I want to start working out but I want to make sure I stretch right first, any suggestions for a starter?

Question

I want to start working out but I want to make sure I stretch right first, any suggestions for a starter?

Answer 1

Static stretching reduces speed, power, force production, and doesn't decrease (can actually increase) the chance of injury.

What you want to do is a dynamic warm up. Either biking or jogging, running, for 7-10 minutes (more or less depending on the person), or if you're doing sports:

High knees

Butt kickers

Side shuffles (feet nearly touch in between each rep)

Backwards running

Lunges (get low)

Karaokes

Arm Swing, circles

Running, sprints

Push ups

Or even a hot shower for 10 minutes. The goal is to raise the body temperature 1-1 1/2º C.

Now, why is that?

"When muscles are stretched beyond natural voluntary ranges of motion, the muscles and tendons are stretched unnaturally. Excessive stretching damages tissues and promotes inflammation [which is really bad if you're going to start lifting or doing explosive movements (ie. sports)]" (Yang, Im, & Wang, 2005). Continual stretching can lead to "lengthened" muscles. That condition leads to two performance altering states.

1) The range of movement of the joint about which the lengthened muscles gird is increased. That results in the range of effective contraction of the muscles being altered. Maximum muscle performance will have to occur in a different range of motion to the original natural range. IF a lengthened muscle is required still to perform in the orginal natural range, then performance in that range will be reduced because of the extra stretch. Maximally lenghtened muscles about a joint are associated often with a loosening of the joint. Increased leaxity can expose the joint to increased injury through collisions or simply through maximum efforts. Intra-joint movements can also stimulate aggravations to other structural tissues as well as bony structures.

2) If continued for a long time, muscles, tendons, etc... will start to loose some of their elastic properties, which would further decrease power and speed while increasing the risk of injuries.

From The Science and Art of Baseball Pitching (which in this section, discusses why one wouldn't want to stretch, and the literature out there that supports it), 44.4: "Running economy is actually improved when muscles are stiff. Craib, Mitchell, Fields, Cooper, Hopewell, & Morgan (1996) concluded running economy needs natural tightness in lower leg muscles and connective tissues to maximize the storage and return of elastic energy, and reduce the need for stabilizing activity. Continuing with the theme that the elasticity of muscles needs to be preserved for high performances, Jones (2002) attributed running performance to metabolism in the muscles and stiffer musculotendinous structures that facilitate a greater elastic energy return during the shortening phase of the stretch-shortening cycle. A certain level of muscle stiffness preservs the storage and return properties of elastic energy that can be used to generate energy in an activity. The contribution of elastic energy to overall muscle performance is as much as 25-40% (Cavagna & Margaria, 1966; Cavagna, Saibene, & Margaria, 1964).

Nelson, Driscoll, Landin, Young, and Schexnayder, (2005) found that stretching before sprinting, slowed 20-meter sprint times. A review of data-based investigations led to the conclusion that stretching did not improve performance capability (Ingraham, 2003)."

From The Science and Art of Baseball Pitching (It has over 500 scientific references), page 44.9: " When an athlete participates seriously in a sport, that sport develops flexibility of sufficient ranges to meet its most common demands. Turner (1977) found that after six weeks of playing basketball, flexibility changed significantly in a control group that did no particular stretching program. Two forms of stretching programs (PNF and SAS) improved flexibility to a greater degree but a large proportion of those gains were lost within two weeks of cessation (which means they stopped playing) in the sport. Athletes in the stretching program regressed to the level that was stimulated by the activities of the game of basketball itself. The excessive flexibility that resulted from training was lost because it was not stimulated by basketball-alone activities. This phenomenon was also noted by Chevrier (1981) with ice-hockey players.

Chevrier trained collegiated male ice-hockey players to use both PNF and SAS procedures. He found that the training did not increase flexibility over that which already existed. The ranges of movement caused by a pre-scrimmage warm-up were not maintained during the scrimmage, where two-thirds of the time was spent sitting on the benches. However, upon completion of the scrimmage and its warm-down routine, flexibility once again was at pre-scrimmage pre-stretching levels. An interesting finiding of the study was that flexibility was not retained during the simulated competition. It appears that the bench-sitting was sufficient to allow players to parcially 'tighten-up'."

And to cap it off, to further show stretching = bad

"Stretching reduces the strength-endurance capability of a pitcher (Kokkonen, Nelson, & Arnall, 2001).

Excessive stretching in warm-ups inhibits strength performance (Kokkonen & Nelson, 1996) and force production (Behm, Button, & Butt, 2001; Evetovich, Nauman, Conley, & Todd, 2003; Fry, McLellan, Weiss, & Rosato, 2003).

Stretching routines should be moderate to minimal and cease at least one hour before the game (Fowles & Sale, 1997).

Stretching reduces throwing velocity(Noffal, Knudson, & Brown, 2004).

Stretching does not prevent injuries (Herbert & Gabriel, 2002; Wilkinson & Williams, 2003).

Some researchers have said that no stretching should be performed at all before explosive activities (Young & Behm, 2003)."

And it even increases DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

So just stick with the dynamic warm up, make sure you drink water before/during/after, and also, keep in mind that proper post-workout nutrition helps speed recovery so you maximize your training sessions and are fresher for the next one.

The general rule of thumb is a 2-1 carb to protein ratio within 30 minutes following your training session.

This can come in the form of a drink or whole food, but since most people do not like to eat immediately after their workout and are usually away from home when training, the drink is easiest way to get these nutrients.

In addition, the drink is absorbed by the body quicker than most foods.

For working out, make sure you don't do anything too heavy, and don't go until failure, by then your technique has probably started detiorating and that raises the chance of injury big time.

Best of luck!

Answer 2

I have read that stretching before lifting weakens your muscles. You should always do a 5-10 min warm up. Run or something until you start sweating. You shouls stretch every day but never right before lifting. After is fine

Answer 3

Warming up is the most important part of it, rather than stretching.  Make sure your muscles are warm before you begin your workout.  Here are a couple of good links.  Best of luck with it.

Answer 4

OK I have been in several years of martial arts and I am now in the army, so I know quite a bit about stretching before exercise. What you want to do is start with a 2-5 minute warmup (light jog, jumping jacks, a little bicycle, ect.) then stretch all the muscle groups that you will be using. Stretch each muscle for 10-15 seconds. They should always feel taught, but you should not feel pain. If you do, stop. Make sure you stretch after you are done exercising as well, because if you don't your muscles have a higher chance of getting a cramp. Also make sure to drink plenty of water of water before and after you exercise.