Hitch Fit Living Magazine Volume 6 - May/June 2016 | Page 36

Some people do it every day, some people do it just once a week, and some haven’t done it for
years. While this could be true of many activities, today we are talking about stretching. Most of
us probably learned how to stretch way back in our elementary Physical Education classes.
Today, those that still stretch might say it improves performance, prevents injuries and just feels
good. Those that don’t stretch usually admit that they should stretch, but just don’t work it into
their routine. There are also those who say stretching isn’t beneficial. So somebody has to be
wrong, but who is it? Is there any research to support one school of thought or another? YES!
Luckily there is plenty of research out there, and the topic of this article is to summarize all of it
so you can make your own decision about stretching. We are going to take a look at several
areas of research, namely stretching right before activity, regular stretching, injury prevention and
some new exciting research out of Spain. Let’s begin!
Stretching Right Before Activity
Always stretch before a workout right? Just like we always did since middle school sports! It has
to be the right way, correct? As Lee Corso so eloquently states, “Not so fast, my friend!”
What does the research tell us? Well, if you stretch right before you sprint, you become
SLOWER1! If you stretch before you lift weights, you become WEAKER2 and your muscle
endurance DECREASES3! Feel like jumping for today’s workout? Do not stretch before as you
will DECREASE power, DECREASE jump height, DECREASE jump force and DECREASE
jump velocity3!