Stretching Before Exercising Weakens Muscles 339
Khemisty writes "Back in grade school you were probably taught the importance of warm-up exercises, and it's likely you've continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes' warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but are actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg's muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements."
...Revolution! (Score:3, Funny)
I'm a huge fan of the Dance Dance Revolution games. I've ranked highly in both tournaments that I was able to participate in.
One thing that I've noticed over time is that I usually play better on the second and third songs of my first set than I do for the rest of the night. I don't know if this is related to fatigue (the total lack thereof for the first few songs) or if the so-called muscle stiffness makes the actions more deliberate (and perhaps more precise as a result).
That said, if I'm going to play the most difficult songs (MaXXes, PSMO, etc) then I definitely need a good warmup. This almost never involves stretching.
Re:Exercise? What's that? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not new information. (Score:4, Funny)
...pickup some kettlebells from the site. Mine are worth their weight in gold.
Wow! At today's gold price, that's $425,231 for a 35lb kettlebell. I value my physique, but I would have to think twice about that...
Re:Importance of warm-up (Score:3, Funny)
Can we please cut it out with the everybody-interested-in-technology-is-a-fat-slob jokes? And the everybody-interested-in-technology-is-socially-inept-and-has-no-luck-with-the-opposite-gender jokes? Seriously, it's getting old.
Yeah not everybody here is like me.
I'm special!
Public Education Conspiracy (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Importance of warm-up (Score:3, Funny)
what an awful acronym.
Less power, more point? (Score:2, Funny)
Missing the point entirely... (Score:4, Funny)
I think the author of this article has completely missed the point of stretching. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with increasing or decreasing your overall muscle strength. Additionally it has nothing to do with preventing injury or warming up either. In actuality stretching for humans is the same thing as frogs inflating their bellys. It is solely to attract the opposite sex.
Study after study has proven than men who stretch their forarms (also known as guns) in front of women have a greater likelyhood of mating. It's a known fact also that women who do yoga are more likely to excel in the reproductive arts.
A more interesting study would be the effect of biker shorts on your ability to determine potential danger (such as a speeding car) or how fanny packs have led to retardation and uneven hair growth (re. the mullet)
Re:Importance of warm-up (Score:3, Funny)
You must be new here.
Welcome to /., where everybody needs to get laid.
Re:Importance of warm-up (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Importance of warm-up (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like someone needs to get laid.
Just don't stretch first.
Re:Please RTFA (Score:1, Funny)
Pissing on yourself?
Re:Importance of warm-up (Score:1, Funny)