Stretching enhances recovery

[Fury]

I did legs last night and if I didn't stretch I would be sore for days

 

[ozzy69]

Stretching and foam roller are oz's best buds

 

[SAD]

Hey solent, are you gonna address my valid concerns? I have worked in PT offices and have a close friendship with two DPTs, so I truly enjoy this subject and feel this would be a good thread to hash out the outdated and dangerous recommendations of yesteryear's PTs.

 

[IronSoul]

In two of my certification textbooks, we were taught the same thing you speak of SAD. This was for strength and conditioning and fitness training. The importance of warming up was highly recommended, but static stretching was recommended not to do before attempting moderate to heavy resistance training and one of the reasons listed was for loss of strength. Personally, I would never perform any static stretches without a warm up exercise . My preference is stretching post workout, or first thing in the morning or before bed. Or if feeling it one day, maybe all three. However, I do agree with you Solent that stretching can do wonders for recovery and keeping tissue in its intended location.

 

[Solent-therapist]

Hey solent, are you gonna address my valid concerns? I have worked in PT offices and have a close friendship with two DPTs, so I truly enjoy this subject and feel this would be a good thread to hash out the outdated and dangerous recommendations of yesteryear's PTs.

Of course...nothing better than a good debate.... There's always learning to be had from good conversation. So what are your valid concerns?

 

[Fury]

Stretching and foam roller are oz's best buds

My wife uses those for her stretching swears by them

 

[Solent-therapist]

So most physical therapists who specialize in athletics understand the stupidity of static stretching before anything explosive or physically demanding in any way. They've understood for years now the benefits of dynamic stretching pre-workload. It just looks like warmups to your average joe, but it's dynamic stretching.

What are your qualifications to tell us that we should be doing what has been proven to be both detrimental to muscle tissue (micro-tears as POB said, and not the kind you want from training) AND joint stability?

I am a fully qualified and accredited sports and remedial massage therapist. I have been lucky enough to be involved in many study classes on cadavers, keep my CPD up to date on various techniques and work with athletes and regular people with pain and injury issues.

I have been lifting myself since I was 16 and continue to do so In to my 40's...I have learned more through my own personal experiences than any text book or qualification could teach me. So I am certainly no arm chair warrior.

The context of my opinion is based on bodybuilders and weight lifters, hence my posts in the iron den. The study's out in the Internet could be useful and more concerned with professional athletes who need every percentage of power and speed to gain an advantage in their field.

As body builders/lifters who punish our body's up to 6 days a week lifting heavy stuff, our muscular structures are constantly tight and sore. To jump straight into a squat for example without stretching puts the knee in danger of injury, damage to ligaments and tendons etc. While warming up gets blood into the tissue and helps prevent injury in the muscle it does not get the muscle fibres back to their optimal length, reducing the pressure on tendons and joints.

We tend to over complicate things by reading conflicting study's that talk about percentage losses in strength but fail to realise the stupidity of worrying about percentage loss of strength rather than injury prevention.

Dorian Yates in blood and guts shows a good time spent stretching and warming up before leg day. This was down to experience and past injury, not because a text book told him to do it.

If I get a niggle in my knees during squats...I will immediately rack the weight, stretch off my quads and get back in with the knee pain gone. The patella has settled back into the correct position and my ligaments are not as tight as they were before the stretch. I will do this through all of my workout and will finish with stretches, Pilates/yoga movements etc. my intention is to be in the gym until I drop down dead and I couldn't do that without proper functioning muscle fibres.

My point in all of this is we are always tight and sore as bodybuilders/weight lifters etc..... a percentage of strength loss is far less valuable than injury prevention.

 

[Solent-therapist]

My wife uses those for her stretching swears by them

Foam rollers are brilliant..it's like a free massage. I use them on my lower/upper back. There are some nice trigger point ones at my gym that I use regularly

 

[Solent-therapist]

So most physical therapists who specialize in athletics understand the stupidity of static stretching before anything explosive or physically demanding in any way. They've understood for years now the benefits of dynamic stretching pre-workload. It just looks like warmups to your average joe, but it's dynamic stretching.

What are your qualifications to tell us that we should be doing what has been proven to be both detrimental to muscle tissue (micro-tears as POB said, and not the kind you want from training) AND joint stability?

I also have my own clinic at solent muscle therapy

 

[IronSoul]

I am a fully qualified and accredited sports and remedial massage therapist. I have been lucky enough to be involved in many study classes on cadavers, keep my CPD up to date on various techniques and work with athletes and regular people with pain and injury issues.

I have been lifting myself since I was 16 and continue to do so In to my 40's...I have learned more through my own personal experiences than any text book or qualification could teach me. So I am certainly no arm chair warrior.

The context of my opinion is based on bodybuilders and weight lifters, hence my posts in the iron den. The study's out in the Internet could be useful and more concerned with professional athletes who need every percentage of power and speed to gain an advantage in their field.

As body builders/lifters who punish our body's up to 6 days a week lifting heavy stuff, our muscular structures are constantly tight and sore. To jump straight into a squat for example without stretching puts the knee in danger of injury, damage to ligaments and tendons etc. While warming up gets blood into the tissue and helps prevent injury in the muscle it does not get the muscle fibres back to their optimal length, reducing the pressure on tendons and joints.

We tend to over complicate things by reading conflicting study's that talk about percentage losses in strength but fail to realise the stupidity of worrying about percentage loss of strength rather than injury prevention.

Dorian Yates in blood and guts shows a good time spent stretching and warming up before leg day. This was down to experience and past injury, not because a text book told him to do it.

If I get a niggle in my knees during squats...I will immediately rack the weight, stretch off my quads and get back in with the knee pain gone. The patella has settled back into the correct position and my ligaments are not as tight as they were before the stretch. I will do this through all of my workout and will finish with stretches, Pilates/yoga movements etc. my intention is to be in the gym until I drop down dead and I couldn't do that without proper functioning muscle fibres.

My point in all of this is we are always tight and sore as bodybuilders/weight lifters etc..... a percentage of strength loss is far less valuable than injury prevention.

After reading this, Tom plays came to mind. The godly machine of leg kingdom. All of his insane videos I have watched and still watch, I do see him do quite a bit of stretching. I see him do it before squats, in between sets, post workout, etc. and I am partial to belief of losing strength before major lifts, but it doesn't seem to bother him or many others alike. I have not put the theory into experience myself yet as I have been the guy too afraid to lose strength percentage. I think I am going to give it a shot and see how it works for me. After all, in this industry and lifestyle individual differences is the key to everything. So even though it works for Tom Platz and others, it ,aye have the adverse affect on me, but I will soon find out. I need to add more stretching into my life period.

 

[IronSoul]

Tom platz*****

 

[gymbunny1]

Hey Solent don't be put off from sharing your knowledge & experience. I actually agree with you. It's more important to prevent injury than risk an injury for a small percentage of strength gain. I've been weight training for over 20 years so i've found what works well for me. I warm up & stretch before I start my workout & I always finish with stretches. I suffered a lower back injury last year & I've found that 'hot' yoga ( which is yoga in a studio heated to 100F) works well to strengthen muscle, improve flexibility & prevent injury.