Thread: How important is stretching??

I don't know, but I've been lifting steady and hard for over 3 years now after a 8 year layoff and I never stretch, and rarely get injured (Knock on wood).
I always do at least one light warm-up set of each excercise and pyramid up to the heavy weights.
I've heard mixed reviews about stretching, some people think it's better not to stretch and keep everything tight, thereby stabiizing your joints. I follow this school of thought, although I'm sure many would disagree.
When I do flies, after all my benching, my shoulders are almost too tight, so I stretch and warm up with 15 pounders, simply bc I wouldn't have any range of motion otherwise.
But for benching I would feel very unstable if I stretched first, so I simply warm up with a light set or two taken to about 15-20 reps, no where near failure.
I'm a firm believer in warming up and highly recommend a complete warm up before attempting serious weight on all movements.

Thanx for the info SJ.
I am aware that warming up is very important due to the lower risk of injuries, and I always do a warm up set before I start with my usual rutine. I was just curious about stretching because I too have been lifting for the past 2-3 yrs and have almost never stretched. Especially not after the workout , maybe a little bit before. But since I'm not the only one it's all good.

I once had the reason for stretching explained to me like this: Think of your muscles as uncooked spaghetti. If you try to tear the spaghetti, it will just crack instead because it is hard. Stretching is like cooking the spaghetti. The muscles can now tear properly.

Originally posted by CowPimp
I once had the reason for stretching explained to me like this: Think of your muscles as uncooked spaghetti. If you try to tear the spaghetti, it will just crack instead because it is hard. Stretching is like cooking the spaghetti. The muscles can now tear properly.

nice

i stretch very lightly before and during my workouts, like 4-5 second light stretching on only the muscle i'm working, i also warm-up on the bike prior to this

after my workout i will give the muscles i've worked a really good deep strecthing session, before getting showered n' changed

everyone seems to have different opinions on stretching, traditional guys seem to swear that stretching is an absolute must before and after exercise, some other guys think stretching takes strength away from the muscle, as the muscle is weaker after a deep stretch and also more injury prone

however the 1 thing everyone seems to agree on is that you should always warm up first (5 min light-moderate cardio)

my adivce is keep strecthing light before and during your workouts, then stretch hard after... i feel it dose help growth and reduce injury... if stretching was so bad no one would bother stretching at all, and virtually all athletes and top BB's do some sort of stretching

peace

I usually just stretch before I lift. I find that stretching first helps keep me from feeling too sore after a new or really intense workout. I haven't found as much of an advantage to stretching after lifting, but I'm sure it can't hurt.

I stretch alot. If you're an athelite, you should stretch 2-3 times a day. Flexibility increases speed, and alotta other important shit.

you dont want to stretch hard before you warm up with some carido or something. Just get some blood flowing first and stretch and warm up slowly then stretch through out your work out and a good stretch at the end wont hurt. Just dont stretch hard/a lot cold. It isnt not good for you

Cool, thx guys.

Originally posted by X Ring
you dont want to stretch hard before you warm up with some carido or something. Just get some blood flowing first and stretch and warm up slowly then stretch through out your work out and a good stretch at the end wont hurt. Just dont stretch hard/a lot cold. It isnt not good for you

Why is it bad for you? I have tried stretching before, during, and after lifts. The best results have been from stretching before lifting. I don't get as sore, and my muscles seem to heal better. I have found similar results from stretching after lifting, but not as pronounced. Stretching during seems like a good idea, but I have found that stretching before is sufficient.

Originally posted by CowPimp
Why is it bad for you?

As X Ring said, you don't want to stretch before you warm-up . It's O.K. to stretch before you actually move some weight. But you should warm-up the muscles before stretching them by doing eight to ten minutes of cardio first. You can actually injure yourself by streching cold muscles. So, the routine should be:[list=1][*]Cardio warm-up[*]Stretch[*]Warm-up set(s)[*]Move some heavy-ass weight. [/list=1]

Originally posted by Downtown Guy
As X Ring said, you don't want to stretch before you warm-up . It's O.K. to stretch before you actually move some weight. But you should warm-up the muscles before stretching them by doing eight to ten minutes of cardio first. You can actually injure yourself by streching cold muscles. So, the routine should be:[list=1][*]Cardio warm-up[*]Stretch[*]Warm-up set(s)[*]Move some heavy-ass weight. [/list=1]

Ah, that makes sense. I will try that tomorrow when I start again from my week break.