Know that you “should” be stretching but don’t know where to start, I got you.
1: For increasing flexibility aim for 1.5 to 2.5 minutes per muscle group of stretching 3-5 times per week, 5 times being more effective than 3.
2: Best practice is to stretch after working out or at least 1 hour prior to avoid short term strength loss from stretching effects.
3: Stretching is beneficial before working out to address mobility concerns but should be kept to less than 60 seconds per stretch. This is to minimize temporary strength decreases that result from static stretching.
To start, let’s talk about what stretching isn’t. When you stretch you are not changing the actual length of your muscles. For our purposes, muscles really don’t change length once you are finished growing. What we are doing when we stretch is relaxing the muscle and improving its extensibility.
Extensibility is the ability of a muscle to fully lengthen. There are a multitude of reasons why a muscle might not want to lengthen all the way. Often, it’s because the muscle is weak and/or there are various neuro-receptors sending signals to limit the muscles ability to fully lengthen (as a protective mechanism to avoid perceived risk of injury). When we perform static stretching, we are sending signals to the muscle and receptors to relax. We are also activating the muscle at the end of its current range of motion. It’s been shown that regular static stretching can actually increase muscle strength and size when performed consistently.
Ever get a cramp and then immediately stretch the muscle to get the cramp to go away? What you did was take a hyperactive muscle and applied a stretch to get it to relax.
So, what does this all mean?
In the short term, static stretching will cause a muscle to relax. This will increase its extensibility by decreasing activity of various neurons but will also decrease its force production.
In the long term, static stretching will increase muscle strength, possibly size, and improve its ability to fully lengthen(not get longer).
The effect on muscle force production in the short term is why you may have heard that you shouldn’t stretch before working out. For Elite athletes who need every ounce of power they can get, I’ll buy it.
For you and me though? If stretching before working out allows us to perform exercises at full range of motion, and with better form, I will gladly accept a small percentage drop in force production. There are studies that report static stretching for less than 60 seconds results in less of a decline in power output. So preferentially, we would want to do short stretches prior to working out and longer ones after or on separate days.
Great information to have, but what to do with it?
Stretch either the muscle or position that is tight for less than 60 seconds. Follow this up with a good warm up with a focus on achieving full range of motion. This warm up should closely mirror the movement you’ll be performing with your working sets.
Pick 3-5 stretches that address flexibility limitations or the muscles you wish to improve the extensibility of.
3-5 times per week perform 90 to 180 seconds of stretching per stretch. This can be broken up however feels good but should be a 10 second hold at minimum. 10 seconds x 15, 30 seconds x 6, or just straight through for 2 minutes are all acceptable. Experiment to see what works best for your body.
Stretching can be more effective after already being warmed up, so stretching directly after working out can yield good results. As with everything your mileage may vary.
Need help picking the right stretches or finding out what restrictions are limiting you from achieving correct form? Reach out to schedule a consult
