11 Bravo wrote:
saw a study on the news just now that said stretching does not prevent injuries versus not stretching. found that interesting since i dont stretch.
Yup, that is true. I never stretch before a workout, I actually feel as if my muscles tire if I do so. It also doesn't really help in any way.
The study was made about 2 years ago but most people still ignore it unfortunately.
No, Haibai... there actually aren't. This study was pretty conclusive - if you look at stretching in a team about 5 years ago, you would see that everybody just did static stretches, but now it isn't encouraged until your muscles are warmed up, and even then it should be light static stretching. Dynamic stretching is a different thing altogether because it's pretty much like doing exercise already, whereas static stretching is an unnatural thing for the body.
Static stretching is only recommended for those who have very tight muscle areas - in which case it does help because it loosens them up... but in any other case you shouldn't be doing them before a workout. I have to do lower body muscle stretches because my hamstrings and calves are ridiculously tight, but upper body I don't touch and I don't get injured.