is also possible that strength was impaired by the PSS because of joint instability. The findings of this study suggest that intensive stretching such as lower-body PSS should be avoided before training the lower body or performing the 1RM in the squat exercise in favor of an AD dynamic warm-up using resistance training equipment in the lower-body musculature.
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports ( Does pre-exercise static stretching i... [Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI )
Abstract
We applied a meta-analytical approach to derive a robust estimate of the acute effects of pre-exercise static stretching (SS) on strength, power, and explosive muscular performance. A computerized search of articles published between 1966 and December 2010 was performed using PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases. A total of 104 studies yielding 61 data points for strength, 12 data points for power, and 57 data points for explosive performance met our inclusion criteria. The pooled estimate of the acute effects of SS on strength, power, and explosive performance, expressed in standardized units as well as in percentages, were -0.10 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.15 to -0.04], -0.04 (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.08), and -0.03 (95% CI: -0.07 to 0.01), or -5.4% (95% CI: -6.6% to -4.2%), -1.9% (95% CI: -4.0% to 0.2%), and -2.0% (95% CI: -2.8% to -1.3%). These effects were not related to subject's age, gender, or fitness level; however, they were more pronounced in isometric vs dynamic tests, and were related to the total duration of stretch, with the smallest negative acute effects being observed with stretch duration of ≤45 s. We conclude that the usage of SS as the sole activity during warm-up routine should generally be avoided.
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.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ( Acute effect of passive static stretchin... [J Strength Cond Res. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI )
Abstract
Gergley, JC. Acute effect of passive static stretching on lower-body strength in moderately trained men. J Strength Cond Res 27(4): 973-977, 2013-The purpose of this investigation was conducted to determine the acute effect of passive static stretching (PSS) of the lower-body musculature on lower-body strength in a 1 repetition maximum (1RM) squat exercise in young (18-24 years.) moderately trained men (n = 17). Two supervised warm-up treatments were applied before each performance testing session using a counterbalanced design on nonconsecutive days. The first treatment consisted of an active dynamic warm-up (AD) with resistance machines (i.e., leg extension/leg flexion) and free weights (i.e., barbell squat), whereas the second treatment added PSS of the lower body plus the AD treatment. One repetition maximum was determined using the maximum barbell squat following a progressive loading protocol. Subjects were also asked to subjectively evaluate their lower-body stability during 1RM testing sessions for both the AD and PSS treatments. A significant decrease in 1RM (8.36%) and lower-body stability (22.68%) was observed after the PSS treatment. Plausible explanations for this observation may be related to a more compliant muscle tendon unit and/or altered or impaired neurologic function in the active musculature. It is also possible that strength was impaired by the PSS because of joint instability. The findings of this study suggest that intensive stretching such as lower-body PSS should be avoided before training the lower body or performing the 1RM in the squat exercise in favor of an AD dynamic warm-up using resistance training equipment in the lower-body musculature.
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports ( Does pre-exercise static stretching i... [Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI )
Abstract
We applied a meta-analytical approach to derive a robust estimate of the acute effects of pre-exercise static stretching (SS) on strength, power, and explosive muscular performance. A computerized search of articles published between 1966 and December 2010 was performed using PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases. A total of 104 studies yielding 61 data points for strength, 12 data points for power, and 57 data points for explosive performance met our inclusion criteria. The pooled estimate of the acute effects of SS on strength, power, and explosive performance, expressed in standardized units as well as in percentages, were -0.10 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.15 to -0.04], -0.04 (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.08), and -0.03 (95% CI: -0.07 to 0.01), or -5.4% (95% CI: -6.6% to -4.2%), -1.9% (95% CI: -4.0% to 0.2%), and -2.0% (95% CI: -2.8% to -1.3%). These effects were not related to subject's age, gender, or fitness level; however, they were more pronounced in isometric vs dynamic tests, and were related to the total duration of stretch, with the smallest negative acute effects being observed with stretch duration of ≤45 s. We conclude that the usage of SS as the sole activity during warm-up routine should generally be avoided.
