Seeing as how I've gotten such good advice on my other thread (props, btw!), I'd like to ask a question about stretching.

Anybody have a good list of stretches to do daily? Mostly I look at what other people are doing and imitate them, but I'm guessing there might be a better way.

(I think the rest of my gym routine is pretty sound - DB Bench Press, Pullups, Squats, Muscle-Ups, Situps and Flutterkicks)

Good list? Just work from top to bottom, or as I do, bottom to top, and hit all your muscles. Going one way will help ensure you do no overlook any muscle groups.

Calves, both ways
Quads, hamstrings,
Hip joints
Back, abs, side to side as well
Shoulders, then I hit biceps and triceps, wrists, fingers
then Neck, jaw and eye muscles


Remember to warm up first, to get blood flowing to the areas to be stretched.
Never bounce or jerk your stretches, this is called ballistic stretching. It creates micro-tears in your muscle, that are healed later on and replaced by scar tissue which eventually will limit your full range of motion.

Get the book Stretching by Bob Anderson. You can use Bullshido's Amazon search thingamagig on the left of the page to find it. It has completely changed the way I stretch, turning it from a possibly injurous endevour (which is completely wrong) to a relaxing, calming experience that develops good flexibity.It also has many complete routines designed for specific activities, such as martial arts, wrestling, weight lifting, running, swimming, etc. I use the "wrestling" on before BJJ and it helps a lot.

http://www.stadion.com/column.html

For both of ya.

Edit:
Good read
http://www.stadion.com/column_stretch33.html

Think I'm going to stop doing partner stretches now.

Stretch with a purpose. Don't just stretch every muscle in your body. It's a waste of time, and if you have muscle imbalances (which most of us do, myself included), you can cause more harm than good.

You only want to do static stretching for tight muscles. When you do, hold the stretch for 20-60 seconds (a minimum of 20 seconds is usually necessary to get the body to inhibit the stretch reflex so that you cam achieve full range of motion.). Do 2-3 sets. And try to do it 2-3 times daily.

To increase functional flexibility for joints that don't have inhibited range of motion, you're better of doing dynamic stretches. For two reasons. First, this gets your body used to an increase ROM with movement. This is important, especially for us MAists, because we rarely use an extended range of motion in a static position (unless you find yourself in arm bars ALL THE TIME). Second, static stretching will cause an inhibitory reflex which will reduce the output of the muscle being stretched for a short while. So if you're stretching before your workout, you'll be less able to have full intensity during your workout.

Some food for thought.

I've heard that stretching for more than 30 seconds is rather pointless and that more than once a week doesn't do much. I still need to reserach the information though.

A lot of the studies done on stretching are done on muscles that are over-stretched typically, like the hamstrings. There are studies done on tight muscles and such though. Just make sure you know what the study focuses on.

But on the whole, static stretching is pretty useless UNLESS it's done as a corrective measure.

Myself, I only do static stretching for my calves and lats. Then I do a pretty thorough dynamic stretching routine as part of my warmup.

I've heard that stretching for more than 30 seconds is rather pointless and that more than once a week doesn't do much. I still need to reserach the information though.
Actually, from a mother of a girl at my church that can do the splits standing up both ways, hold for AT LEAST 30 seconds, 40 to be sure.
Also heard this from a cranio-synchro massage therapist.
I know, pretty crappy resources it sounds, but streching longer works alot better for me.
supposedly for the first 20 seconds your muscles are just relaxing, then after that you start gaining flexibility.
This appears to be true, because when I spread my legs as far as i can and try to go down, after around 20 seconds I gain much more distance.

it all comes down to specificity. If you're training to be able to be really flexible in a static fashion, then yes, static stretching will help you get there. Since most of us posting ehre are martial artists, and in MA, we're rarely static, than it's going to have very little benefit for performance. What I mean is this: Just because you can do the splits, it doesn't automatically mean you'll be able to kick over your head if you haven't spent time training to kick over your head. And the reverse is true. If you want to be able to do the splits, stretch statically for those muscles that will allow you to do so. If you want to kick over your head, spend your time training high kicks.

So again I repeat: For most of the people here, static stretching should only be used as a corrective measure.

I've read that stretching is only beneficial AFTER exercising, and what you should do before exercising is warm your muscles up.

Any truth to that TBM?

An ideal layout would be something along the lines of:

General warmup
Dynamic stretching as specific warm up
Cardiovascular training
Resistance training
General cool down
Static stretching and relaxation.