I thought I would squeeze in this post now because I will be away for the weekend at my aunt's wedding. For those hardcore bloggers, here is the blog for the wedding. I'm writing about something that many of my clients don't believe. Something they think is just flat out wrong or merely an opinion. 2 clients disagreed with me just yesterday about it. Stretching BEFORE a workout. Many believe that static stretching before a workout is a must to improve performance and prevent injury. However, this is not the case. Muscles can be thought of as rubber bands. When a muscle has not yet been worked it is like a cold rubber band. Stretch a cold rubber band and it snaps. Stretch a cold muscle and it is more likely to be injured. Overstretch a rubber band and it will lose elasticity. Overstretch a muscle before working out and it will temporarily be weakened. Stretch a warm rubber band and it goes smoothly. Stretch a warm muscle after a workout and flexibility can be greatly enhanced.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE:
stretch after workouts, if you must stretch before a workout use a dynamic stretch
great dynamic stretches
GO TEAM!
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Someone that I know believes that stretching is completlely overrated and not worth doing at all. What would you say to them?
ReplyDeleteOoh, tricky question John. I feel like we've had this discussion before. This is worthy of more than just a comment. More to come...
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