Stretching and warming up = waste of time

[TaeBo_Master]

Static stretching is like doing the splits.... you hold a stretch for a prolonged period of time without movement.

Dynamic stretching would be like doing 100 stretch kicks. You dynamically move a joint through the range of motion repeatedly, trying to go a little farther each time.

[feedback]

I CAN KICK OVER ANYONES HEAD, DEAD COLD. WOOO YEAH *GIVES SELF A HIGH FIVE*

That's not even sarcastic parody. I don't even know anymore.

[Judah Maccabee]

TBM, how would that definition of dynamic contrast with ballistic stretching?

[patfromlogan]

TBM, how would that definition of dynamic contrast with ballistic stretching?

Yuck, you stretch your balls?

Seriously, reading your post @ hitting a 5'9" person, I'd consider changing your methods myself. What got me changing mine were reading Bullshido, listening to my brother who was into marathon running and knew about the harmfull effects of stretching, and hitting the bag w/o as a warmup and a workout w/o any stretching at all.

I CAN KICK OVER ANYONES HEAD, DEAD COLD. WOOO YEAH *GIVES SELF A HIGH FIVE*

That's not even sarcastic parody. I don't even know anymore.

Not everyone, just little guys like you.

[Lights Out]

My wam up consist of running, push-ups, situps and a light stretching. It gives me quite a work out, which is a good thing since it is an important part of my cardio, since I have no time to do any more exercise, apart from weights.

A light stretching reduces the risk of injury, there is a difference between a light strectching and elongation (dunno if that´s the word in english). with the first one your preapring your muscle, with the second one you´r trying to improve your flexibility.

[PO9]

samurai steve- try the dynamic stretching, you should be able to reach height sooner than statically.

For example, start a front leg swing (like a front kick without the snap), start with a few swing to about knee height, then increase to about thigh height, then to waist and son.
Do the same thing with crescent kick motions and back kicks.

[Equipoise]

My warmup consists of 5 reps of 60%. I only stretch my calves and quads after squats, so my shins don't shoot off like release valves. I can still do pretty kicks and Axe kick, as to why I'd want to? Who knows.

[jwinch2]

Alright, I have been trying to stay out of this but I have to get involved a little bit.

To set this up, I am a ph.d. student at LSU majoring in Skeletal Muscle Physiology and Tissue Biomechanics. Much of my research revolves around stretching and flexibility and its effect on performance and injury. In addition to my research and teaching, I strength coach at the collegiate level, and have taken multiple athletes to national and international level powerlifting competitions.

So, now that you know where I am coming from: I am going to cut and paste some actual studies published in PEER REVIEWED scientific journals related to the topic before I sum things up... The following is from a lecture I put together for an Exercise Testing and Prescription course that I teach at LSU.

Behm et al. 2001
Stretching (n=12) and control (n=12) groups
Pre test, stretch, post 5 minutes, post 10 minutes
Peak Force
Max EMG
12% decrease in force output in stretch group
11.7% decrease in max iEMG activity in stretch group
Control group: No change

Young & Behm, 2002
Static Stretching vs. Active warm-up
16 Subjects (13 male and 3 female)
Multiple testing days – All subjects performed all protocols
Run only day
Static stretch day
Sub-maximal run + practice jumps
Run + stretch + practice jumps
Results indicate that static stretching had a negative influence on explosive force and jumping performance variables
Concentric Jump Height - Decreased
Drop Jump Height – Decreased
RFD - Decreased
Peak Force - Decreased
Contact Time - Increased

Decrease In Bench Press Power and Velocity following stretching
(McClellan et al. 2000)

Decreased EMG
(Halbertsma et al. 1996)

Decreased Motor neuron Excitation
(Guissard et al. 2001)

Decrease in sprint performance
(Fletcher and Jones, 2004)

Bjorkland et al. 2001
Decrease in stretch sensation after treatment (supervised stretching) Sensory adaptations “tolerance” mechanism as no effect on measured ROM

Halbertsma, et al. 1996
Static stretching (10-min) significant increase in passive muscle movement, ROM, theorized increased ROM b/c of increased stretch tolerance

Zuberbier et al. 2001
No relationship between ROM and injury in the low back

Emory et al. 2001
No relationship between ROM and rate of groin injuries in hockey players

Watson, 2001
No relationship between injury rate and ROM in elite soccer players

Boden et al. 2000
Above average hamstring flexibility correlated with ACL injuries

Tyler et al., 2002
Adductor flexibility was not associated with occurrence of adductor strains.

Pope, et al., 2000
No evidence that pre-exercise stretching reduces injury risk.

Lindstrom, et al., 1999
Suggested that pre-exercise stretching has no preventative effect on muscular soreness, tenderness, and force loss following eccentric exercise.

Askling, et al., 2002
Indicated that stretching could induce severe strain injuries in dancers.

Herbert & Gabriel, 2002
Systematic review: Stretching before or after exercise does not offer protection from muscle soreness. Stretching before activity does not present a practical useful reduction in the risk of injury.

Shrier, 1999
Review found stretching not shown to reduce injury

The results drawn from these studies lead to the following conclusions:

Acute stretching appears to negatively impact force and power production along with neuromuscular activity

Acute stretching may increase range of motion – Unclear if the change is physiological or psychological

Acute stretching seems to contribute to a decrease in performance of dynamic activities

Stretching may not prevent injury and in some instances may in fact encourage it

Optimal level of strength seems to be a more accurate predictor of injury rates than ROM/flexibility

Recommendation?

Active Warm-up Pre activity and moderate stretching post activity!

Stewart et al. 2003
Purpose: To examine the effect of active warm-up on MVC, surface EMG, and power output
Results
Power output increased by 7%
Other variables – No change

Improved Sprint Performance
Fletcher and Jones, 2004

Increased Range of Motion
(Rosenbaum & Hennig 1995)

Increased Muscle Temperature
(Gray & Nimmo 2001)

Potentiation of H-Reflex
(Trimble & Harp 1998)

Increased Force Rise Rate
(Rosenbaum & Hennig 1995)


Now, I am sure that I just stirred up a whole S#@t storm with this but it needed to be said.

We often talk about our arts being "scientific arts". The only way to be scientific is to actually use scientific data to further the development of what we do in MA.

Hope this helps someone!

Jason

[Carbon]

How does stretching increase the chance of injury? That is the only question I would like answered.

[TaeBo_Master]

Ballistic stretching is moving to the maximum range of motion and then doing small bounces to try to push farther into the stretch. Dynamic stretching moves through the entire range of motion.