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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday October 22 2019, @12:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the why-not-both? dept.

Stretching before or after a workout: Only one of them is right

Even though most of us probably don't work on it enough, flexibility is vital to overall health, and it's especially important in connection to your exercise routine. While all stretching may seem the same, there are important distinctions about what stretching routines to perform at different points of your workout.

Working out already feels like an onerous task, and the thousands of opinions on the internet about how to exercise in the correct way aren't helping. You've probably heard tons of conflicting advice surrounding your workout routine, and when there's voices shouting in all directions around you it's far easier to just give up and push off the gym for another day.

One part of exercising I often hear disagreements on is stretching. Some people are vehemently opposed to the idea, saying that the practice is bunk and a waste of time. Others swear by it, believing that stretching is vitally important and helps ward off all kinds of injuries. Even for those in the pro-stretching camp, there are differing opinions on whether to stretch before or after your workout.

I'm here to dispel the confusion once and for all and explain how exactly stretching should fit into your exercise habits so that you can finally get back to what's really important -- actually working out.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by RamiK on Tuesday October 22 2019, @09:55PM (4 children)

    by RamiK (1813) on Tuesday October 22 2019, @09:55PM (#910566)

    That's just cherry picking the facts to excuse traditional body weight training regiments fallacies and compromises. Contemporary statistical analysis suggests all forms of stretching before resistance training leads to increased injury rates and that stretching following should be replaced with "wind-down" sets to let the blood flow reduce lactic acid build up and improve recovery.

    Let me explain this another way: When I used to squat 3X5X160KG, I entered the gym, walked to the squat rack after switching shoes, and started doing 10reps sets with an empty 20KG barbell until I hit depth or at least didn't feel too much resistance. I then kept going up for 5reps 60kg, 90kg, 110kg, 135kg and finally started the work sets. Now, compare this to the average gym class that has the kids drop and give them 20reps pushups with half the class failing between the 8-12reps. That is, I warmed up. I was "stretched" within the range of the motion. And then I started working in the 80% region a few reps under failure only if I didn't run into trouble during the build up. This, while the gym teacher / Sargent has the boys and gals do a few rotations of the joints before dropping them cold into the same motion and, for many, at the same intensity.

    Here's everything you need to know about the safety of bodyweight training methodologies, stretching included: https://startingstrength.com/article/strength_and_prevention_of_injuries [startingstrength.com]

    So, no. Don't "stretch". Don't "warm up" by running. Do a proper build up in the relevant motion. Push against the wall in an angle before doing pushups. Build up a slow jog before starting to run and then take a few more minutes of walking after a long run. Use a low bar for a few leg supported chinups before doing the real thing. Rotating the joints is just what the trainers compromised on knowing soldiers can't help having to train for conditions that don't allow a real warm up.

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  • (Score: 2) by Spook brat on Wednesday October 23 2019, @02:22AM (3 children)

    by Spook brat (775) on Wednesday October 23 2019, @02:22AM (#910637) Journal

    I think I see what you're saying, and you're right. If your goal is as stated in the article, "correctly squat 500, press 275, and deadlift 600 pounds", then you need to be much more careful. The statistics listed in your article are striking, and show that lifters certainly know how to keep themselves safe while participating in their sport.

    That said, I think we're talking about different things with intense strength training vs calisthenics. Also, having done both, I'll state that there's a big difference between the stretches done in an Army PT formation and the training stretches done by gymnasts. Army stretches are more like Yoga, and serve some of the purpose you described, lightly working the muscles the soldiers are about to use. It's not perfect, and (as you say) it's based on a series of compromises to reach the goal of rapidly achieving combat readiness en-masse with a minimum of injuries. It's a far sight better than your school gym class asking you to drop for 20 at the beginning of period with no warm up, though.

    You are correct that a focused, personally coached strength training regime would be more effective and have a lower injury rate. I'm sure that the highest performing units do just that, although I've never been in a ranger battalion or Delta team to tell you for sure. What I can tell you is that the Sergeants take a lot more care than they appear to in keeping their soldiers from injuring themselves with PT, even at Basic Training. A lot of research went into picking the compromises they make, and for what it is, it does the job.

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    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by RamiK on Wednesday October 23 2019, @09:14PM (2 children)

      by RamiK (1813) on Wednesday October 23 2019, @09:14PM (#910997)

      big difference between the stretches done in an Army PT formation and the training stretches done by gymnasts

      Agreed. In gymnastics, ballistic, static and proprioceptive stretches aren't abused as warm up but are properly periodized with the micro-tears they induce being considered as an exercise on to itself. Young athletes aren't allowed to do certain movements at all for years. A progressive routine is done with RoM and the strength in that RoM being required before doing more RoM.

      I can tell you is that the Sergeants take a lot more care...A lot of research

      That's the thing though: They have the trainee full time for months on end and the research and programs are all done with that in mind. When they start off with a few joint rotations, it's for people who passed the requirements for basic training that already include a certain level of physical conditioning and that they know how much food and rest they're getting. That stuff doesn't just fit the general population or sport specific programs.

      Overall, the stats don't lie. Sure, some of those yoga-like positions and joint rotations are probably mild enough not to be a problem and even be helpful. But it never ends with just that. There will always be the guy putting too much momentum into those hip stretches or the girl that likes to get her lumber just out of muscle RoM in the statics. They won't feel it doing it. But they'll lose form in the following exercise since their tendons and tissues won't resist as much and get injured there.

      Look, everyone does a few joint rotations before a movement. I personally go from upward-facing dog to extended dog pose a couple of times in the morning before hitting the abs wheel for a few sets twice a week. But for general population with supervision I'd never recommend any of it. Just not worth it.

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      • (Score: 2) by Spook brat on Thursday October 24 2019, @04:20AM (1 child)

        by Spook brat (775) on Thursday October 24 2019, @04:20AM (#911111) Journal

        Well said, I gave you a +1. Not much to add, other than that people really need to learn about what they're doing when they take up exercise.

        Oh, and listen to their body and not do things that really hurt them. I get super annoyed by the "pain is good" mantra a lot of people throw around. Yeah, exercise causes sore muscles, but some kinds of pain shouldn't get pushed through or ignored. And I'm preaching to the choir, probably ;)

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        • (Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday October 24 2019, @11:59AM

          by RamiK (1813) on Thursday October 24 2019, @11:59AM (#911181)

          And I'm preaching to the choir, probably ;)

          I have to admit I still tend to push too hard and still need to be reminded to take it easy :D

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