The case for more stretching

@alfie13 I personally really notice a difference if I don't stretch, especially in my neck and shoulders after being on the computer for work all day.

I'm not a professional athlete or anything but I stretch because I enjoy how it makes my muscles feel.

Thanks for this!
 
@hmf I work at my very non-ergonomic home office setting and this whole thread has given me the motivation to start stretching. I don't really like it but not stretching is probably the reason why my neck feels so stiff all the time! What kind of stretches do you do?
 
@alfie13 I’m a physical therapist and I gotta say, you’ve written an absolutely beautiful analysis here. I’ve picked up some new studies from your references and I’m also pocketing how you’ve phrased things, because it’s easy to understand and very accessible not just for professionals but also the average layperson. This is stellar work, you’ve really knocked it out of the park.
 
@ch7 Thank you so much! I really appreciate your feedback, because making it accessible for everyone was exactly my goal. Because although I’m a researcher, sometimes I still get confused by the scientific jargon, lol. It’s not always easy reading scientific literature. But I’m glad you liked it and found some new studies for your work :)
 
@jeffwilly001 Honestly, I don’t follow a specific programme. I have a book at home which shows and explains several different stretches per muscle group, and I’ll do stretches for the muscles I used in a particular workout, holding them for 30-60s usually. And I also do a full body stretching session on my rest days.

But basically, any stretching programme will do, you can always add or remove certain stretches or modify the duration of the stretch.
I find the starting to stretch routine on /r/flexibility isn’t bad, they have you hold the stretches for 60s even, but they only have you do it 2-3x per week, so you can play around with that if you want. Tom Merrick also has some good videos on what stretches there actually are, but again, you might want to modify it a little.

So no, unfortunately I don’t have a specific routine to recommend, but at least you now know how you could modify an existing routine you like to adapt it to your needs.
 
@alfie13 It’s seriously brilliant - if I hadn’t read your little story at the top I would have thought this was a very well written assignment from a physical therapy student. What type of scientist are you?
 
@alfie13 Do you listen to the podcast TWIV?! (This Week In Virology)
TWIP (parasitism) is also fun.

Sorry for jumping into your conversation, I just... rarely come across people who do things I’m interested in and I get really excited! (I’m not a virologist, nor do I have any virologist friends, but I’d love to.)

Also, I love your original post and thank you for taking the time to spread research supported information! ⚛️
 
@maile78 Yes, I listen to TWIV too! It’s a great podcast, very informative and detailed. I like it especially because he covers so many different topics, so even if you studied virology, you always learn something new :) and I like how he tries to make science more accessible to anyone, which is exactly what I tried to do here as well!

And it’s super cool that you like virology so much! Feel free to write me if you have any question about it.
 
@alfie13 Thank you for this. I’m exhausted and did some skimming but one of my questions is pre-workout static stretching. I was under the impression that this should not be done, and you should do dynamic stretches as a warm up. Am I missing something?
 
@jesusislord4ever1968 You don’t miss anything, that’s what I’ve been told for a long time, too. It’s probably worth noting that the studies examining pre-workout stretching had the participants stretch after a light warmup (e.g. cycling for 5-10min), so their muscles weren’t “cold” or anything.

And similar to what /@raze777 has said, static stretching can be included in a warmup, if you want. It’s correct that studies showed a detrimental effect on performance when stretching before a workout, but the effects were very minor, and they often had the participants stretch for more than 90s and tested performance immediately after - both of which are probably unrealistic irl.

So if you want to do some light static stretching before a workout, there’s not much against it. But if you hate the idea of pre-workout stretching, there is also not much reason for it, so do as you see fit :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

I
Is this accurate or making sense? Weight loss v strength training to eat more. What to do
Replies
15
Views
81
irishamerican4christ
I
0
Can doing less *really* lead to more results?
3 4 5
Replies
88
Views
378
scmf
S
M
How can i lose more weight (fat) while gaining or retaining muscle? (5’8, 22 years old)
Replies
8
Views
124
sword_of_truth
S
M
No matter what I do, my arms hurt more than anything else
Replies
4
Views
86
dch
D
T
Tips for beginners in gym? I want to be more toned
Replies
6
Views
95
johncobb
J
Back
Top