NY Times article on static vs. dynamic stretching

GOML wrote:

Interesting article from the NYT that straight-up states that static stretching is bad for you. From personal experience I'm disinclined to believe that, but I wanted to see what those who actually know about kinesiology had to say on here.

There's also an interesting quote from Ryan Hall's coach Terrence Mahon about half-way down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html?em

Thanks for the link to the article and its accompanying video.

It's actually been established for quite a while that stretching is not a warmup. Mobility exercises accomplish much more of what people believe the warmup is for.

"One significant if gruesome study found that the leg-muscle tissue of laboratory rabbits could be stretched farther before ripping if it had been electronically stimulated — that is, warmed up."

WTF kind of study was this?!? sounds like it's in violation of some cruelty to animals laws...

no one said they were live rabbits...

what about static stretching after a workout? i didn't see that mentioned? is thought also thought to be unhelpful? for me, some static stretching after a workout seems to help, but maybe dynamic is better after too. thoughts?

Watch the video. They recommend static stretching as a cool down.

This is just more of the Times' typical liberal propaganda.

There is no value to stretching of any kind. When cheetahs in the wild are about to chase down prey, do they sit around and f***ing stretch their hamstrings first?

marijuologist wrote:

There is no value to stretching of any kind. When cheetahs in the wild are about to chase down prey, do they sit around and f***ing stretch their hamstrings first?

Of course not you reeftard. They are smart enough to stretch after they have caught their prey so their muscles are loose when they get hungry again.

also cheetahs do this thing called hunting where they have to move close to their prey before sprinting after it. not too likely that they suddenly stand up from relaxin' on some rock all day and there's prey 50 feet away. so they obviously warm up while stalking prey before they actually start chasing after animals.

they usually get in a good 10-15 minutes with strides.

This article offers nothing nothing new. Strength and flexibility are somewhat opposites of each other. This has been known for a LONG time. That sure as hell doesn't mean runners shouldn't be flexible though.

Static stretching is not a good warm up... duh. Who the heck goes out for a workout and simply thinks touching their toes is an adequate warmup?

General rules: mostly dynamic stretching during warmup; mostly static stretching during cooldown.

Why static stretching ever? No one's ever been able to tell me what the benefit is supposed to be. I personally never stretched at any point in my career, was rarely injured, and was plenty fast. I wouldn't say I was a rare specimen or anything, either. If the muscles and tendons are a delicate system, what the hell is sitting around stretching them out going to do, other than screwing with the body's natural order?

I don't know about you guys, but when I run my muscles aren't being put in any ridiculous positions.

What do you recommend for middle school and high school track kids? Which dynamic stretches before? Which static stretches after?

What I do--and what I would have athletes do if I coached them--is about 10min of core exercises and, when there's access to them, a set of hurdle walkovers leading with both legs. After that, run the first mile or two easy and you're good to go. 2 crucial birds killed with one efficient stone.

marijuologist wrote:

There is no value to stretching of any kind. When cheetahs in the wild are about to chase down prey, do they sit around and f***ing stretch their hamstrings first?

Dunno about cheetahs, but their cousin the house cat stretches constantly. When they shred your upholstery, they're digging in with their claws while getting in a nice shoulder and back stretch.