Stretching Controversy?

Hi. A few folks had questions. Please note that when I offer insights it’s with the hope of helping you IMPROVE your life… Most of us have ‘Sacred Cows’ in our life (something exempt from criticism or questioning). When someone raises a question about our Cow, we can tend to get very defensive.

And when we get defensive, sometimes we are unable to see things clearly. So if Stretching is sacred to you and it’s working for you and your performance is improving in your sport or in your life in general, then by all means keep doing what you are doing.

2 things you might want to consider.

Out in the wild when the animals have to chase prey, do they stop and stretch and get ready to go? Do they have to warm up and prepare the muscles to go and get dinner? Or is it because of the way they USE their muscles that they are prepared to go all the time? Humans are Capable of that very same thing.

AND with all the Stretching going on, why is it that the #1 injury in the entire WORLD is soft tissue injury?

Warm ups should be of the same Character and Intensity of the activity you are about to perform. We train our Athletes to warm up with activities that are of very high velocity and the loads are massive. It’s really not a warm up, it’s true work. And that’s what prepares us for what comes next.

When people get into a character of moving that is within a ‘comfort zone’—much less than 100% intensity—they’re able to avoid injuries but Human Performance suffers. If your performance is NOT improving, maybe it’s time to evaluate how you’re going about doing things.

I referred to my expert & friend- Jay Schroeder (Evosport, ARPwave, UltraFit). Here's a question and Jay's response which I felt was pretty indicative of the questions being raised…

re: Stretch out?

~Ok I'll bite. How is stretching bad for you?

Here's my personal scenario. I wrestled from 6yrs old to college, lifted and trained and feel I know my body well. I have a slight scoliosis due to the fact my one leg is longer than the other. So I have had my share of back "issues". Nothing severe but I was prone to injury if I lifted wrong. In addition, I also never stretched much and have particularly tight hamstrings. In fact touching my toes was impossible and the closest I could ever come was my shins. I mean tight! I just figured I was built that way.

Roll the clock forward and about a year ago I started running and lifting again (heart healthy). After about 6 months I hurt my back, bad. Like never before. I mean I couldn't walk. I went to a Dr. and the MRI showed 2 compressed vertebrae, one ruptured.

I went thru a Spinal Decompression process over 10 weeks that worked wonders! And here's the punch line. The biggest part of the rehab was to stretch. I stretched like never before. Now I touch my toes every day, I have better range of motion and feel stronger than ever. I know that my back is healed and will continue the stretching regime for the rest of my life.

So back to my question, how is this bad for me?

Thanks, Bill

Bill,
To begin with I am glad that you have been able to improve your quality of life. Muscles contract to shorten [concentrically], and to lengthen [eccentrically]. It is impossible to stretch muscle as it only contracts. What does occur when someone performs or assumes a stretching position is that connective tissue is stretched. This certainly can allow one to see and feel a difference when executing a task such as touching ones toes.

Unfortunately the way that humans are designed to display this range of motion is to have muscles concentrically contract and muscles opposite to eccentrically contract. This insures that the muscles absorb this load [force], not areas such as vertebrae, bones, connective tissue etc. You see when you were executing your training plan, the muscles you were using to execute the actions were inappropriate. This in balance of quadriceps to hamstring in your case leads to the overpowered muscle [hamstring] remaining in a constant state of concentric contraction, which then leads to other muscles, typically in the back area, to also stay in a concentrically contracted state, leading to this force being distributed to the vertebrae and connective tissue.

Now the human is amazing and can create a way to complete the desired action utilizing inappropriate muscles. This again was mainly due to muscles on one side overpowering the muscles opposite. Lets look at curling a bar, from the bottom position the biceps begin to contract concentrically, not only does this occur, but at the same moment in time for the same length of time, at the same force, and velocity the triceps must eccentrically contract. If this doesn't occur then the load must be displaced elsewhere, elbow, wrist, shoulder connective tissue in each area. This should not happen as our connective tissue is a last resort of protection; our muscles are designed for this task.

To summarize, no one would argue that humans, by stretching, can create increased range of motion, due to the laxity created by stretching the connective tissue. Unfortunately this is not the way we are designed to work, to allow one to perform in their later years the same as the younger years, and to avoid treatments [therapy] surgeries, such as yours and all the other related connective tissue exercises. This is the true task to accomplish when one is training. There is much research on stretching and the elderly that indicates that stretching leads to the more serious problems associated with hips, backs and knees.

I would recommend to you that you research stretching, and strength training and access how best to employ it to affect your life. I hope for your continued success, no matter what your choices may be.

Speed and Strength Always, Jay

There you have it gang. Next up is ‘Cardio’. Let me know if you want to discuss how we train.

As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...

Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones

PS- Please visit us at the http://www.powerworkshop.org/ and http://www.arpwavenj.com/ to see what’s new.

Copyright, the Power Workshop Inc., 2005

**The contents of this Breakthrough-Newsletter are not to be considered as medical advice. Always consult a physician before beginning or changing any fitness program.**