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Brittany Hardy
Professor Wemple
English 108
April 30, 2013
Stretching’s Counter Productivity to Muscle Strength
The pre-workout warm-up has included static stretching for decades, athletes and
physically active individuals have taken the time to stretch their muscles before working out as a
precaution to injury. It turns out that they are actually decreasing their muscles’ potential
strength and putting their muscles at a higher risk for injury during certain activities. In sports
that require short strong contractions of the muscles such as sprinting or weight lifting, athletes
are at risk, for injury, after stretching due to the loss of stability felt in muscles after being
stretched. Static stretching before working out is counterproductive to building muscle strength
due to many factors of muscle physiology that occurs in stretching.
Muscle anatomy and physiology is an important part to understanding the counter
productivity of stretching before physical activity. The anatomy of skeletal muscle fiber, or cell,
is arranged in bundles. The entire muscle has numerous muscle bundles, or fascicles, that run
parallel to the entire length of the muscle. These muscle fascicles then contain hundreds of
muscle fibers, and the muscle fibers then consist of many myofibrils which all run parallel with
the muscle as well. Myofibrils are then made of contracting units called sarcomeres which are
where the actual physiology, or function, of the contraction is broken down, known as the
Sliding Filament Theory (Nath, 287). The entire muscle is surrounded by a connective tissue
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lining which then attaches to a tendon that connects it with the appropriate bone or bones (Figure
1). When the muscle is contracted the tendon pulls on the bone which ultimately causes its
movement. (Nath, 281). During muscle stretching the myofibrils are the recipient of the effect of
the stretches.
Stretching in muscles takes place in the myofibrils (Fig. 2) of the muscles, and also at the
tendon of the muscle being stretched. Passive stretching is that such as the pull that occurs in the
hamstrings, on the back of the leg, when bending over to touch one’s toes (Nath). Passive
Fig.1. (Nath) Anatomy of the muscle
attached to tendon and then to bone. The
muscle breaks into the fascicle and then to
muscle fiber.
Fig. 2. (Nath) The anatomy of a muscle fiber into a
myofibril, and then composed of sarcomeres. The
sarcomere breaks down into thin and thick filaments.
stretching, or static stretching, is what takes place while performing static stretching, which most
people do before working out.
Static stretching before a workout, especially lifting weights, can actually decrease the
strength of muscles and lead to injury due to the imbalance felt after stretching. Static stretching
lengthens the muscles for a short period of time, which causes the body to be limper and
unsteady (Reynolds). When unsteady muscles are paired with weight lifting it can lead to injury.
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Lifting weights is not the only area of physical activity that suffer from pre-workout stretching,
any activity that involves quick contractions of muscles share this risk of injury; these include
sprinting, tennis, cycling, and many sports of this nature (Muscle). An article from the University
of California Muscle Physiology web page stated that “while passive stretch causes negligible
force decrement, isometric causes a moderate loss and eccentric causes a significant loss of
force.” This statement comes from an experiment done
which measured muscle strength after static stretching
and muscle strength after no stretching at all, the
results showed that static, or passive, stretching caused
a decrease in muscle strength. The graph of these
results is presented in (Figure 3). Passive stretching is
Fig. 3 (Muscle). Graph of the results,
showing decrement in muscle
strength after each type of muscle
stretch.
done when the muscle is inactivated, meaning it is not
being contracted. This is also called static stretching and
is most commonly performed before a workout. Eccentric muscle stretching is when the muscles
are contracted. This type of stretching is what is done in common movements such as walking or
placing an object down. The third type in (Figure 3) is isometric, this is when the muscle is
contracted but is held at a constant. An everyday example of isometric contraction would be
carrying a heavy box. The muscle is contracted to keep the box in place but the muscle is not
contracting any more or less while continuing to carry the box. All three areas showed a decrease
in muscle strength after static stretching.
While the experiment shows clear results there have been other opinions to counter the
findings of this experiment. The Journal of Applied Physiology stated that muscle strength is
greater after it is stretched. “This steady-state force is higher than the force produced at the
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corresponding length during purely isometric contractions” (Rassier). This article claims that the
strength of muscle in fact increases with stretching due to a theory called the “Popping
Sarcomeres Theory” that involves the contractile units of muscle, the sarcomeres. The article
later states that “However, recent studies have shown that the residual force enhancement cannot
be explained uniquely” (Rassier), which showcases the discrepancy in the facts this article used
to make their statement about stretching and its positive effects of muscle strength, and therefore
doesn’t make a valid argument against the previous experiment’s results. While the experiment
mainly studied static stretching there are other ways to effectively stretch that may benefit
muscles.
Static stretching is a simple stretching routine that involves no energy. Few muscles are
targeted and stretched or contracted for a period of time in either seconds or even minutes. This
stretching routine is targeting muscles’ flexibility rather than their strength which should be
taken into consideration when preparing for
an athletic event that requires strength. An
alternative to static stretching is dynamic
stretching. An online article states that
“Dynamic stretching involves focusing on
Figure 4. An example of dynamic stretching
includes movement such as jogging (Brokerson).
gradual increases as you reach into the stretch without jerking motions” (Reynolds). This
provides the muscles with a gradual warm-up as well as a stretch so that muscles are readily
available for the actions needed in certain activities but not stretched so much that it is
counterproductive (Brokerson). Dynamic stretching includes sprints, jumping jacks, lunges, “butt
kicks” (Brokerson) and other specific movements that mimic the actions done in the actual
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physical activity to ensure proper warm-up needed for the activities. Static stretching pushes
muscles to their maximum stretching potential, which “loosens them from their joining tendon”
(Nath) and ultimately slows down the rate and force that a contraction can be conducted along a
muscles’ sarcomeres. Dynamic stretching stretches muscles enough to rid of stiffness and
prevent injury, but does not go as far as compensating the muscles strength.
Static stretching is unconventional and should not be used before workouts that involve
short strong contractions of muscles. The evidence present in the articles prove that the actual
strength is decreased after stretching and those opposing this do not have the experimental data
to back it up. It seems quite obvious that the results show a significant enough decrease in
strength that athletes of all kinds should be aware of this and act accordingly to change their
warm up depending on the type of activity they will be performing. Dynamic stretching is a great
alternative to static stretching due to its gradual stretching of muscles which gives the muscles
flexibility as well as keeping the integrity of muscle strength demanded from given activities.
Static stretching is the wrong approach to achieving great success in muscles strength and
performance with activities that require quick powerful muscle contractions.
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Works Cited
Brokerson, Nate. "The Benefits of Dynamic Stretching." Athlete Sports Nutrition, Training, Workout,
Supplement and Diet. One Result Athlete, Aug. 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
"Muscle Types of Contractions." Muscle Physiology - Types of Contractions. University of
California, May 2006. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.
Nath, Judi L., Ph.D., and Edwin F. Bartholomew, M.S. "Muscle Tissue." Fundamentals of
Anatomy and Physiology. By Frederic H. Martini, Ph.D. 9th ed. San Francisco:
Benjamin Cummings, 2012. 280-88. Print.
Rassier, Dilson E. "American Physiological SocietyJournal of Applied Physiology." Stretching
Human Muscles Makes Them Stronger. American Physiological Society, 31 Aug. 2006.
Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
Reynolds, Gretchen. "Reasons Not to Stretch." Well Reasons Not to Stretch Comments. The New
York Times, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.