Stretching is an issue that comes up often. Clients ask why I don’t incorporate much stretching into their routines, and others question (sometimes interrogate) about whether or not I stretch. It’s always a difficult conversation to have because unless you define terms from the get-go you’re doomed to pedantic bickering.
Whenever it comes up, I always try to respond with this: “What is stretching… to you?”
There’s plenty of evidence that shows that pre-workout stretching might actually be a problem. Here’s a decent (if ugly) article on the subject. Note the “Why Doesn’t Stretching Help?” section, as well as the “What is the Best Warm-up and Stretch?” sections. (The latter to illustrate my “What is stretching… to you?” question).
The New York Times recently published an article (same title as this post) on Stretching and how much of it we really need. The TL;DR of the article can be boiled down thusly:
- In a study done by Nebraska Wesleyan, researchers actually found that the runners with the tightest hamstrings had the highest running economy – “Inflexibility, in other words, seems to make running easier.”
- “The latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway. “
- Much of the perceived adaptation of stretching is in our minds: “Your brain will allow you to hold the stretch longer. But the muscles and tendons themselves will not have changed much.”
- “You only need enough range of motion in your joints to avoid injury. More is not necessarily better.”
When clients, friends, and other interested parties ask me how I stretch, I regularly find them surprised to hear me say that I don’t stretch. Among others reasons,
here’s why. I realize that I’m an active, healthy (of body, at least) adult and I’m lucky enough to
not sit at a desk for hours at a time, so 99% of the time when I feel “tight” I take that as a sign that something in my body isn’t ready to move through a full range of motion. There may be many reasons for this, but with my lifestyle it’s usually either yesterday’s workout or, maybe, some level of dehydration. The most I’ll do pre-workout is some ROM “work”, which to some folks might look like stretching, but I prefer to call it “preperation.” I will almost never actively force a muscle or joint through a ROM it would not regularly be able to do. I’ll admit that after long droughts of not running, I’m tempted to do a sit-and-reach style hamstring stretch, but over time I (think, at least) that any relief is merely perceived, and any tightness is really just my body emphatically saying “Stop!” And when it stops screaming at me, it’s ready to go (again).
So unless you’ve sustained some acute injury in the past (a serious sprain, strain, or tear), the gist of this post is: Don’t worry about too much about stretching. If you’re tight, start slowly and you’ll probably feel more limber in minutes. And if you sit at a desk all day, take every opportunity to move. Take the stairs, do some prisoner squats every hour (just a few, ass-to-grass if your office attire allows), and reach up high to the sky to keep those shoulders healthy and mobile. Without diminishing the unquestionable power of our mind to wield its perceived influence on us, I think it’s safe to say that unless you’re a proper “athlete”, no performance will be lost. In fact, it may be improved.
Note: As I write this, I realize there’s quite a bit more on the subject I could say. I get the feeling that I’ll be addressing stretching quite often, but I’m going to keep this particular post short and sweet.
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