In Favor of Static Stretching before Lifting

Training Bodybuilding
41

[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:
I’ll refrain from cheating by looking it up. If memory serves me correctly it’s antagonist-inhibition, no?[/quote]

They forget to even mention spiral patterns the Wikipedia article mentioned above. As we all know Wikipedia is the gospel and the truth… people will believe almost anything if it is written down… the power of the internet.

The fitness industry again and again turns fiction in to fact. Remember the myth that performing cardio in the morning before you eat will burn fat… or even just the fat burning zone… what a joke. The industry has been taken for a ride.

MET is more related to what people are performing as PNF. MET, muscle energy techniques is based on influencing the neurophysiological mechanisms of autogenic inhibition and reciprocal inhibition.

43

Nice work Sentoguy and BBB, VERY informative for poor old inflexible me !

Cheers for the info.

edit:

Further to this, here is something worth reading happened upon it by accident.:

www.intensemuscle.com/9041-why-dc-stretch.html

44

I think science is a good thing to keep in mind when designing a program; but sometimes think that mental aspect to workingout is sometimes overlooked to much when designing a program that will “actually” work.

For me, there is someting about stretching after a workout that is just relaxing in an unwinding and good way – and it seems to be both physically and mentally; though maybe its just mental. Either way, i dont seem to get this effect when i stretch prior to a workout and im not sure i would want this effect “prior” to a workout as relaxation and unwinding is not a “mental” state I want to be in before a workout.

I use to be all into the science of a workout; but have found there is also a mental issue when one takes science to far into developing a workout program. The stretching issue can be used as an example as if i were to try to do stretching before; mentally i would not want to do it or look forward it; but i do look forward to it afterward; so to me it makes more sense to do stretcing after a workout regardless of the science behind it.

45

This is good stuff. Thanks for the thread.

I do some static stretches prior to my lifts after I warm up with boxing and jogging. I do the pre-work stuff to increase my ROM or to counter antagonistic pulling issues for some lifts. But I dont static stretch every area pre-work.

Example: I find I need to stretch my torso a bit before I start pullovers. If I do not then my ROM is very short and the first few reps are less productive until the movement naturally stretches me out. I like to stretch my hamstrings and hips prior to squats, SDLS or goodmornings. For the same reason.

There are some muscles however that I would not stretch pre-work. I want the muscles short so I get a stretch reflex under load. I rely on the stretch reflex for bench press and squats for example. So I dont stretch my pecs or quads for that reason.

Stretching post workout seems to reduce the DOMs for me so I will always continue to do that.

I guess I can see both sides of the debate.

46

[quote]honkie wrote:
On a side note. Do you guys know what PNF is. It is not contract relax stretching - the fitness industry has messed this up for so long that PNF is taught as CR stretching at certification courses. [/quote]

PNF stands for “Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitated (PNF for short)” stretching. It was originally used in rehab settings, but has been utilized by the fitness industry for a while now.

The basic premise is to make use of the proprioceptors found in the muscles and their effects on the neuromuscular control of muscle ROM. Contract/relax is one method of doing this and is a more “user friendly” name for this type of stretching.

If you have an alternate definition I’d be (genuinely) interested in hearing it.

48

So just to make sure I understand correctly Mr. Prospect, you train extremely hard and never feel tight after a workout?

So stretching sore legs or any other muscle has never helped you?

49

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
honkie wrote:
On a side note. Do you guys know what PNF is. It is not contract relax stretching - the fitness industry has messed this up for so long that PNF is taught as CR stretching at certification courses.

PNF stands for “Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitated (PNF for short)” stretching. It was originally used in rehab settings, but has been utilized by the fitness industry for a while now.

The basic premise is to make use of the proprioceptors found in the muscles and their effects on the neuromuscular control of muscle ROM. Contract/relax is one method of doing this and is a more “user friendly” name for this type of stretching.

If you have an alternate definition I’d be (genuinely) interested in hearing it.[/quote]

PNF comprises of spiral and diagonal plane (rotary) patterns. We could get it a in depth discussion here about PNF but my point was just to clarify facts from fiction.

50

I tried that quad stretch that Sentoguy posted up last night after my workout. Wilderman likes! When I first saw it I was thinking sissy squat meets limbo. But dang it is a good stretch.

51

Nominal Prospect didn’t notice a decrease in power output. Perhaps this is because he doesn’t have a power output.

52

[quote]AndyG wrote:
Nominal Prospect didn’t notice a decrease in power output. Perhaps this is because he doesn’t have a power output.[/quote]

Hardy fuckin’ har. Nominal Prospect was ahead of his time, as usual, and now other strength coaches are coming out to make the same claims:

http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_article/mythbusters_vol_2_1?pageNo=1#2867859

http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1333.cfm

Mike Boyle writes:
Cold muscle may in fact undergo some plastic deformation and increase in length.

I wrote:
Static stretching involves taking a muscle to the limit of it’s normal ROM, which you did not mention. From there, you can either “wait for the nervous system to shut off”, as the textbooks recommend, or you can simply physically elongate the tissues, the same as if you were performing body work on yourself.

I can assure you that the vast majority of people who stretch are using the second method.