Current Events > For the gym rats out there: Stretch or no stretch

(+) Yeah! (+)

Was always taught stretching was good for you, it prevented soreness and injury etc... But now the personal trainers at my gym are telling me it has little to no benefits. Looked it up, seems like opinions on stretching are mixed. So...you guys stretch or not?

I havent been to the gym in a while but my body could definitely tell when I hadnt stretched
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TheGoldenEel posted...

I havent been to the gym in a while but my body could definitely tell when I hadnt stretched

i always start off every lift i do with one very light set of just the bar, 20lb dumbbells, whatever, just to make sure i am used to the motion. i used to get exertion headaches and after i started doing this to gradually work up to my max i never got one again
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IIRC stretching is actually more effective after a workout than before. If it is cold, I'll usually do a warm-up jog to get the blood flowing, but beyond that I don't generally stretch before lifting. I have tried getting into the habit of using the gym sauna after though and stretching in the heat, and that has been pretty effective at reducing soreness the following days.
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From what I've heard if you stretch keep doing it and if you dont your fine. I never stretched and never caused more then soreness.
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Stretch, or at least warm up, unless you want to be seeing me in my office
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I've never needed to, really. I am unsure if I will need to when I'm older (32 currently) or if I will regret it later. Never sustained any injuries to date.

I do "warm up" my shoulders/rotator cuffs before every workout with internal and external rotations, stuff like that. Usually just with exercise bands or little 5 pound plates or something. But those are light movements, not stretching.

Doing a light/warm up set of an exercise before diving in is a good practice too like the one guy said.
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Just because I have a shitty lower back, I often do some stretching exercises before and after. Id rather have it feel a little loose than go into a workout tight and maybe trigger something.
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Rather than stretching a good warm up is better to loosen the body.

Stretching is good to prevent injuries though it doesn't hurt to do them.
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I never felt a difference
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Stretching is good if you don't overdo it. But when I'm lifting though I instead do warm-up reps at lower weight.

Static stretching weakens you in a short-term period of time. Your muscles are weaker with less tension.

You should only stretch if it's what allows you to attain the range of motion needed for the lift you're about to do. An example would be stretching your hip flexors before you squat if you're very tight down there.

As for afterwards, you're right, lately it's in vogue to decry stretching. Static stretching has very limited application aside from what I mentioned before and is more liable to hurt you (I've had several annoying injuries from stretching too hard). Yoga and general dynamic stretching is beneficial, though.
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Whether you do or dont isnt a huge deal. Warm ups by starting off at lighter weights is also fine.
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I never stretch much. I warm up with lighter weights or the bar first though
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I always strength, and then do warmup sets. For example, a deadlift session would be as follows:

135x10
225x7
315x5
3x5 of 355
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Dynamic stretching -> Warm Up -> Lift -> Cool Down -> Static stretching

Do stretch. Especially afterward.

I had a strained hamstring injury that sidelined me for two months because I wasn't stretching after my workouts.
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Dynamic stretching to warm up the muscles before, static stretching after working out to release lactic acid.

Anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about. This is pretty factual
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Bananana posted...

Dynamic stretching to warm up the muscles before, static stretching after working out to release lactic acid.

Anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about. This is pretty factual

Your benefit for static stretching doesn't really make any sense. Resistance training itself is actually a type of stretch (PNF stretching) and is just as liable to release lactic acid. You don't *need* to do static stretching after working out.
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stretching is considered bad now? wtf...man times have changed
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warming up for anything is good. For any given lift, never just go in guns blazing. Always do a set or two of something significantly lighter than your working weight.

Doing a generic stretch routine or just jogging for 5 minutes beforehand doesn't really do much to prevent injury or reduce soreness from overhead press (e.g.)
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babyeatermax posted...

stretching is considered bad now? wtf...man times have changed

People used to think static stretching was part of a warm-up. It simply isn't.

philsov posted...

warming up for anything is good. For any given lift, never just go in guns blazing. Always do a set or two of something significantly lighter than your working weight.

Doing a generic stretch routine or just jogging for 5 minutes beforehand doesn't really do much to prevent injury or reduce soreness from overhead press (e.g.)

There are some exceptions to this. I have no qualms doing a max deadlift with little to no warm-up. Warming-up would still benefit the hamstrings but in general the hinge-centric nature of it requires less prep than, say, a squat.

My friend (Emevas on here) takes pride in doing less warm-ups at his strongman shows than everyone else spending an endless amount of time warming-up. Sometimes people go too far.
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Me not stretching has led directly to injury and now chronic back pain.

Stretch. Always stretch.
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theAteam posted...

Me not stretching has led directly to injury and now chronic back pain.

Stretch. Always stretch.

Without knowing more, your anecdotal situation != every situation for you to say "always".

That would be like me saying I strained my quad stretching so "never stretch".
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I like how everyone starts using vocab words after PPPs post lol.

Anyway, I like stretching/warm up but I dont do anything too crazy. Usually just foam roller for my back, stretch my hips and use elastic bands for my rotator cuffs.

Kinda bro science-y but I feel if your muscles are more relaxed you get less knots, less tightness and allows for a more complete range of motion which translates into better results/more gains. Doesnt mean jack if your form is awful to begin with though. Your mileage may vary.
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I do jiu jitsu so I wanna warm up but thats different than lifting weights I guess

Vladimir posted...

TheGoldenEel posted...

I havent been to the gym in a while but my body could definitely tell when I hadnt stretched

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Dynamic stretching before, static stretching afterwards.

Best advice is to just take in advice, research shit, and self experiment. Everyone is different: different in body type, different in mentality, different in what they do, how much they sit in a day, how much posture issues they have, how hard they work and strain when exercising, etc etc.. you really need to do self experimentation to figure it all out because we as humans IRL are not like characters in a game where we can copy cookie cutter skill builds to be most efficient.

That said, dynamic stretching before and static stretching afterwards holds true for me. I feel warmed up and ready to do more warm up sets of the actual exercise after dynamic stretching, and then I warm up incrementally with weights until I'm at my working weight. If I don't stretch regularly, my flexibility suffers or doesn't change. Static stretching after a workout is the best time to do it safely (generally speaking) and resolves the flexibility issue.

Now go out there and experiment!
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You should always stretch or warm up your muscle group for whatever exercise you're doing. By doing so, you are much less likely to pull a muscle, and it will allow you to do the best amount of weight possible for your sets.

In terms of stretching, its important to note that whatever stretch you do before a workout should be a moving position. I.E high knees, back kicks and not stationary stretches I.E toe touches, sit and reach

The only thing a stationary stretch will do is pool lactic acid in your muscles, which make it harder to make maximum efficiency out of your muscles.
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Perascamin posted...

You should always stretch or warm up your muscle group for whatever exercise you're doing.

Warm-up, yes, for the most part (again, I know at least one top-level amateur strongman who barely warms up at his shows). Stretching, no, it's definitely not a rule that you should always stretch before lifting.

"I'll get on my soapbox for a minute here; figure out if you really need your warm-up routine. Do you actually need to spend 30 minutes foam rolling, performing dynamic stretches, hiting the agile 8, hitting the steam room, riding a bike, shooting hoops, pole vaulting, deep sea diving, and watching "Pumping Iron" to get psyched? Maybe you can just roll into the gym, hit some light reps with the first movement of the day, and crush your workout. Either way, plan accordingly in terms of sorting out your time."

http://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-am-workout.html

Just doing light reps of the exercise is often enough of a warm-up, separate stretching not included. Depends on the individual, nature of the workout, and exercise in question.

Not trying to be a contrarian and jump on everyone but stop saying you *need* to either static stretch or stretch before working out. Simply not true.
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Dynamic stretching.
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hmm learn something new everyday
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You should definitely stretch. Just don't overdo it.
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The point of lifting is to create micro tears. Stretching causes micro tears, which can potentially stop you from hitting true failure. Do not stretch, do the exercise you are going to do with really light weight for about 10 reps as a warm up. Then do your sets.

Edit: beat to it.
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stretching feels gooooooooooood. ask a cat.

I don't know, but I personally don't stretch and don't have any problems.
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HydraSlayer82 posted...

The point of lifting is to create micro tears.

busting up your red muscle isn't healthy, it's one of those fads that muscle heads come up with. If that's what you're talking about.
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Pow Pow Punishment posted...

Perascamin posted...

You should always stretch or warm up your muscle group for whatever exercise you're doing.

Warm-up, yes, for the most part (again, I know at least one top-level amateur strongman who barely warms up at his shows). Stretching, no, it's definitely not a rule that you should always stretch before lifting.

"I'll get on my soapbox for a minute here; figure out if you really need your warm-up routine. Do you actually need to spend 30 minutes foam rolling, performing dynamic stretches, hiting the agile 8, hitting the steam room, riding a bike, shooting hoops, pole vaulting, deep sea diving, and watching "Pumping Iron" to get psyched? Maybe you can just roll into the gym, hit some light reps with the first movement of the day, and crush your workout. Either way, plan accordingly in terms of sorting out your time."

http://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-am-workout.html

Just doing light reps of the exercise is often enough of a warm-up, separate stretching not included. Depends on the individual, nature of the workout, and exercise in question.

Not trying to be a contrarian and jump on everyone but stop saying you *need* to either static stretch or stretch before working out. Simply not true.

I said you should *never* do a static stretch before working out. I said you should always do a moving stretch because I couldn't think if the word dynamic.
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Perascamin posted...

I said you should *never* do a static stretch before working out. I said you should always do a moving stretch because I couldn't think if the word dynamic.

Right, those were the two claims I was talking about: that you should static stretch afterwards, which came from other posters, and yours saying you should stretch beforehand. You'll notice I clearly separated them and was very clear about repeating exactly what you said that isn't true. It is not a rule that you should stretch before lifting. It's not even widely recommended in the lifting community, dynamic stretching included.

You can say "I personally like doing certain dynamic stretches" but it's not true that you should be doing stretches.
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Uh whatever.
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