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Sun Oct 03, 2010 9:23 am

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Hiyas Masters,

This article suggests that researchers are questioning the benefits or wisdom of "stretching out" prior to an event or work-out.

There are a lot of "memes" in the culture, thoughts and opinions that nobody has gotten around to questioning. This may be one of them.

I'm wondering if this seems plausible to anybody else.

The warm-up that this article promotes is slow movements that mimic one's event rather than static stretches.

Thoughts?

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Tue Oct 05, 2010 12:45 pm

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I agree with this, but one of the key reasons for not stretching I've heard from sprint coaches over the years contradicts one of the main points of the article. Sprint coaches often forbid stretching and "loosening up" in general because the last thing you want before an explosive event is to be loose. This article says that stretches causes a muscle to get tighter, which might be a reason a sprinter or thrower especially might want to do it.

I now only stretch when I'm trying to fix a very specific imbalance, and I only do it after or completely separate from a workout.



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Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:46 pm

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It's a difficult issue. Clearly, evidenced-based data are better than anecdotal experience. However, I definitely feel that if I do NOT stretch before a sprint workout or race, my tight-feeling muscles inhibit my performance. No very scientific but enough for me to eschew objective data.

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Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:23 pm

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I agree with it 100%. Static stretching acts like weight lifting. If you want to loosen up flexibility before a speed/power event, you want dynamic stretching. Its motion that creates flexibility when cold. Static stretching is useful....at the end of a workout. I know from my own experience before I learned this, that I felt like I lost explosiveness when I focused on static stretching before a meet.



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Sat Jan 29, 2011 1:56 pm

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Here is a link from a recent USATF study on stretching and injuries:

http://www.usatf.org/stretchstudy/

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Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:34 pm

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Hey Thomas,

I did not see the type of running participants performed in the study, only a total of at least 10 miles a week. The type of running, whether long distance or sprint work, could make a huge difference in the outcomes. However, the results actually showed no statistical significance in the two study groups anyway.

There was a statement in the article that one may become injured by changing their particular stretching regimen. This happened to me after thinking that static stretching was slowing me down. I changed my regimen to include only dynamic stretching and ended up injuring my calf. A tear in the gastroc and soleus that left me side-lined for over 6 months.

I now personally do a combination of dynamic and static stretching before any sprint work. For longer distance runs, for me 3 miles, I still do mostly dynamic stretching.

I think, for the masters athlete, it is more important to remain injury free and whatever regimen accomplishes this is the key for that athlete.

My two cents,

Tony



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