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The three main components of physical fitness are strength,
endurance and flexibility. Most bodybuilders’ training
routines effectively cover the first two components with weight
training and aerobic exercise; however, it’s rare that
you see competitive bodybuilders engaged in stretching exercises.
One school of thought says that if bodybuilders warm up properly
and train with a full range of exercise motion, it may not
be necessary to do separate stretching exercises. Other studies
show that adding stretching to a typical weight-training routine
may not only help prevent injuries, but it may even add to
the strengthening effect of the weights.
Flexibility is usually defined as a joint’s ability
to move freely through its range of motion. While most athletes
recognize the importance of flexibility to success and longevity
in sports, what they know appears to differ from what they
actually practice. For example, a study of 238 athletes reported
that only 39 percent stretched daily.
Flexibility can be further divided into two basic types. The
first type, static flexibility, is what most people think
of when they consider flexibility. It’s characterized
by the ability to flex and extend a joint through a wide range
of motion. The other type of flexibility, dynamic, involves
speed factors, or the ability to flex and extend a joint rapidly
with little resistance. It’s crucial to many sports
activities.
Dynamic flexibility, while appearing to be more important
to competitive athletes, also plays a role in injury prevention.
Common sense seems to indicate that the tighter you are, the
more prone you are to various injuries, such as muscle strains
or joint injuries. Despite that, however, few studies show
that flexibility helps prevent injuries.
A recent analysis of previous studies that examined whether
stretching before exercise helps to prevent muscle injuries
concluded that it doesn’t. Among other findings, the
researchers determined that stretching before training doesn’t
affect muscle flexibility during eccentric muscle contractions,
where most muscle strain occur. Eccentric muscle contractions
involve a lengthening of muscle and usually take place during
the lowering of a weight. That places more strain on individual
muscle fibers and causes more muscle damage.
In addition, some evidence shows that stretching before a
weight workout may inhibit strength performance. In fact,
several studies show that having a relatively stiff musculotendinous
system promotes increased muscle force production. They also
show that acute stretching before weight training leads to
a loss of strength, as measured by one-rep-maximum lifts on
the bench press, leg extension and leg curl.
Why would that be so? It has to do with structures found in
muscles and joints called proprioreceptors, specifically Golgi
tendon organs and muscle spindles. For effective stretching,
most experts prescribe static rather than ballistic stretching.
Static stretching involves taking a stretch position and holding
it for 20 to 30 seconds. Ballistic stretching involves shorter,
bouncier movements that activate muscle spindles. That shortens
the muscle, making it tighter, precisely what you’re
trying to avoid when you stretch. Static stretching, on the
other hand, shifts the emphasis to the Golgi tendon organs,
which promote relaxation of the stretched muscle.
So you can see why stretching before weight training may not
be such a good idea. Activating the Golgi tendon organs through
stretching reduces muscle tension, which is great for flexibility
but a definite liability when you want to induce maximum force
production in the muscle. For that you want the muscle-and-tendon
unit to be tight.
Stretching after training or between sets is another story,
however. For example, one study looked at the effects of stretching
in 53 subjects during a 10-week strength-training program.
Some of the subjects stretched after each weight exercise,
while another group stretched after the weight session, and
a third didn’t stretch at all. The results showed that
those who stretched after the weight workout experienced a
54 percent strength increase. Those who stretched between
exercises showed a 37 percent strength gain, and the group
that didn’t stretch showed a 29 percent gain.
Regardless of when you stretch, the scientific consensus is
that you should never stretch a cold muscle. The usual suggestion
is to warm up first with about five minutes of light aerobics,
just enough to increase body temperature and induce a light
sweat. The consistency of a cold muscle has been compared
to Turkish taffy. Warming the muscle first decreases muscle
tissue viscosity, leading to safer and more effective stretching.
Easy stretching between sets may help to increase blood flow,
thus increasing muscle pump. Raising a weight, or the concentric
contraction, leads to a shortening of muscle fibers, and stretching
between sets may help to realign muscle fibers, which increases
the efficiency of the contractile muscle proteins. As a result
you get a more intense set. Some people also suggest that
stretching between sets may decrease muscle soreness, though
other studies dispute that contention.
Are Bodybuilders Muscle-bound?
If you ever attend a bodybuilding contest, you’ll quickly
notice that the posing routines that impress the audience
most usually include a flexibility component. Back in the
1940s John C. Grimek routinely performed movements like back
flips and splits in his routine. More recent examples of bodybuilding
flexibility include Flex Wheeler’s splits, which are
often accompanied by a huge grin, or Tom Piatz’s ability
to go far past his toes while bending over with stiff legs,
in spite of his humongous thighs.
An interesting study published 36 years ago compared the current
Mr. America, a world-champion weightlifter and a group of
16-year-old boys in various measures of flexibility The bodybuilder
showed greater flexibility in 16 tests, the same flexibility
in eight and less flexibility in six. The weightlifter showed
greater flexibility in 14 tests, the same in six and less
in 10. The researchers thought the decreased values in flexibility
in the bodybuilder and weightlifter were due to increased
muscle mass in their shoulder and chest areas. Nevertheless,
their overall good scores on the flexibility tests led to
the conclusion that weight training for increased muscle size
and strength also increases flexibility.
Another study that looked at the flexibility characteristics
of various people engaged in weight training included male
bodybuilders, college football players, students from a college
conditioning class, Olympic weightlifters and a control group
of students. The results showed that the Olympic lifters and
the student control group exhibited the greatest degree of
muscle flexibility; however, none of the bodybuilders engaged
in a regular stretching routine. A study of 13 novice weight
trainees engaged in an 11-week training program found that
not only didn’t weight training impair muscle flexibility
but might actually help increase it.
Thus, it appears that there’s nothing inherently limiting
in the association between weight training and flexibility;
however, increased flexibility that may be due to weight training
can only occur with full-range movements. Consequently, training
systems that focus on short-range, or partial, reps wont help
increase flexibility and may actually hinder it. The true
definition of muscle-bound involves a chronic shortening of
muscle, which would be induced by partial-rep training.
Another thing to consider is performing a prestretch before
you execute a rep of any exercise. That means you stretch
the target muscle at the start of each rep. Studies show that
prestretching helps to line up contractile muscle proteins,
which in turn induces far more muscle power. While you can’t
perform a prestretch on all exercises, you should do it when
you can. In short, if you can begin any repetition with a
stretch, do it.
What Happens If You Don’t Stretch?
If you don’t do any type of flexibility exercise, you’ll
get stiffer and less flexible with age. Studies show that
flexibility declines 20 to 30 percent between the ages of
30 and 70. As you age, a structural protein of connective
tissue called collagen changes. With the passing years, collagen
proteins become more cross-linked, making connective tissue
less flexible. The range of motion of various joints throughout
the body decreases, which decreases mobility. The good news
is that exercise helps to decrease that fibrosis of tissue
and may prevent it to a great degree.
Studies done with older people show that those who are engaged
in regular exercise, including weight training and stretching,
show flexibility measures comparable to much younger people.
The adage Use it or lose it is abundantly relevant here.
Types of Stretches
The scientific literature describes three types of stretches:
1) ballistic, 2) static and 3) proprioceptive neuromuscular
facilitation (PNF). As noted above, ballistic stretching is
the least desirable for most people interested in increasing
their range of movement. By virtue of its bouncy, quick movements,
ballistic stretching increases muscle tension by activating
the myotatic, or stretch, reflex, which is initiated by the
muscle spindles.
Static stretching involves assuming a stretch position, then
holding it for six to 60 seconds. Most stretching experts
usually suggest holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds, then
repeating it four to five times. Static, or slow, stretching
promotes the inverse stretch reflex induced by Golgi tendon
organs, which leads to muscle relaxation and more effective
stretching. You should only stretch to the point of mild tension
in the muscle. Exceeding that level, or trying to overstretch,
leads to activation of the muscle spindles, which, in turn,
leads to muscle shortening and tightening. It’s possible
to get an overload effect by holding each stretch for gradually
longer times.
The third type of stretch, PNF, is considered to be the most
effective of all stretching movements; however, it also has
the notable disadvantage of requiring a partner’s assistance.
PNF involves assuming a static stretched position, then contracting
the muscle isometrically, meaning without movement. The muscle
is then relaxed, followed by a second stretch, which leads
to a greater range of movement thanks to the isometric muscle
contraction. It works because the isometric contraction activates
the Golgi tendon organs and the effects discussed above.
While studies show that PNF stretches bring about the greatest
improvement in joint range of motion, it may not be practical
for many people to have a partner around when they stretch.
Your partner provides the resistance for the isometric-contraction
phase of the stretch, and if he or she over-stretches the
muscle after the contraction, it may activate muscle spindles,
leading to a shortening of the muscle and even possible injury.
While most stretching involves freehand movements, some stretching
machines, such as Precor’s StretchTrainer, are also
available. The primary advantage of such machines is that
they place you in a biomechanically correct position while
preventing bouncy stretch motions that are antithetical to
increased range of motion. That’s an important concept.
Doing stretches with a rounded back, for example, can make
an existing lower-back injury worse or produce a new one.
Assuming stretch positions in which you tuck your lower leg
under your body can overstretch knee joint structures and
is definitely contraindicated for people who have knee injuries
or are undergoing knee rehab.
Another possible advantage of stretch machines is that they
can partially simulate the effects of having a partner for
extended stretches, such as what you get with PNF stretching.
One type of machine, the MedX, offers the ability to calibrate
stretch positions, thus providing a way to quantify flexibility
gains as well as a motivation to stretch, since measurable
progress is always an encouragement to keep doing something.
The primary drawback of at least one type of stretching machine
is the expense, which makes it a realistic choice only for
commercial gyms. There are, however, home models that are
considerably less expensive and within the financial means
of the highly motivated.
Compared to lifting weights or even doing aerobics, stretching
is relaxing, reduces tension and may effectively extend both
your mobility and your years of effective training. So there’s
no excuse not to include some type of flexibility exercise
in your training. One more point: Men shouldn’t try
to compete with the women in their lives in this area. Women
are naturally more flexible than men, at least when it comes
to stretching.
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