[M.D. Holloway]

Found This 'Interesting'.

Stretching – Making You Weaker With Every Passing Second

In high school when you were in gym class, you were always taught to stretch your muscles so that you avoid injury. Just when you thought stretching was completely beneficial before exercising, new research shows that this may not be the case. Athletes used to stretch before and after big competitions to improve flexibility and reduce injury. While stretching may still contains those pros, there is a very consequential con to add to pre-workout stretching: reduced muscle strength.

The ideal warm-up should loosen muscles and tendons, not decrease muscle strength by up to 30%. This could have a severe impact on the effectiveness of an athlete's workout. The strained muscle can stay weakened for up to 30 minutes; during this time, gym-goers may notice a drop in endurance or the inability to work out for long periods of time. If an athlete commits even 10 minutes to a workout, you can guarantee that they will want to reap all of the benefits. It is now advised that stretching should be used after your workout, not before. Although you are not stretching, warm-ups should still be performed before launching yourself into a workout.

So what should a warm-up include if stretching is out of the picture? Warm-ups should include light aerobic activity to warm your body. This kind of warm-up will improve blood flow and increase body heat. After your workout, it is still recommended to stretch to avoid injury.

So next time you get ready to hit the gym running, make sure to warm-up by doing light aerobic activity and not by stretching. Too bad you can't blame a low grade in gym class on stretching!

· Do you usually stretch before working out?

· Has stretching before workouts made a noticeable difference in athletic performance for you?

Resources:

http://www.impactlab.com/2008/11/07/stretching-before-exercising-actually-weakens-muscles/

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/stretching-before-exercise-can-actually-weaken-muscles_100114729.html