If you always stretch before you exercise, then listen up! New studies suggest that static stretching before a workout can have a negative effect on your performance.
Researchers at the University of Zagreb in Croatia analyzed 104 previous studies involving participants who engaged in static stretching and then had their muscular strength and power tested. Their findings revealed that static stretching reduces strength in muscles by almost 6 per cent and muscle power by about 2 percent, with the impact increasing in people who hold stretches for 90 seconds or more.
According to Dr. Goran Markovic, who led the study, explosive muscular performance such as a tennis serve, lifting a kettlebell, or the first mile of a race, can also be reduced by as much as 2.8 percent by stretching beforehand.
“These findings primarily apply to people participating in events that require strength and explosive power, more so than endurance, ” says Markovic. “But other research speaks in favor of static stretching impairing performance in distance running and cycling too.”
A similar US study being published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that stretching before weight training can actually make you feel weaker during your workout. Researchers discovered that, when squatting with barbells, fit young men could manage 8.3 percent less weight after static stretching.
The reason why stretching affects our performance is still unclear, but researchers believe the problem is that it loosens our muscles making us less able to store energy and spring into action.
“We believe that static stretching alone is not an appropriate form of warm-up,” says Markovic. “A warm-up should improve performance not worsen it.” He recommends warming up using more dynamic movements, such as jumping jacks and leg kicks, to move the muscles that will be used during your workout.
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