Topic: Stretching

[Nom]

An interesting theory on stretching-
This is super important, but it isn't like this is a breakthrough epiphany.
-Duration: This is really hard to say, some people say that less than one minute is utterly useless, others say that more than one minute doesn't do much. What I've been doing: either doing  it for one minute or for as long as I can without being in excruciating pain holding a particular position.

-Constant Pressure: Don't jerk around when you stretch, do things slowly and don't let up. If you feel pain, slowly let back the pressure, if you freak out and spring away from the pain you can damage something.

-Strengthen the outer muscles: A nice quote on this subject, "An important fact about stretching, which most people neglect, is strengthening the outer muscles while stretching the inner muscles. You should not only stretch, but strengthen the muscles which are on the outer sides of the muscles being stretched. For example, if you stretch the hamstrings or the back of the thigh, you should also exercise to increase the elasticity of the thigh itself. This is the case because the muscles only posses one function - contracting. Some people think the muscles have two functions pulling and pushing. This notion is false and it is the reason why the outer muscles need to be developed to a point where the stretch can be most beneficial."

Breathing- Take a deep breath and slowly exhale while stretching, relax muscles by focusing on breathing rather than stretching.

[Skipper]

Awesome! much to think about there. I worked on all of that when i was diving, but people just getting into parkour could really use a good stretching program. thanks for that great concept!

[Nom]

Thanks Skip, I was thinking of doing another on basic muscle strengthening as well. And then maybe an agility specific workout.

[Gareth EE Field]

tricktutorials.com has a great article on stretching, focusing on the benefits of dynamic stretching

[Gearsighted]

Stretching, like everything else in the diet and fitness world has tons of contradictory information floating around, so it's a good idea to research as much as possible and see what works best for you. I was a big proponent of yoga for quite some time before I got more seriously into strength and power training. It took me a while to find the balance that worked for me, but I don't do actual stretching too often any more. There have been some interesting studies as to the affect of stretching on highly trained individuals, as well as lots of information based on the observations of experienced trainers.

There was a great article about this on crossfit a week or two back, where Olympic lifting coaches and gymnastics coaches discussed their viewpoints on a dedicated stretching protocol for trained athletes. You can check that out here:

http://www.crossfit.com/discus/messages/21/15946.html

The general consensus seems to stand that a stretching program has less benefit for a trained athlete than originally assumed, and you may get more benefit targeting specific muscles that remain tight, but leaving the brunt of your flexibility training to full range of motion movements.

[Leon Mederos]

Well, one of the better stretching articles I have ever read comes from my favorite Tricks Tutorials JUJIMUFU!!!!

check it out here at http://trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/flexibility