Thread: stretching helps build muscle?

have u had any shoulder injuries in the past?

nope, im not sure if this makes sense but i was thinking maybe my shoulder muscles overpower my back muscles alot and thats causing it?

You could have tendonitis.

work on stretching more

Warning! Too much stretching can actually make you weaker...



Prolonged stretching before exercise can actually reduce muscle strength.

Researchers from the Department of Kinesiology at Canada's McMaster University measured muscle strength in the soleus (pronounced so-lee-us — you'll find it at the back of your lower leg) following 30 minutes of stretching.

The table below shows you how muscle strength changed following the stretching procedure:

Minutes After Stretching Drop in Strength
Immediate - 28%
5 minutes - 21%
15 minutes - 13%
30 minutes - 12%
45 minutes - 10%
60 minutes - 9%

As you can see, muscle strength dropped by almost 30% immediately following the stretch. Even one hour later, soleus had still not returned to "full strength".

So does this mean you should you avoid the pre-exercise stretch altogether?

Not exactly.

Think about it from an evolutionary standpoint. If your stone-age ancestors needed to stretch before killing their next meal, they probably wouldn't have survived very long.

Now, that isn't to say you shouldn't bother warming up before you train. But make your warm up specific. If you're about to train with weights, then warm up by lifting lighter weights. And a small amount of stretching won't damage your performance — after all, subjects in this study were stretching virtually non-stop for 30 minutes.

But if you're planning to do a lot of stretching, make sure to do it AFTER you train.


Reference
Fowles, J.R., Sale, D.G., & MacDougall, J.D. (2000). Reduced strength after passive stretch of the human plantarflexors. Journal of Applied Physiology, 89, 1179-1188

But if you're planning to do a lot of stretching, make sure to do it AFTER you train.

isn't the whole reason for streching to prevent your self from hurting your self while training? Because once you have trained you have already in a sense streched your muscles.

if you want bigger muscles you MUST stretch

I stretch before, during and after my workouts

and when you stretch hold it for a good 8 seconds, non of this 2 secs rubbish

The theory that stretching makes your muscles bigger is that when you workout you want maximum bloodflow into the muscles your working, if they are all tense and not fully stretched they won't grow as well and you might injure yourself, so stretch them to open them up and they will be ready to work on

stretching prevents injury, saying it dosen't is bullsh*t

when i'm doing my chest i will stretch each side about 20 times in a workout, when i do my shoulders i'll do the same with them, back and so on...

dedicated - maybe try seeing a doctor/physio, qualified instructor or something, you might just need a good massage, best to get someone to check it out if its messing up your training

peace

thnx youngd

By stretching you allow your muscle a fuller contraction. That would give you more power in your lift, thus benefitting muscle growth. This is in addition to the point yd makes about increased blood flow.


Good luck,
Mark

Originally posted by dedicated57
thnx youngd

no prob

So basically


Always strech - just dont over do it to result in loss of strengh.

you should not stretch before a work-out, first of all it can cause injury because the muscles are not warmed up, and secondly it can actually make you weaker which is not what you want before a work-out.

well me and prince disagree on this

i say you MUST stretch before lifting weights

but do some light C.V. before hand as a warm-up, like a 5-min cycle or jog

that gets your body warm, circulation into the muscles, after that stretching should be fine

if that ain't enough you can always do a warm-up set before you stretch the muscle your working.... personally i stretch before and after my warm-up sets to make sure the job is done

Originally posted by young d
well me and prince disagree on this

Its backed by research.

So stretch after your workouts? Does this allow u to build more muscle?

Originally posted by Mudge
Its backed by research.

yes 'bullsh*t' research

don't tell me every PE teacher, every personal trainer, every gym and like every damm qualified person i've spoken to who has told me to 'stretch' is 'wrong'!

man every gym programme that i've had draw up includes 5min stretch before and after.... every routine i've read about say to stretch pre/post lifting

its all over weight training man.... you MUST stretch, or else you will have big problems in later life like your arms at constant right angles and a curled up back n' that, i don't wanna be like that when i'm older!

if you wanna look good fit, big and muscular you stretch, if you wanna look like a freak and not stretch your muscles fair enough!

I think most of us on this board are in the 'want to be a freak' category bro...

sorry, young d you're wrong.

stretching a cold muscle is just plain stupid and can lead to injury, and it is true that streching can temporarily weaken the muscle, so that is two very good reasons to NOT stretch before your work-out, stretch AFTER your work-out.

Originally posted by young d
don't tell me every PE teacher, every personal trainer, every gym and like every damm qualified person i've spoken to who has told me to 'stretch' is 'wrong'!

I wouldn't be afraid to tell anyone that.

LOL, PE teachers and personal trainers are all of a sudden experts?

well i'm still gonna stretch inbetween sets...

i never did a huge stretch routine as soon as i stepped foot in the gym, but i did used to stretch the muscles i was working after my first warm-up set

(eg if i was on chest i'd do a light set of presses, then stretch my chest, shoulders and tris/ or if on back do a light pulldown set then stretch the back shoulders and bis)

if you can say that your 100% CERTAIN this will cause me a loss in strength i will think about cutting it out and just stretching all the muscles i've worked that session at the end or after my biggest/last set on them, but I rate injury prevention highly and i don't wanna come back with a injury because i did not stretch out my muscles, nor do I want to be limping round like the hunchback because of not stretching

peace