Now then say

From: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_514921.html

Forget pre-work out stretching

LONDON - WANT a better work-out? Then don't stretch beforehand, some experts say.

Many people take it for granted that they should start their exercise routines with some stretching on the spot, perhaps hoping it will loosen them up for their work-out. Most fitness experts now agree this kind of static stretching before exercise is not just counter-productive, but potentially harmful.

Traditional stretches, like when people bend over to touch their toes or stretch their legs on a fence, often cause the muscles to tighten rather than relax - exactly the opposite of what is needed for physical activity. Experts say it is like extending a rubber band to its limit. When people stretch to the maximum, they are more likely to pull a muscle.

'We have developed this idea of static stretching at exactly the wrong time,' said Kieran O'Sullivan, an exercise expert at the University of Limerick in Ireland, who has studied various types of stretching and their impact on athletes.

When you stretch before exercising, your body may think it's at risk of being overstretched. It compensates by contracting and becoming more tense. That means you aren't able to move as fast or as freely, making you more likely to get hurt.

Instead of stretching, many experts recommend warming up with a light jog or sport-specific exercise, like kicking for football or a few serves for tennis. That type of light movement increases the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, warming up the body temperature. -- AP


I've come to believe that the practice of doing stretching before strenuous exercises should be a routine that cannot be omitted. Everyone says that stretching beforehand prevents muscle cramps during exercise and sports, and that has been an unquestionable fact all along, until now when this discovery is made by the experts.

Does that mean we've done the wrong thing all these while? In school, everyone is made to stretch at the start of PE lessons. In the army, stretching before PT cannot be emphasized further. This is one good example of things that we've always believed and assumed to be correct but is subsequently proven otherwise.

I would probably understand if it is found that prior stretching do not make a difference to whether we get hurt easily during exercise. But who would have thought that stretching is actually detrimental to our muscles and might cause us to become more vulnerable to injuries and cramps?

There were instances when I forget to stretch before I run. A difference I noticed was, without stretching, I was able to run pretty fast at the beginning, but later slowed down significantly due to fatigue. With stretching, I found that I could better maintain a constant speed, without being too fast at the start or slow down too much at the end. With so many factors affecting running speed, I can't really be sure if it was the stretching that affected my performance. It may be just normal to start off fast and slow down later.

The most important thing now is to ask ourselves if we trust this article, and whether we wish to continue stretching workouts before exercise. If we were to stop stretching, we still have to find other alternatives to warm up. (Awww, I thought static workout is the best way to warm up...)

Personally I will still continue to stretch. Since I'm just doing a casual jog, without straining too much of the muscle, I don't think it will affect any much. Athletes should take note more about this.