VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Maciej Szukała

Stretching after training is an often overlooked step. However, it turns out that regular stretching after exercise has many more benefits than just reduced tissue soreness the next day. Why is it worth stretching after each training? What are the effects of not stretching after training?

Many people who lead an active lifestyle on a daily basis focus on an essential part of their training. They completely forget, or worse, the steps of warming up and stretching.Stretching after trainingis one of the best things you can do for your body. Stretching will not only make your workouts more effective, but most of all, it will increase everyday comfort and ensure proper posture and protection of the spine. If you are not yet stretching, be sure to add this element to your training.

Kinds of stretching

A bit of theory will come in handy at the beginning. Personal trainers and physical therapists distinguish several types of stretching. Each of them has a slightly different use, purpose and technique of execution. In order to improve the elasticity of tissues, various types of relaxation techniques should be used, changing from time to time one type of stretching in the training plan for another.

In practice, there are many methods of stretching. What are the most popular of them?

Static stretching active

This type of stretching involves finding a body position to keep the target muscle active, with tension being held by the opposing muscle group.

The more the muscle tone of the antagonists increases, the more the stretched tissue will relax. One of the more commonly used exercises of this type is stretching the biceps muscle in the hurdle leg by tightening the quadriceps.

static passive stretching

Passive stretching is a bit of a risky technique. It is based on keeping the muscle attachments as far apart as possible, and then maintaining this position, but with the help of an external factor, and not consciously tightening the muscles.

This factor can be gravity, but also a rubber resistance, or even pressure from your training partner. An example is stretchingthe biceps muscle of the thigh by resting the leg on the other person's arm.

Be especially careful when stretching passive as it is easy to apply too much force! Not only may this be counterproductive, but even injure the tissue.

Active dynamic stretching

This is the simplest of all types of stretching and consists of making movements at maximum amplitude and returning to the starting position. Dynamic repetition of target movement patterns not only improves muscle memory, but also causes the muscles to "learn" to work to the full extent.

It is important to use only muscle strength when doing dynamic active stretching. This means that all movements are made from the so-called blind spot, without giving the limbs momentum.

Ballistic expansion

Ballistic stretching is the performance of movements that go beyond the natural range of joint mobility. For this purpose, muscle strength is only partially used, and momentum is largely responsible for the effect.

Most often it takes the form of arm or leg swing and is extremely popular in combat sports, where it also translates into an increase in the speed of strikes or kicks. This type of stretching is also used in athletics disciplines, where jumping and dynamics count.

Activation stretching

The activation actions are the most mysterious of all types of stretching, which until recently were known only to physiotherapists. Various techniques are used in muscle relaxation, which, by skillfully tightening and loosening the tissue, bring the desired effect.

It is worth remembering that activation stretching, although it looks inconspicuous, can bring very positive effects. While the other types of stretching can be learned independently, the activation methods, at least at the beginning, require the supervision of a qualified trainer or physiotherapist.

One popular type of activation stretching is proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), which aims to restore or improve movement patterns.

It is eagerly used by physiotherapists for patients who are recovering from an injury or stroke. PNF correction is done by, among others directing the movement by a physiotherapist, generating resistance that teaches the patient awareness of the body and develops proprioception or verbal instruction.

Among other types of activation stretching, it is worth mentioning, among others, Poisometric Muscle RelaxationPost Isometric Relaxation (PIR), the Contract-Relax Method or the Hold-Relax Method.

Of course, not every method will work in every case. However, do not be afraid to experiment in moderation and look for the most effective method for yourself.

What are the benefits of stretching?

Properly performed stretching is not only a relief for muscles, but also for fascia and tendons. Regular stretching causes elongation of myofibrils and eliminates the unpleasant feeling of tissue tense and heaviness. Other benefits of stretching include:

  • increasing joint mobility and improving overall coordination and deep feeling,
  • reducing the risk of injury,
  • oxygenation of tired muscles,
  • improvement of muscle strength,
  • acceleration of post-workout regeneration,
  • reduction of soreness associated with menstruation in women.

Stretching, if it is done consciously, is a completely safe way to maintain a correct, upright body posture. Practically all people can practice them, regardless of age, sex and he alth condition.

Among athletes, it is difficult to find a group that does not use stretching. It is used by, among others :

  • athletes,
  • runners,
  • martial arts athletes,
  • bodybuilders,
  • cyclists.

Of course, stretching will be slightly different in each discipline. While in martial arts, ballistic stretching is of great importance, cyclists, due to the relatively small range of motion, stretch mainly passively.

How to properly stretch?

There are hundreds of physical exercises. We can easily find those that can be performed in a standing, sitting or lying position. It all depends on how much free space we have and which of the muscle groups we want to relax.

First of all, remember to stretch within the physiological limits of movement and reasonably. When we try to lengthen muscles by force, we risk an injury (muscle tear, fascia damage), or at best muscle reflex, which is exactly the opposite of the intended effect.

When is a muscle stretched enough to elongate? We should feel slight discomfort in the stretched tissue, but never pain.

It also turns out that static stretching before training (especially of a strength nature) leads to a decrease in muscle strength in both phases of movement (concentric and eccentric).

It is also worth remembering not to stretch after a hard workoutit was especially intense. The muscles are already tired and adding an additional load in the form of stretching may delay tissue regeneration.

How often should you stretch?

There is no single right answer to the question about the stretching frequency. Athletes who train frequently (even several times a day, such as triathletes) stretch almost every day. The same applies to sports in which dynamics and flexibility are important, such as martial arts or hurdles.

In turn, bodybuilders usually stretch only a given muscle part after training, and most amateur runners only stretch after long runs.

Much depends on how long the stretching session lasts. If you treat it as a few minutes' addition to your training, you can even do it every day. However, when you devote separate training units of 30-40 minutes each to stretching, you only need to repeat it every other day or even every third day.

Remember that the exercises to prepare for deep splitting or some yoga poses put a lot of strain on the muscles, joints and ligaments, which also take time to recover.

If you do not have time to stretch after training, you can also do so after visiting a sauna or a hot bath. Your tissues will then be more flexible than usual.

What are the effects of skipping stretching?

Many people skip post-workout stretching altogether. However, this is a big mistake. No stretching will result in:

  • feeling tense and tired in the muscles,
  • decrease in the range of limb mobility,
  • decrease in muscle strength,
  • slower regeneration and muscle soreness after exercise,
  • posture defects and joint deformities.

Contrary to appearances, stretching brings beneficial effects not only to athletes. It will also benefit people who lead a sedentary lifestyle and are looking for a simple way to stimulate stiff muscles and eliminate pain in the lumbar spine, knees and hips.

What's more, you can do stretching without access to specialized equipment, even while watching TV in the evening. All you need is a piece of free and clean floor. A universal yoga mat will also be perfect.

Ultra-distance endurance disciplines and stretching

You can also come across the opinion in the literature that regular stretching does not bring tangible benefits and does not increase the risk of injury. This is what claims, inter alia, titledultramarathoner Hal Koerner in his book "Guide to running ultra".

The author motivates his position with the fact that stretching in people who practice endurance disciplines over very long distances may lead to excessive mobility of the hip and knee joints and, as a result, cause injuries.

Although this is not a completely isolated thesis, the golden mean seems to be the use of stretching regardless of discipline and possible dosing of its duration and intensity so as not to overload the body.

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ABC of exercises