stretching??

[tomahawks11]

ok i heard a guy in the weight room say that the more you stretch the more you will grow...... it sounded really weird so i wanted to ask on here if it was true..... is it????

[BuckWyld]

I have heard both Arnold says you should flex and streach inbetween sets for maximum growth, but I have read other places that streaching in between sets hurts your workouts. On the other hand basically everyone agrees that streaching warm muscles after a workout is good. I tend to streach inbetween sets sometimes if I am feeling very tight, I don't feel like it hurts my ability go have a strong workout, on the other hand I can't say that I think it helps that much either.

[sharpshooterFTW]

i don't really touch weights yet but i think it's a good idea to strech in between setts, maybe just isolate what you just worked on.

[tomahawks11]

no no i mean the more you stretch the taller you will grow because he said something about the muscles will grow longer.... i didnt believe it but im askin just to make sure

[Jmalins23]

im pretty sure bones make u taller, not muscles

[Cburylax]

When you stretch during lifting, it tears more muscle fibers. Those muscle fibers you tear have to be repaired and they repair stronger and bigger than before, showing greater results.

you can't be serious. Stretching does the following...
1. increase blood flow
2. increases range of motion of a joint

static stretching activates the golgi tendon organ which overrides the muscle spindle causing the muscle to relax. There isn't any tearing of muscle.

Active stretching does not active the golgi tendon but still warms up the muscle.

To answer the original...I don't know for a fact but there hasn't been any research that I've seen either way with repect to bone growth. I do know that stretching is an important part of any sound training program.

C

[the wister]

Cbury, long time no see, I was gonna add my two cents but I guess I don't need to anymore. But since you mentioned active and static, do you have an opinion on which is better? Am I right in assuming active gets blood into your muscles, but static increases your range of motion?

[Cburylax]

Cbury, long time no see, I was gonna add my two cents but I guess I don't need to anymore. But since you mentioned active and static, do you have an opinion on which is better? Am I right in assuming active gets blood into your muscles, but static increases your range of motion?

wister...whats up buddy...been a while.

Its pretty common now to perform active/dynamic stretching before physical activity to increase blood flow, joint mobility, and core temperature. Exercises like jumping jacks, pushups, high knees, seal jumps, prisoner squats, etc. The idea is not to activate the nervous system (golgi tendon organ) which causes the muscles to relax and lengthen, something that would prevent a muscle of generating max force (think sliding filament theory and length/tension relationship).

Everyone here who's tried pushing through a set of bicep curls has experienced the effect/protective mechanism of the golgi tendon organ. Remember at the end of the last rep, when you're trying to get the weight moving, that the weight sticks, you strain, and then your biceps give out and the weight drops back down? This is the GTO telling your biceps that they need to relax or you're going to injure them.

Static stretching should primarily be done at the end of physical activity when the muscles are already warm and no longer need to produce optimal force. Or, when you need to lengthen an overly tight muscle during postural deviation therapy.

In a nutshell, do static stretching anytime you need to lengthen a muscle but not before a game.

C

PS. Wister...where'd you go?

[the wister]

Took some time off after last season to get things in order for college. At Univ. Cinci now and seasons picking up. Plus, my favorite people started dropping off (you for one) around the time of the merger and I just came less often.

Good to be back though, it's cool cause everything you talk about I'm learning in A&P, so I can relate. I'll see you again soon.