The real purpose of stretching
What is stretching and how to stretch? Before trying to understand this, let’s first clarify what it doesn’t do.
Stretching is not useful when used as the only method of warming up, or done simply because “stretching must be part of the warm-up routine.”
That said, stretching is a true training method that, through various techniques, allows us to train the flexibility of our body.
So, it’s important to make a premise by defining the concept of flexibility.
Flexibility and Training
Flexibility is a term that inherently includes two concepts: joint mobility and muscle extensibility.
– Joint Mobility: It is the maximum range of motion achievable at the joint level, also known as ROM (range of movement).
– Muscle Extensibility: This refers to the muscle’s ability to stretch in all its components, namely muscle fibers and tendons.
It is therefore clear that flexibility is an ability of our body that must be trained with appropriate methods.
If neglected, it will lose the progress made, just like any other skill.
Despite stretching often being misunderstood or poorly regarded, its origins go back a long time.There is evidence that practices like Yoga and Martial Arts have always included some form of stretching.
Stretching mainly affects two proprioceptors in our body: muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs (GTOs).
– The muscle spindles, sensitive to the stretch and speed of stretching of muscle fibers, trigger a process during the stretching phase called the myotatic reflex.
This reflex causes the muscle to contract, protecting it from excessive stretching. The more intense the stretching stimulus,
the stronger the contraction signal to balance this stretch.
– On the other hand, GTOs protect muscles from excessive and prolonged contractions.
Sensitive to muscle contraction, they trigger an inverse myotatic reflex, which encourages muscle relaxation when an excessive contraction is detected.
The balance between these two reflexes promotes muscle elongation.
But specifically, why does a muscle stretch when we do stretching? Holding a stretch for an extended period favors the inverse myotatic reflex, so a muscle stretches when it no longer receives contraction stimuli.
When to Stretch
Before understanding when to stretch, you need to ask yourself why you want to stretch.
The two main reasons are to increase flexibility or to maintain the flexibility already achieved.
Depending on these two goals, if the purpose is to maintain flexibility, stretching can be done at both the beginning and end of a workout.
At the start of the session, it helps warm up the joints, which will move throughout the workout, making use of their full ROM.
Similarly, at the end of the workout, stretching can relieve soreness, relax muscles, and aid in blood circulation and toxin elimination.
If the goal is to increase flexibility, it’s recommended to perform stretching only at the end of the workout or even in separate sessions.
It is strongly discouraged to stretch before the workout.
If the goal is to improve flexibility, the stretching will heavily impact the muscles and joints, potentially affecting your workout performance and proprioception.
Simply put, you might feel strange, with sore muscles, and this could negatively impact learning a technical movement or your sports performance.
Conclusion
Here are three practical tips to apply during your workouts:
1. Don’t rely solely on stretching for your warm-up. Instead, integrate it with movements that mimic the exercises and muscle groups you’ll be training in the session.
2. Avoid excessively heavy stretching before your workout. Stretching can inhibit the muscles’ contractile abilities, so keep it light and perhaps do active stretching.
3. If stretching is an essential part of your training, do it in separate sessions or at the end of your workout.
Science still has mixed opinions on the benefits of stretching. So, if you’re used to doing it, keep doing it.
If not, try incorporating it and listen to your body to see if you notice an increased sense of well-being.