Stretching
To stretch or not to stretch? Stretching continues to be one of the most controversial topics in health and fitness as the overall benefits of stretching are so varied across the board. With this post I will explain the pros and cons of stretching, when to stretch, and who should be stretching regularly.
Let’s start by explaining the two main forms of stretching – static and dynamic. Yes, you can get cute and talk about ballistic stretching or passive and active, and the several other “types,” but at the end of the day the technique is either static (stationary) or dynamic (moving). When I say static stretching throughout this post, think about propping your leg up on a bench or stretching your calf muscles off a step where you try to hold that position for a while, 30 seconds or so. Then when I say dynamic, think about short holds, 3-5 seconds, or movements with no hold at all, such as arm windmills or inchworms. Let’s keep that stuff simple before I go into the nerdy, physiologic aspect.
Now that we have that covered, let’s discuss why people stretch. Generally, it is for at least one of the following reasons:
To warm-up for exercise
To cool-down after exercise
To improve range of motion
Sure, there’s other reasons – it feels good, that’s what they taught us in gym class, so and so on Instagram told me to, etc., but for the most part those are the common reasons.
Warm-ups. Anyone who works with me knows that I typically don’t prescribe much for warm-ups. To be honest, I think intricate warm-ups tend to be a waste of time ESPECIALLY for the general public. Folks don’t need 10-part warm-up circuits. Now, if you are an athlete getting ready for practice or a game that’s a different story. For those that come to me for general training and even my physical therapy patients don’t get prescribed anything more than a quick bike ride and a few joint/tissue specific movements related to the body parts we will be working. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe some form of a warm-up is definitely beneficial. Warm-ups to me are important for the sole purpose of increasing tissue temperature. When tissue temperatures are increased, performance is also generally improved. A review done by Blazevich and Babault in 2019 looked at Post-Activation Potentiation vs Post-Activation Performance Enhancement, and with that study they addressed the physiologic changes that occur during warm-ups that promote improved performance, primarily by increased tissue temperature. The study found that a 1°C increase in tissue temperature results in improved max power during a handgrip test by a whopping 5.1% from baseline. Interestingly enough, not only does the temperature increase matter, but the speed of the movements that generate that temperature change also plays a factor. When comparing groups that used different speeds of biking for a warm-up, they found those that biked at a pace of 140 RPM saw a 10% increase in muscle temperature while those that biked at 54 RPM only saw a 2% increase. This provides insight into how the more intense the warm-up, the quicker you achieve desired results. Intentional movement matters.
How does that relate to the stretching topic though? I see wayyyyyyy too many folks in the gym hitting their static hamstring stretches or long duration pec stretches as their form of getting loose and ready to go for their workout. So, if we just learned that it takes some sort of intense MOVEMENT to increase tissue temperature, how are we going to be able to do that if we are sitting in the same position for a long period of time? Doesn’t make sense. That’s why those that take part in static stretching prior to exercise demonstrate decreased acute performance regarding to power, strength, and speed (so literally every aspect of being athletic). But hey, there is a bright side for all you static stretchers! IF you choose to static stretch prior to working out, all it takes is a FULL dynamic routine to get yourself ready to go (Behm & Chaouachi, 2019). I mean who doesn’t love warming up for twice as long, am I right? Save your time before the workout, just go dynamic. Movement always wins.
What about after the workouts? Stretching after workouts is commonly seen as a safe way to comfortably cool down and begin to promote recovery in the stressed tissues. Well, in a 2021 meta-analysis Jose Alfonso and others took a look at the phenomenon of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which is the soreness you can feel for up to a few days after an intense workout, and how stretching can have an impact. The findings were pretty overwhelming, honestly. At 24-, 48-, and 72-hours after exercise, those that took part in stretching post-workout had no reduction in DOMS. None. Nada. Zilch. Sorry I don’t make the rules, I just give you the facts.
So, stretching doesn’t improve my workout and it doesn’t help me recover afterwards…then what does it do? Funny you should ask. Static stretching DOES promote increased range of motion for up to 30 minutes. However, so does dynamic stretching, foam rolling, and good old resistance training (Aune et al., 2018). As a physical therapist, I do prescribe static stretching from time to time, primarily when folks have an injury that does not allow them to tolerate load with exercises. An example for that would be prolonged calf stretching for a recent ACL surgery, or wrist and elbow stretching after a rotator cuff surgery. Otherwise, when it comes to increasing range of motion, stretching isn’t even the best option for that. Alam Saraiva followed elite judo athletes for a 3-month span and found that those that took part in resistance training experienced greater increases in flexibility than those that took part in stretching routines. The table below shows those findings, where G1 and G2 represent resistance training groups and CG represents the stretching group.
I hope by now it is pretty clear that resistance training does just as much, if not more for improving flexibility compared to stretching. However, here’s a little more to help you get to the next level. Resistance training through your FULL available range of motion allows your body to continuously accommodate to the changes in muscle length you are experiencing. Static stretching without paired resistance training will actually result in decreased power output due to the body’s inability to effectively contract the musculature at its new length. So, if you do decide to take part in static stretching programs (despite all of the evidence I have provided), please do yourself a favor and at least pair that stretching with weight training through your full range of motion. Otherwise save yourself the time and work, and just do full range movements with weight. You’ll feel better, stronger, and have to spend less time doing pointless activities.
Final thoughts. Do you need to static stretch? No. Can you? Yes, although it’s not worth much unless it is paired with dynamic stretching and resistance training. Is it an appropriate warm-up? No. Is it an appropriate cool-down? No. Simple as that. Feel like this is opposite of everything you’ve been taught? Probably is. Buy a program, and we’ll provide you with all the tools you need to get started. Get longer, get stronger. Kinda dumb, kinda catchy. I’ll leave it. #whatsNEXT
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