Stretching continues to be very much a debated subject within the scientific community. Some studies suggest the advantages are undeniable regarding injury prevention, while others report little or no benefits whatsoever. There are a few stuff that everyone does agree with though: stretching improves flexibility, and when done properly stretching can expand the fibrous fascia all around the muscles from the body. I wish to explain these points further and hopefully provide you with the knowledge required to achieve your goals faster.
Flexibility is essential to just about every sport. Flexible muscles have a greater range of motion and here’s why this is beneficial. Imagine if you tied the end of a short thick rubber band (tendon) to then end of a long thin rubber band (muscle). Should you pulled and pulled, eventually the long thin band would snap. Now imagine, instead of a short thick rubber band, there was a medium thickness, medium length band (tendon). Should you pull on these bands, the point at which the long thin band (the muscle) snaps would be much further. This is actually the theory by which tendon/muscle injury prevention relies.
It would also take even less force to achieve the same length because the short thick band of computer would using the medium thickness band. This is especially essential for runners along with other endurance athletes. Imagine if the hip flexor is tight. It will not only be putting undue force on the low back muscles but as you run, for your leg to increase backwards, your gluteus maximus needs to contract forcefully. The tighter the hip flexor the more force the gluteus maximus has to contract. This extra force goes completely unnoticed because your body has learned to adapt to the burden. But consider the number of strides you take during a long run and how much extra energy you use to do the required movements. A large number of steps… plenty of wasted energy. If your hip flexors were loose, your running economy (the quantity of energy your body uses to operate) would massively improve. A much better running economy would mean extra energy for that sprint finish. I’ve only used one set of muscles within this example. The advantages of stretching ALL of your muscle groups wouldn’t go unnoticed.
For those that are trying to increase muscle size, stretching has been shown to contribute to muscular hypertrophy. Here’s why: As explained before, parts of your muscles are encased inside a tough, fibrous, protective fascia. The fascia surrounds the belly of the muscle and is area of the tendon’s structure at either end from the muscle. Correct stretches will stretch muscle and the tendon. They’ll therefore, also stretch the fascia and give the muscle more room to grow. It’s like trying to blow up a balloon in the lead box. If the lead box is bigger, this device may have more room to grow. You won’t just develop faster but you will also rectify any muscular imbalances you may have accumulated during training, leading to better posture and an overall sense of well-being.
