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Does anyone else do static stretching between resistance training sets? I've been doing this for as long as I can remember, but rarely see anyone else at the gym doing the same thing. There's some scattered studies that inter-set stretching may enhance muscle hypertrophy, although my reasoning has always been simply to stay loose.
Anyway, curious if anyone else does this. Or do I belong in the other thread as the most annoying person in my gym.
I'm constantly stretching between sets. I haven't looked at any studies as to whether or not it's very effective or not but for me, I seem to have fewer nagging injuries if I stretch lightly before and during lifting. I rarely stretch after but I usually do cardio afterwards so I'm keeping everything moving.
Generally it's recommended to do stretching after your weight training as some studies have found that stretching before decreases your strength output. But, that's not been my personal experience. I don't do much stretching before, depends on how I feel.
Rather than static stretching between sets I do mobility movements to stay loose though I often do passive hanging between sets as well, so that would be static stretching.
Rather than static stretching between sets I do mobility movements to stay loose though I often do passive hanging between sets as well, so that would be static stretching.
Yes, I mix that in as well, especially with my shoulders. I had to get surgery for something called "frozen shoulder" a while back and I hope to never have to go under the knife for a shoulder injury ever again.
Yes, I mix that in as well, especially with my shoulders. I had to get surgery for something called "frozen shoulder" a while back and I hope to never have to go under the knife for a shoulder injury ever again.
I've had frozen shoulder as well. I never had a doctor look at it though. As I recall, it took about a year for it to resolve. Not a fun experience.
Consider taking up yoga. it is mostly stretching anyway. It lengthens muscles while strengthening them. Don't think it's "manly" enough? You might be surprised. I started yoga two years ago after doing research on alternative therapy for a TBI which left me with frozen shoulders, gait and balance issues. Conventional physical therapy could only do so much and eventually I hit a plateau and stopped. I did get cortisone injections for both shoulders from my doctor which helped, but that was an extreme case. I combine a yoga class once a week with a routine I perform daily and add conventional weight training at a local gym and have found the combination very helpful.
I've resolved a number of nagging sore spots with a combination of yoga and fitness bands. High reps with lighter weights has been another remedy. Being over 40 now, I'm realizing the importance of having a strong base and allowing the body to adequately repair itself. The cruel irony is I'm the most motivated and disciplined I've ever been when it comes to fitness, which makes me want to push hard with much greater intensity and frequency.
Obviously, we should stretch before we exercise. It gets the muscles warmed up and stretched out. How that works in relation to doing them in between sets I don't know. Back in the day, a friend and I used to work out w/ a former runner up to the Mr Universe contest. Boo always stressed resting in between sets.
Obviously, we should stretch before we exercise. It gets the muscles warmed up and stretched out. How that works in relation to doing them in between sets I don't know. Back in the day, a friend and I used to work out w/ a former runner up to the Mr Universe contest. Boo always stressed resting in between sets.
Your warmup should be dynamic, and unless you need to for some reason, in general stretching before a workout lowers performance.
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Recent studies caution people away from stretching before workouts, suggesting it actually impedes your body’s performance. According to this research, runners run more slowly, jumpers jump less high, and weight lifters lift more weakly by stretching, without significantly ensuring against injury during their exercise.
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