The truth about stretching

How do you achieve and maintain your muscles at their ideal length so that you can move easily and freely? According to the ACSM, stretching is important to achieve this goal.
The ACSM’s position stand on exercise for health, last published in 1998, states that growing evidence supports stretching for the purpose of improving range of motion and joint function and enhancing muscle performance, as well as substantial “real-life” reports to support its role in preventing injuries.
The ACSM issues the following guidelines on how to stretch:

• Hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds and repeat up to four repetitions.
• Perform at least one stretch for each major muscle group.
• Stretch at least two to three times a week, preferably every day.
• Stretch to the point of discomfort but not beyond.
• Don’t hold your breath while stretching.

An important concept to understand when it comes to stretching is the stretch reflex mechanism. This mechanism defends against overstretching and tearing and signals the muscle to shorten and tighten when stimulated. An example of the stretch reflex: when your doctor taps your knee with a little hammer and your leg kicks up. To avoid stimulating the stretch reflex, never stretch to an extreme length or stretch quickly as in a bouncing movement.
To date, most stretching studies have looked at traditional stretching.

Other varieties of stretching, which we describe later, show some promise in the areas of preventing injuries and easing muscle soreness. But no major studies that we know of have compared the various stretching methods head to head. In fact, more and more studies show that there isn’t necessarily one best way for all people because we each have different body types, experiences, and goals. Experiment with a variety of stretching methods, and find out which stretches feel most comfortable to you. You may even want to combine a number of stretching methods. You may find, for example, that

Stretching can alleviate muscular tension

Another important concept to understand is muscular balance affects the resting length of your muscles. In other words, the back of your leg doesn’t exist in isolation from the rest of your body. For example, the tightness you feel in your calves relates to the strength of your shins. If your calves are relatively stronger than your shins, the calf muscle dominates the pair and your calf feels tight. To decrease this muscular tension, you need to strengthen your shin. Stretching alone can’t eliminate muscular tension. To address tight muscles, your weight lifting program must consist of both strengthening exercises for the opposing muscle group and stretching exercises for the tight muscles.

Stretching can lengthen your muscles

This muscular tension isn’t simply a result of tight muscle tissues. For example, if you were under anesthesia, your body would be much more flexible. The neuromuscular system regulates muscular tension. So, when you stretch, you aren’t simply pulling on muscle fibers. Instead, you’re stimulating your nervous system to signal the muscle to rest in a longer position. Several studies show that the optimal amount of time to hold a stretch is between 20 and 30 seconds.

Holding a stretch for 60 seconds doesn’t seem to make you more flexible. In fact, it’s better to do two stretches of 30 seconds each or three stretches of 20 seconds each than to do a one-minute stretch. Theory states that stimulating your nervous system multiple times to encourage your muscle to be longer leads to a greater likelihood of “re-setting” the resting muscle tension length in a longer position. Studies show that the greatest increases in flexibility come from the first four repetitions.

Stretching Introduction

Stretching seems like such a straightforward topic that you may expect us to explain it in a sentence or two and then show you a stretching routine. Well, as it turns out, a lot of confusion surrounds the subject of stretching. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), one of the most respected sports and fitness organizations in the world, provides guidelines on how to stretch, but the organization still admits that more research is needed to determine exactly what stretching can and can’t do for you.

Stretching lengthens your muscles and loosens up the joints that your muscles connect to so you can move more freely but still keep your joints stable. Too much flexibility leads to unstable joints; too little flexibility leads to restricted movement. When your muscles are at their ideal length, you can walk without stiffness, reach down to tousle a toddler’s hair, or turn around when someone calls your name — everyday movements that you take for granted until you have trouble doing them. When your muscles and joints lack flexibility, you feel tight.

Two stretching methods we describe in this section, Active isolated and PNF, actively stimulate the nervous system to increase the release of muscular tightness. With these methods, you hold stretches for a shorter period of time than you do with traditional stretching, and you contract the muscle ultimately to encourage more relaxation.

Don’t treat the locker room like your own bathroom

Even more so than the weight room, the locker room is the place where your true colors emerge. Women are on equal standing with men in this arena:
Men may be more likely to hog dumbbells in the weight room, but women can stand for hours in the only available shower stall with the best of ’em. Follow these suggestions for locker room etiquette to maintain good relations with your fellow gym mates:

• The shower: Don’t take a marathon shower if people are waiting. With the exception of sweat, what you take into the shower should come out with you when you leave. Make sure that you remove all your shower supplies and that little pile of your hair from the drain. (Carry a latex glove or two in your shower supplies if picking up your own hair freaks you out.)
• The vanity area: Don’t hog the mirror or the hair blow dryer. If you brush your hair and 200 strands of hair fall on the counter, wipe them off with a paper towel (wipe them into the towel or in the trash, not on the floor).
• The locker area: Don’t take up three lockers and spread your clothing over the entire bench. Share with others. Shut your locker when you leave. Don’t leave your belongings in lockers overnight unless you have permission from your gym to do so. Most gyms empty out unsanctioned lockers at the end of every day and won’t guarantee the safe return of your personal items. If the lockers at your gym require a key, return the key at the end of your workout. Keyed lockers are a convenience to members so they don’t have to carry a lock of their own. However, members often walk away with the keys, rendering the lockers unusable and creating a big expense for the facility, which has to keep replacing the keys.
• The laundry and trash areas: Limit yourself to one or two towels. After you finish using your towels and other paraphernalia, place them in the laundry or trash bin instead of dropping them on the floor.

Toting around your gym bag

Some people carry their bag from machine to machine. You know those large hollowed-out cubes called lockers? That’s where you store your gym bag. At most gyms, the machines are only a few feet apart; by dumping your bag on the ground you’re hogging precious floor space. In addition, you’re creating a hazardous condition because someone may trip and fall over your bag. Many gyms forbid members to bring their bags into the weight room because less honest members may walk out with lovely parting gifts, like dumbbells, cable handles, and other small items. Someone recently stole all the collars from a gym that Liz manages, creating a real safety issue until the collars were replaced.

Don’t hog the drinking fountain

Don’t stand at the drinking fountain trying to catch your breath when the line behind you is longer than the line for World Series tickets. Take a drink, and get back in line. Better yet, carry a water bottle in the weight room. For some reason, many people who use a water bottle on the stationary bikes and stairclimbers don’t think of carrying one around the strength training area. When you do fill up your bottle, let everyone else in line get a drink first; don’t hold up the entire gym membership while you fill a gallon-sized water jug. Don’t spit your gum into the drinking fountain — this tip should be obvious, but club staffers report otherwise. Actually, don’t spit anything into the fountain. No one wants to stick his face into a wad of your spit.

Help the flow of traffic

Don’t block the traffic flow. As mentioned earlier, you shouldn’t camp out on the equipment while you’re resting between sets. However, neither should you clog the pathways between machines or congregate with a dozen of your buddies in the free weight area. Not only is this inconsiderate, but also it can create a hazardous condition. In general, weight rooms are crowded with little room between machines. If you block space, someone may walk around you and inadvertently bump someone who’s working out on a machine, causing the person to lose control and to drop a weight. This has happened before with serious consequences. The weight room is for training. If you want to visit with friends, go out into the hallway.

Keep your sweat to yourself

Carry a towel and wipe off any bench or machine you use. Nothing is quite as gross as picking up a slippery weight or lying down in a stranger’s pool of sweat. If you forget to bring a towel, use your sweatshirt or the paper towels provided by the club.
Extra Credit: Wipe up the pool of perspiration you may have left on the floor surrounding your machine or bench. Otherwise, the next person may inadvertently do a third-base slide into the machinery.

Always put weights back where you found them

When you’ve removed a weight plate from a bar or when you finish using a pair of dumbbells, return the weights to their designated spot on the rack. Typically, clubs have dumbbells sitting in order. On a weight plate tree, the light plates usually sit on the top rungs while the heavier ones go on the bottom. When people pile the plates indiscriminately on top of one another, invariably they’ve made you slide off three 45-pound plates and two 25-pounders just to get to the 10-pound plate (that is if you’re able to lift those weights). You may have to find a trainer to help you, consequently wasting more time. Never leave dumbbells or barbells on the floor when you’re finished using them. Someone may trip on the weights. If you leave dumbbells on the floor between sets, criss-cross them or butt them up against the wall or the bench so that they can’t roll away.