Wednesday, November 20, 2013

To Stretch or Not to Stretch. That is the Question

The most inflexible runner ever wins again!
The last time I actually stretched was in 1980.  And by no means do I figure I'm better off or recommend it to anyone.  I just despise stretching and always have.  When I used to watch Alberto Salazar beating all the flexible runners in every race, I figured something was amiss. And scientific literature has been accumulating over the years that stretching:
  1. Provides no benefit in the prevention of injuries.
  2. Provides no benefit in the performance of athletes.
There has actually been strong scientific proof that weightlifters lose 5% of their strength if they stretch prior to lifting.  This applies to other strength activities like starting from starting blocks or suddenly accelerating in a race. Rather than cite the actual scientific literature on the subject, Ill just post a pro and con fluffy article from the recent common man literature.



This loss of flexibility is a natural adaptation to training that makes you more economical. It may seem like a negative effect, but it’s actually a positive one, and you don’t want to interfere with it by doing too much stretching.

1 comment:

  1. I don't think Greg Fredericks did much stretching, and he fared pretty well.

    ReplyDelete

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