Fact or Myth? You Should Always Stretch When You Work Out

Do you really need to stretch? Pete Cerqua, author of The 90-Second Fitness Solution, reveals the answer.

Many people believe that they absolutely need to stretch to improve sports performance, stay flexible, reduce muscle soreness, and clear the lactic acid that builds up during exercise. Let’s address each of these supposed benefits one at a time.

Sports Performance: Various studies have shown that strength training improves sports performance. For example, in a Greek study of eighteen soccer players, twice-weekly strength training improved soccer technique, shuttle-run speed, and sprinting speed more than another group of soccer players who did not strength-train. Stretching? Results are mixed, with some showing that it may even reduce performance, particularly in runners. A United Kingdom study of thirty-four elite male distance runners, for instances, determined that the least flexible runners had the most efficient strides, meaning they used less energy as they ran compared to more flexible runners. In a Canadian review of twenty-three studies that looked into the effects of stretching on sports performance, twenty-two of the studies concluded that stretching produced no effect on muscle force or jumping height. Of four studies that looked at running speed, one found a negative effect and two found no effect.

Flexibility: Yes, daily stretching can lengthen muscles, giving you more range of motion around a joint, but so can strength training, and you need to strength-train much less to get the same effect. In a Greek study of thirty-two seniors, strength training increased sit-and-reach flexibility (basically hamstring and back flexibility) as well as range of motion at the elbow, knee, shoulder, and hip joints. A separate Greek study of fifty-eight seniors found similar results, showing that the more intense the strength training program, the more flexible became the study’s participants. That’s one of the reasons I want you to lift heavy; it gets you as flexible as it gets you strong.

Muscle Soreness: There are only three things that reduce muscle soreness: time, painkillers, and ice. A group of Australian researchers reviewed ten studies (all of the available studies done at that time) on the effects of stretching on muscle soreness. Whether study participants stretched before exercise or after, the activity had no effect on muscle soreness.

Lactic Acid: Don’t you need to stretch after exercise in order to work lactic acid out of your muscles? I’ll address this one by quoting Australian researchers who published a review about exercise recovery in the medical journal Sports Medicine: “After high intensity exercise, rest alone will return blood lactate to baseline levels well within the normal time period between training sessions.”

Injury Prevention: Strength training has been shown to reduce falls in the elderly, prevent broken bones induced by osteoporosis (the bone-thinning disease), and reduce the progression of and pain from osteoarthritis. It also reduces sports-induced injuries. Core strength — in the abdomen and back — has even been shown to reduce injuries in firefighters by 62 percent. Stretching? It might help, especially if one leg is tighter than the other or if muscle tightness in one area of your body is throwing off your posture.

So you see, it’s not that stretching provides no benefits but that strength training provides all of the same benefits in much less time. As with cardio, I’m not telling you to forgo stretching if you love it. Many of my clients love their weekly yoga classes because of how this form or exercise makes them feel. If you love it, do it. If you hate it, don’t.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pete Cerqua is one of New York’s most respected and in-demand fitness trainers. He has been helping people lose weight since the 1980s, and he continues to increase his fan base through the four gyms he owns and runs in the New York City area. He is the author of The 90-Second Fitness Solution: The Most Time-Efficient Workout Ever for a Healthier Stronger, Younger You (Copyright © 2008 by Peter Cerqua).

MORE ARTICLES BY THE AUTHOR

• 9 Motivational Tricks to Help You Stick to Your Diet or Exercise Program
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LEARN MORE

• Read the Introduction to The 90-Second Fitness Solution
• Watch a video about Pete Cerqua’s 90-Second Fitness Solution
• Read and watch it: Discover The 90-Second Fitness Solution vook
• Learn more about Pete Cerqua