Stretching for Muscle Gains
A recent study on stretching showed that those who regularly stretch can make some impressive strength gains even without weight training.
Muscle Stretching Study
32% average strength gains, a 7% increase on a vertical? Those are things that should get the attention of all athletes.
The study is just one study, was done on sedentary people and not active trainers, and so it is a bit limited. You can bet with the results found on rats and now this one human study, there will be more studies to come and muscle building stretching may become a hot topic in a few years time.
As of now, stretching isn't exactly a high-priority among lifters looking for muscle gains. Just maybe it should be.
In reviewing all of the current muscle building programs out there, only Vince Delmonte seems to be putting an emphasis on stretching and flexibility (see my review of Delmonte's No-Nonsense Muscle Building).
He may be onto something.
See my ratings and reviews for all the top muscle building and bodybuilding programs.
JP Clifford
Muscle Stretching Study
32% average strength gains, a 7% increase on a vertical? Those are things that should get the attention of all athletes.
The study is just one study, was done on sedentary people and not active trainers, and so it is a bit limited. You can bet with the results found on rats and now this one human study, there will be more studies to come and muscle building stretching may become a hot topic in a few years time.
As of now, stretching isn't exactly a high-priority among lifters looking for muscle gains. Just maybe it should be.
In reviewing all of the current muscle building programs out there, only Vince Delmonte seems to be putting an emphasis on stretching and flexibility (see my review of Delmonte's No-Nonsense Muscle Building).
He may be onto something.
See my ratings and reviews for all the top muscle building and bodybuilding programs.
JP Clifford
Labels: muscle building programs, muscle gains, strength gains, stretching
posted by JP Clifford at 7:51 AM
11 Comments:
Interesting. However, I've recently read an article in the Australian Ironman bodybuilding magazine that:
"Several recent studies have indicated pretraining stretching as a cause of muscle-strength loss, losses varying from 4.5 to 28% when stretching is done before a heavy weight set."
I am unsure of what to make of the whole stretching issue in bodybuilding and strength training.
What are you thoughts on when and what stretching to do?
Cheers,
patmanpato
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Yes, there is mixed opinion on stretching. That was a study on sedentary people so that can come into play. I've stretched before and after because it helps my DOMS. I've also skipped it and seen no difference in workout performance (but did see an increase in DOMS). That's anecdotal and unreliable though... So, I don't know. But it would be difficult for me to buy into the Ironman study without more data.
Stretching is important in terms of warming up. Extreme stretching to the point of muscle flexing can lead to injury though, I've strained my neck and back muscles purely down to stretching too far. Stretch...but be careful.
I've even lifted heavy weights one night, and woke up in the morning, stretched and pulled the muscles down one side of my entire back!
Very interesting. I do some stretching, but usually just to say I did it. My gym has great stretching machines with which I'll have to become familiar.
Interesting article. And you are quite right, stretching is most of the time overlooked by body builders. It is somewhat underestimated in terms of what it can actually contribute to muscle gains. Other than contributing to easy muscle recovery and injury prevention, stretching also helps increase muscles and enhances nutrient flow from your muscles to your muscle tissue. It also stretches your muscle fascia. Just do not over do things as it may cause injuries. But nevertheless, stretching is indeed an exercise we should not take for granted.
I think stretching should be kept towards the end of a routine though as stretching before can cause a decrease in strength output during your workout...
I stetch between sets and always have. I started to do this when I read the advice from Frank Zane to stretch between sets. I do a light warm up stretch before my work outs too.
On a related topic, I recently read about a concept called fascial stretching. This is where you stretch the muscles you have just worked immediately following the last set of each lift.
The theory is that when your muscles are contracted you can get a greater stretch on your muscles which will make them longer and fuller over time. Not sure if I am going to try this, but it was an interesting concept I thought I would share.
Hey Guys. I'm new to this site and do not know much of this. Please help me with some questions. I'm male 19 years old. My body building experience is 2 years. The most important thing I wanna ask is that does going to gym affect your height in any case ? Does exercises like shrugs, barbell press, leg press decrease the lenth of your legs ? Please help me guys. I'm not too tall so you can understand my problem.
Thanks. I definitely don't stretch enough. Great Post!
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