Could Stretching Hurt You?
Find Right Stretches For Your Workout
POSTED: 10:23 am EST November 26,
2008
UPDATED: 5:34 pm EST November 26,
2008
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BOSTON -- New research has renewed the debate over stretching.As NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported Wednesday, stretching before you work out may be harmful.
Could Stretching Hurt You?At the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Mass., there's some debate over stretching."I stretch before I work out," said Charlotte McGinty."I was told to stretch after," said Madeline Vardaro.Vardaro is stretching the right way, according to researchers at the University of Nevada. They found people who did static stretches of their hamstrings and quadriceps before working out decreased muscle strength by 30 percent."If you do an awful lot of stretching you're going to have a detriment in performance and injury potential," said Wayne Westcott, a fitness researcher with the South Shore YMCA.Westcott reviewed the report and wanted to point out that the participants did 30 minutes of static stretching for the muscles involved."That's an awful lot of static stretching for one particular muscle group. No one would ever practice that," he said.Westcott said most of us stretch for two to eight minutes. He says doing that will improve performance and flexibility. Westcott also said everyone should perform dynamic stretches after they warmup to loosen up the joints. Static stretches should be done after they work out.
Could Stretching Hurt You?At the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Mass., there's some debate over stretching."I stretch before I work out," said Charlotte McGinty."I was told to stretch after," said Madeline Vardaro.Vardaro is stretching the right way, according to researchers at the University of Nevada. They found people who did static stretches of their hamstrings and quadriceps before working out decreased muscle strength by 30 percent."If you do an awful lot of stretching you're going to have a detriment in performance and injury potential," said Wayne Westcott, a fitness researcher with the South Shore YMCA.Westcott reviewed the report and wanted to point out that the participants did 30 minutes of static stretching for the muscles involved."That's an awful lot of static stretching for one particular muscle group. No one would ever practice that," he said.Westcott said most of us stretch for two to eight minutes. He says doing that will improve performance and flexibility. Westcott also said everyone should perform dynamic stretches after they warmup to loosen up the joints. Static stretches should be done after they work out.Copyright 2009 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
