Athletes would seem to stop at nothing to justify not to
warm up before an event and to avoid stretching altogether.
The current controversy rages as various parties debates the
value of stretching and when to do what form of stretching. It seems like the
American College of Sports medicines 2010 guidelines recommending that athletes
rather stretch after training than before training has caught on. (American
College of Sports Medicine. 2010. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and
Prescription. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins)
The above recommendations appear to stem from a number of
studies that do report a decline in performance after stretching in activities that
require maximal muscle effort. However there are quite a few studies that do
not show this effect.
The difference in results seems to be explained by the
duration of how long the stretch was kept. Stretches kept for longer than 60sec
decreased performance, stretches lasting 30-45sec showed inconsistent decrease
in performance and stretches kept for less than 30sec showed no decrease in
performance. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21659901
I personally don’t know a lot of athletes that typically keep
their stretches that long though!
In practice I have seen a lot of benefit from the Active
Isolated Stretching (AIS) method of Aaron Mattes where he propagates
repetitions of 2sec. This technique is typically perceived by athletes as less boring
and thus subsequently improving their compliance to stretching as well.
Please note: Stretching does not directly equate to warm-up
and my current best recommendations would be to stick to an active warm-up that:
- Progressively build intensity to increase muscle temperature
- Prepares the athlete for the activities and intensity of competition or training
- Include some AIS for the major muscle group
utilized in your sport.
Utilize sustained stretches for problem areas after training
and keep the stretches long enough to achieve permanent lengthening in the
area. I do however have a question in my mind about how effective sustained
stretching really is vs. techniques like Pilates, Yoga and Gyrokinesis. These techniques
promote actively mobilizing the body as a whole and I currently recommend those
more.
One benefit from sustained stretching seems to be that if
you are a "cramper" during endurance events that stretching can postpone
the occurrence of cramping. http://www.sportsscientists.com/2007/12/muscle-cramps-part-v.html I would really like someone to investigate if
the other techniques mentioned have the same result in this regard.
I will in future
write a post on fascial release techniques that achieve lasting effects when it
comes to improved range and biomechanical/posture corrections. This can in my
mind to a certain extend replace passive sustained stretching altogether. (Not
the active full body techniques mentioned above)
I hope I provided some clarity on the question. Hang in
there and don’t neglect your training altogether during the approaching days of
winter.
