Stretching Scientifically
Friday, September 4th, 2009My favorite stretching regime is taken from “Stretching Scientifically,” by Thomas Kurz, which documents the results of research on strength and flexibility training from the Olympic programs of the USSR. It involves a warm-up, followed by dynamic full-range-of-motion stretches before a workout (movement through the full range of motion, but not ballistic). After a workout, he recommends static active stretching (pushing with the muscle to be stretched against a solid restraint – like your hand – such that the muscle is at full extension, not moving, but trying to move, for up to thirty seconds).
Dynamic range-of-motion stretches don’t distort muscle fibers, so they allow you to retain good coordination during your workout. For developing strength and flexibility, they are second only to static active stretching, which does distort the muscle fibers (and thus should only be used after the workout, as it reduces coordination and increases risk of injury in any activities immediately following).