Chronic static stretching improves exercise performance

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Oct;39(10):1825-31.Click here to read Links

Chronic static stretching improves exercise performance.

Kokkonen J, Nelson AG, Eldredge C, Winchester JB.

Exercise and Sport Science Department, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Laie, HI, USA.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the influence of static stretching exercises on specific exercise performances. METHODS: Thirty-eight volunteers participated in this study. The stretching group (STR) consisted of 8 males and 11 females whose activity was limited to a 10-wk, 40-min, 3-d.wk(-1) static stretching routine designed to stretch all the major muscle groups in the lower extremity. The control group (CON) consisted of 8 males and 11 females who did not participate in any kind of regular exercise routine during the study. Each subject was measured before and after for flexibility, power (20-m sprint, standing long jump, vertical jump), strength (knee flexion and knee extension one-repetition maximum (1RM)), and strength endurance (number of repetitions at 60% of 1RM for both knee flexion and knee extension). RESULTS: STR had significant average improvements (P < 0.05) for flexibility (18.1%), standing long jump (2.3%), vertical jump (6.7%), 20-m sprint (1.3%), knee flexion 1RM (15.3%), knee extension 1RM (32.4%), knee flexion endurance (30.4%) and knee extension endurance (28.5%). The control group showed no improvement. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that chronic static stretching exercises by themselves can improve specific exercise performances. It is possible that persons who are unable to participate in traditional strength training activities may be able to experience gains through stretching, which would allow them to transition into a more traditional exercise regimen.

interesting study... however there are a few problems when applying the study to what i had said in a previous post...

-the participants were inactive or minimunly active... the results may not hold true for more highly trained athletes

-the group only streched... my post early was regarding stretching before exercise in trained indivuals

-the increases in strength could be attributed to the active streching(isometric exercise) component of the routine and not the passive stretching

i also found it interesting that the streching group increased in mass... although the increase was not significant is was a change of 1.3kg over ten weeks... streching is not thought to simulate hypertrophy... i would be interested to see how the researchers explain the change in mass... also it should be noted that the researchers mention the improvement from streching was less than the improvement that may be seen from a strength training routine...

interesting study... however there are a few problems when applying the study to what i had said in a previous post...

-the participants were inactive or minimunly active... the results may not hold true for more highly trained athletes

-the group only streched... my post early was regarding stretching before exercise in trained indivuals

-the increases in strength could be attributed to the active streching(isometric exercise) component of the routine and not the passive stretching

i also found it interesting that the streching group increased in mass... although the increase was not significant is was a change of 1.3kg over ten weeks... streching is not thought to simulate hypertrophy... i would be interested to see how the researchers explain the change in mass... also it should be noted that the researchers mention the improvement from streching was less than the improvement that may be seen from a strength training routine...

Stretching is a resistive ECCENTRIC.

Eccentric exercises are thought to increase the amount of sarcomeres (google "sarcomere popping") which technically is a form of hypertrophy as it will increase the amount of actin and myosin (through said increase of sarcomeres). Not a significant amount by any means BUT we are talking about untrained people here so it is a significant form of "new stimulus" on their muscles.

Therefore, I would say your analysis is incorrect and there is some limited hypertrophy going on. It would explain the strength increases as well. It's fairly well know that eccentric damage to muscles after healed conveys resistance of the muscles to damage and would help increase strength and all those other attributes as well.

i'll admit that this statement appears to be wrong... "streching is not thought to simulate hypertrophy" and that you do provide an explanation for the change in mass...

however... i don't think that the rest of what i said is incorrect...

-the participants were inactive or minimunly active... the results may not hold true for more highly trained athletes

-the group only streched... my post early was regarding stretching before exercise in trained indivuals

-(some of)the increases in strength could be attributed to the active streching(isometric exercise) component of the routine

Do you have the original source gregor? I'd like to read more it looks interesting.

chauinc said:

Do you have the original source gregor? I'd like to read more it looks interesting.

No I don't have....sorry :?

May I remind you that gymnasts have a large biceps from straight arm exercises like planche, swallow->in all this exercises you are streching your biceps and another example is inverted swallow for a triceps....I think that our training works in the same priciples

chauinc: After a quick search around on google, I came across what I would guess is the original article :

Chronic Static Stretching Improves Exercise Performance

Here is a link to the websites homepage too if you wanted to check out other articles :

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine

Hope this answers your question!

Peace,

Mike

Useless article, hell, you can find similar articles on the connection between drinking Miso soup and strength increases in the popliteus muscle.

Working the muscle in isometric contraction under a stretched joint angle like the biceps in a planche is very diffrent from static stretching used in the article. No contraction, passivily stretching, mind you.

If you take a small group on untrained subjects and apply any physical module ever invented by man (yoga, feldenkraise, paula system, tango dancing, etc) you would get some results over untrained subjects. Any method is better than nothing.

Take a group of untrained subjects and put them to dance Makarena twice a week. compare to untrained subjects and you will probobly get increases in upper and lower leg strength, bone mass, flexilbity and vo2 max. Now does that mean the fitness enthusiast will get similar benefits from Makarena dancing?

This is excatly the kind of articles someone in the strength and conditioning field wants to avoid, and there are many out there.

Ido, totally agreed.

However, I suppose it's good to know that yoga with no other exercise is at least "decent" as exercise (well, maybe like 1/10th as good as actual strength training, heh). But still, for your average untrained person something is better than nothing.

No disrespect for Yogis and Yoga, i use Yoga in my own training for developing certain attributes, but as a strength system, it is far from optimal. We have a lot to learn from Yoga, though, not everything in life is about strength.

I met the macarena top coaches twice ( los del rio) i must say their belly is not a good indicator of their training method ( they are nice guys any way) but if Ido says that macarena is one of the best training methods ill jump to it eyes closed!