Fitness Misconceptions that drive you nuts?

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Replies

  • biggsterjackster
    biggsterjackster Posts: 419 Member
    Muscle weighs more than fat

    This... (most often said by the 'experts' here too)

    a pound of muscle on a scale, a pound of fat on the scale... HELLO a pound is a pound! It will look different but it will make the scale perfectly balanced!

    The internet is full of articles about that Let's all just hope people are really not that stupid or are they?
  • 1Cor1510
    1Cor1510 Posts: 413 Member
    "I work out for an hour everyday and eat 1200 calories a day and I don't lose weight." A friend told me that once at the gym...she was on the elliptical going at a snails pace because she "doesnt like to sweat" and on the way out got cheetos and a juice from the vending machine....

    LOL! I have this friend too!
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
    Or they actual care that words mean something and if you can't be bothered to type DENSITY instead of WEIGHT it indicates either that you're lazy or have a lack of comprehensive knowledge and general ignorance and poor grasp of the entire concept. It is not THAT difficult to use the right words to properly express yourself. The statement is wrong. Things that are wrong bother me- sorry if that's pedantic to you- but it's just a false statement.

    When you are asked which weighs more: steel or feathers, do you ask about their volume?

    No. Of course not. Because every idiot on the planet understands that you're talking about equivalent volumes in your question.

    It's a litte something we like to call "context." To pretend *NOT* to understand that is what is pedantic.

    It's called effective communication. When two parties understand the basics of the conversation, it is not necessary - and even becomes cumbersome - to have to expressly lay out the ground rules with every single sentence. That is the height of *IN*effective communication.

    So feel free to remain pedantic, that's certainly your right. However, back in the real world, people really don't need everything spelled out for them in order to undertand basic concepts.

    once again....amen brother...
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    When people refer to normal (ie not diet) coke as "full fat" ... its fat free but high in sugar!

    I do this for want of a better title for it...
    Plus, it kind of makes sense (I haven't drank full fat for 10+ years easily)
  • dedflwrs
    dedflwrs Posts: 251 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    -Kick-start, boost, jump start, reset, restart, reboot in relation to fitness, metabolism, diet.
    -People who are losing weight can't have cake/cheese/whatever. I can and I will and I do and I lose weight!
    -That exercise is necessary for weight loss. Sure, it makes it easier to lose weight if you exercise. Sure, it makes you look better if you exercise, but when one of my coworkers asks how to lose weight and she is completely and utterly clueless, so I start talking about a calorie deficit, and my other coworker butts in about how you have to do insanity or whatever new craze is, I get so frustrated. If you start talking about HIITS and crossfit with someone who hasn't exercised in 10+ years, you're going to put them off.
  • Erilynn93
    Erilynn93 Posts: 256 Member
    That if you have trouble meeting your calorie goals, and you are usually under 1200 (unintentionally), that you are a) lying b) attention seeking or c) not logging accurately.

    I probably shouldn't ask, but why would it be hard to figure out how to get to 1200 calories or over?

    I honestly had trouble with this in the beginning, but it was because I had been eating so low for so long. After about a week of forcing myself to eat higher, I now have no problem eating at least 1400-1600 a day haha. If they say that, it usually just means they aren't trying.

    I love when people who are very large claim that they barely eat anything. I know a few people like this that I know for a fact eat nothing but junk food all day long. Only under certain circumstances can this ever be true.
  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
    Can we all agree that volumetrically equal amounts of fat and muscle do not weigh the same due to the density difference between the two? After that, can we also please agree not to argue over assumptions in communication instead of just civilly explaining how we came to our conclusions, providing some evidence if need be, then go about our days happily? Or is this me just being horrifically naive?
  • bugaboo_sue
    bugaboo_sue Posts: 552 Member
    That if you have trouble meeting your calorie goals, and you are usually under 1200 (unintentionally), that you are a) lying b) attention seeking or c) not logging accurately.

    I probably shouldn't ask, but why would it be hard to figure out how to get to 1200 calories or over?

    I honestly had trouble with this in the beginning, but it was because I had been eating so low for so long. After about a week of forcing myself to eat higher, I now have no problem eating at least 1400-1600 a day haha. If they say that, it usually just means they aren't trying.

    I love when people who are very large claim that they barely eat anything. I know a few people like this that I know for a fact eat nothing but junk food all day long. Only under certain circumstances can this ever be true.

    I had a friend who was constantly struggling with her weight and would say she "hardly' ate anything (and would tell me what she had for breakfast and lunch). The problem was that she never made dinner at home. She and her husband always went out to dinner and you can't control the calories in the food that's prepared at a restaurant. Also she "exercised" but never got her heart rate up because someone told her to keep it in the "fat burning zone".
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    That if you're eating at a deficit you will lose.

    Uhmmm...

    That's not a misconception.
    Agreed. If you're at a deficit, what exactly is being stored?

    Laughs, I knew this would get someone. Okay I'm 135 and 5'4. I've eaten at under 1300 cal for the last 3 months. Three weeks ago I stalled out. I lift heavy 5 days a week followed by 25-30 minutes of cardio. My BMR is 1325, my TDEE is 2061. I've lost nothing in 3 weeks. I'm either a very bad logger (NOT), yes I use a digital scale and I'm anal, or I'm NOT losing at a deficit!
    Yes I would LOVE advice/explanation.
    P.S. I raised my calories 1 week ago today to 1600, still exactly the same.

    Something's not right-

    My maintance is around 1900-2000 and I'm almost 30 pounds heavier than you. Me thinks your numbers aren't quiet right.
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    Something even some more experienced people fall for: everyone should do stretching.

    Not true. In some cases stretching is detrimental to your chosen sport and creates instability at the joints.

    Can you please provide a source for this?

    I very interested because I'm wondering if I should change things up for all the activities I participate in.
  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
    LIFT HEAVY!!!!!!$$$$&&*........Now what was the question...

    And the suggestion that CV training wastes the muscles

    Those who appear to have credibility, through personal success, pronouncing on their own preferred form of exercise as the ONE TRUE WAY (tm)

    ^This drives me nuts too.

    Lots of things are effective and fun. Enjoy some quality human movement, eat to support the activity level you are undertaking. How hard does it need to be?

    Preach, brother.
  • Bellodesiderare
    Bellodesiderare Posts: 278 Member
    My family and close friends are fat and struggle with their weight. They think they can lose it and keep it off by going on dumb diets; such as completely cutting out carbs, not eating meat, "cleansing", crash dieting, etc. You know.. the usual crap. Whenever I hear them talking about weight loss, they always advise others that these are the things that need to be done to lose weight. But as long as I've known them, they've always been fat and have NEVER been able to sustain weight loss with these diet methods that they advocate..yet they ALWAYS advise the same crap.

    What blows my mind is that I'm the only one who's been able to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off, yet they completely disregard any type of advise I give them; specifically when I tell them that you don't need to follow crash/fad/restrictive diets to lose weight.. just look at ME. But nope.. completely disregard what I say. Yet if some retard comes along and regurgitates the same crap that they believe in, they are in complete agreement.

    They also always give me **** when I have fast food or "junk" food.

    Absolutely ridiculous.

    ^^^ YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of this. All of it.
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  • MissSarahAllison315
    MissSarahAllison315 Posts: 263 Member
    Nice thread, didn't have a chance to read all. These aren't all misconceptions, but things that just generally irritate me.

    - Do a cleanse to improve your health: Yeah, nothing says "health" like lemon juice and maple syrup.

    - Pilates makes your muscles longer / elongated: Nnnnoooo... muscles have fixed insertion points that could only be surgically changed and no surgeon would do that without a really good health-related reason. You can become more flexible, but not longer. LOL

    - You need to Squat 2 1/2 times your weight to advance to an "intermediate" program. No. Most people will NEVER EVER see a 2 1/2 times body-weight squat or deadlift. There is nothing wrong in moving on to a well defined "intermediate" strength program or system when you feel ready.

    - You need to Leg Press 2 1/2 times your weight before you can do plyometrics, especially with kids. NO, you should be sensible about your application of plyo but there's nothing wrong with it, even with kids. If there is then we better out-law basketball, volleyball, jump-rope, football, or anything else that requires our children to jump.

    - Aspartame: Not really misconception but when I hear somebody say that it affects your brain, meanwhile they have no problem tossing back tons of alcohol; it bothers me a little.

    - Keto diets are bad: No, they are incredibly restrictive and unrealistic long-term (years) for most people, but there's nothing wrong.

    - Carbs are bad... Sure, if you live off of pop-tarts, hot pockets, cookies, and pepsi.

    - Paleo and our ancestors didn't eat grain: Kidding right? Not everybody had buffalo and whatever the hell else people are saying available to them. Depending on what part of the world our ancestors lived in they had different meat options, or even little to none at all. Fossil records are even finding evidence of GRAINS being consumed. What? Oh noz not da' gluten...

    - CrossFit is horrible: No, the strength programming is generally horrible depending on the box's coach, but CF is a good way for somebody to achieve good all-around conditioning. People have ****ty form in CF, Oly, PL, and general gym-goers, chill on CF folks. Kipping pull-ups not withstanding of course...

    - Studies cited out of context: Don't tell somebody they should eat or do XYZ and base your comment on research that was conducted on senior citizens (if the OP isn't a senior) or on a test group that had a certain nutrient deficiency (assuming OP is healthy).

    - HRM's & Eating-Back calories: Why go through all the hassle for something that isn't even very precise, something that can vary by 300 to 500 calories? Dieting is hard, simplify your lives and use a more basic approach that doesn't require calorie burn monitoring and eating back what was supposedly "burned."

    - Cardio on various machines: "Today I did 20-min's on a treadmill at a moderate pace, then 20-min's on a elliptical at a moderate pace, and then 20-min's on a bike at a moderate pace." Seriously, why the hell didn't you just stay on the treadmill for an hour?

    - "Newb Gainz": It's called neural adaptation folks and you can make solid progress doing any well structured program. StrongLifts5x5 is not the end-all be-all to strength training, seriously...



    ALL OF THIS. :drinker:
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    Nice thread, didn't have a chance to read all. These aren't all misconceptions, but things that just generally irritate me.

    - Do a cleanse to improve your health: Yeah, nothing says "health" like lemon juice and maple syrup.

    - Pilates makes your muscles longer / elongated: Nnnnoooo... muscles have fixed insertion points that could only be surgically changed and no surgeon would do that without a really good health-related reason. You can become more flexible, but not longer. LOL

    - You need to Squat 2 1/2 times your weight to advance to an "intermediate" program. No. Most people will NEVER EVER see a 2 1/2 times body-weight squat or deadlift. There is nothing wrong in moving on to a well defined "intermediate" strength program or system when you feel ready.

    - You need to Leg Press 2 1/2 times your weight before you can do plyometrics, especially with kids. NO, you should be sensible about your application of plyo but there's nothing wrong with it, even with kids. If there is then we better out-law basketball, volleyball, jump-rope, football, or anything else that requires our children to jump.

    - Aspartame: Not really misconception but when I hear somebody say that it affects your brain, meanwhile they have no problem tossing back tons of alcohol; it bothers me a little.

    - Keto diets are bad: No, they are incredibly restrictive and unrealistic long-term (years) for most people, but there's nothing wrong.

    - Carbs are bad... Sure, if you live off of pop-tarts, hot pockets, cookies, and pepsi.

    - Paleo and our ancestors didn't eat grain: Kidding right? Not everybody had buffalo and whatever the hell else people are saying available to them. Depending on what part of the world our ancestors lived in they had different meat options, or even little to none at all. Fossil records are even finding evidence of GRAINS being consumed. What? Oh noz not da' gluten...

    - CrossFit is horrible: No, the strength programming is generally horrible depending on the box's coach, but CF is a good way for somebody to achieve good all-around conditioning. People have ****ty form in CF, Oly, PL, and general gym-goers, chill on CF folks. Kipping pull-ups not withstanding of course...

    - Studies cited out of context: Don't tell somebody they should eat or do XYZ and base your comment on research that was conducted on senior citizens (if the OP isn't a senior) or on a test group that had a certain nutrient deficiency (assuming OP is healthy).

    - HRM's & Eating-Back calories: Why go through all the hassle for something that isn't even very precise, something that can vary by 300 to 500 calories? Dieting is hard, simplify your lives and use a more basic approach that doesn't require calorie burn monitoring and eating back what was supposedly "burned."

    - Cardio on various machines: "Today I did 20-min's on a treadmill at a moderate pace, then 20-min's on a elliptical at a moderate pace, and then 20-min's on a bike at a moderate pace." Seriously, why the hell didn't you just stay on the treadmill for an hour?

    - "Newb Gainz": It's called neural adaptation folks and you can make solid progress doing any well structured program. StrongLifts5x5 is not the end-all be-all to strength training, seriously...
    i agree with all of these expect the last 2. people switch it up because after an hour on the treadmill i feel like putting a gun to my head from boredom, and newb gainz aka neural adaptation are real, noone said it has to be achieved with stronglifts though (although stronglifts is a great starter routine, hence it being recommended so frequently), anyone new to lifting will see huge progress in the first few months with any strength routine
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  • 00Allie00
    00Allie00 Posts: 243 Member
    "fill in the blank" is bad.

    Wheat is bad.

    Sugar is bad

    Dairy is bad

    Bananas are bad.



    Bad, bad, naughty food :P
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Carbs are bad... Sure, if you live off of pop-tarts, hot pockets, cookies, and pepsi.

    hey- don't knock my diet man- it's fantastic and delicious.
  • marie3221
    marie3221 Posts: 77 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.

    they didn't get morbidly obese from eating a salad for lunch and dinner.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.
    i call bullsh*t
  • marie3221
    marie3221 Posts: 77 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.

    they didn't get morbidly obese from eating a salad for lunch and dinner.

    They did in fact my dear. Large meat servings and a sedentary lifestyle. We saw clients like that everyday. Once they were eating consistently and balanced, they did start to lose weight. I am only describing what I noticed in the center. They thought they were making good choices, but did not bother that really look at what they were eating.
  • marie3221
    marie3221 Posts: 77 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.
    i call bullsh*t

    I am not going to debate something to strangers over the internet about this. Sorry I even brought it up.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.

    they didn't get morbidly obese from eating a salad for lunch and dinner.

    They did in fact my dear. Large meat servings and a sedentary lifestyle. We saw clients like that everyday. Once they were eating consistently and balanced, they did start to lose weight. I am only describing what I noticed in the center. They thought they were making good choices, but did not bother that really look at what they were eating.
    so they got fat off of eating large portions and having a sedentary lifestyle... not eating a salad and lunch for dinner.
  • rydn4h2o
    rydn4h2o Posts: 255
    Muscle weighs more than fat

    ^^^THIS
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I was with my son in the emergency room because of a problem with his hernia surgery. The doctor there asked him who performed his weight loss surgery and when he said "I didn't have that, I just dieted and exercised" the doctor said "No, you can't lose weight like that".

    Another favorite: I have two morbidly obese friends who insist they are fat because they ruined their metabolism but not eating. According to them they only eat one tiny meal each day and that's why they have weight problems.

    Actually, I have to disagree with this. I worked at Jenny Craig (I know, I know, don't bother lecturing me) and more times than not, ppl who were very obese (50 plus pounds to lose) did in fact only eat 1-2 small meals a day. Skip breakfast, a salad with meat and bread for lunch, and same for dinner. They were not binge eaters, they did not gorge themselves on fatty sugary foods.

    they didn't get morbidly obese from eating a salad for lunch and dinner.

    They did in fact my dear. Large meat servings and a sedentary lifestyle. We saw clients like that everyday. Once they were eating consistently and balanced, they did start to lose weight. I am only describing what I noticed in the center. They thought they were making good choices, but did not bother that really look at what they were eating.

    wait- so it was the high calorie food and sedentary lifestyles? So they were over eating... like I said- it's not from 2 salads a day.

    Salad twice a day doesn't make people fat- unless it's got obscene helpings of high calorie contents.
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
    "This [magic] pill will.. <insert BS statement here>"
    "Burn your belly fat!"
    Spot reduction of any kind
    Muscle weighs more than fat
    Anything Atkins and the mindset that CARBS. ARE. EVIL!!
    "Good" Calories and "Bad" Calories (with respect to weight loss -- nutrition is a different subject)

    SMDH..
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
    Someone probably already said it, but the BODY WRAP fad going on right now! Drives me so crazy, I could scream. I have a bunch of FB friends, including a few cousins, who are selling them & I have to bite my tongue hard whenever I see a post about them - ESPECIALLY when I see people commenting that they want to buy them because they look so miraculous! UGHHH.

    In that vein - I guess really ANY fad diet or 'magic pill'. I have another cousin who was taking Skinny Fiber & so excited about losing a bunch of "weight" right off the bat. *eye roll*
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Something even some more experienced people fall for: everyone should do stretching.

    Not true. In some cases stretching is detrimental to your chosen sport and creates instability at the joints.

    Can you please provide a source for this?

    I very interested because I'm wondering if I should change things up for all the activities I participate in.

    I don't recall all the resources I was able to dig up, but I researched this topic for quite a bit because I was trying to figure out the best strategies for exercising safely with a bad back and knee, and since stretching is usually recommended to those with back issues it was one of the things I looked into. My curiosity made me branch out to include the effects of stretching on performance and sports injuries in general.

    It turns out static stretches may not be a good idea for certain back problems where the range of motion is restricted by the nerves, not the muscles and ligaments. They are also sport-specific, you need to have just enough flexibility that your chosen sport demands, and overstretching may be detrimental to performance. It was also speculated that static stretching before performing exercise does not do much to prevent injury.

    Here are a couple of things I still had:
    From THACKER, S. B., J. GILCHRIST, D. F. STROUP, and C. D. KIMSEY, JR. The Impact of Stretching on Sports Injury Risk: A
    Systematic Review of the Literature. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 371–378, 2004.
    Certainly, joint integrity should not be
    compromised simply to increase range of motion. Although
    some laboratory and clinical evidence suggests that increased
    flexibility might improve athletic performance, little
    population-based evidence addresses this issue. The best
    available data indicate that performance might be lowered at
    the extremes of flexibility and that, at least for some muscle/
    joint groups, there might be optimal levels of flexibility that
    would enhance performance. However, these benefits are
    likely to be highly specific to a sport or even to a specific
    body movement.
    Recently, the President’s Council for Physical Fitness and
    Sports reported that stretching not only might not prevent
    injuries but also might compromise performance (56). Animal
    studies also suggest that stretching does not protect
    against acute injury (8). Muscle strain injuries occur during
    eccentric exercise when muscles develop tension while
    lengthening; fatigue and weakness make muscle more susceptible
    to injury (26). Several theories explain how performance
    could be compromised or the rate of injury could be
    unaffected or even increased because of stretching (82).
    These theories include decrease in joint stability making
    joint movement less efficient, increased tissue compliance
    with a decrease in the ability of tendon and muscle tissue to
    absorb energy leading to injury, creation of body positions
    with dangerous loading effects that could stretch ligaments
    too far, decreased strength before the recovery phase of
    training, and increased pain tolerance leading to cytoskeletal
    and tissue damage. Finally, because most injuries occur
    during eccentric contractions within the normal range of
    joint motion, it is not clear how increasing the range of
    motion through stretching will decrease injury risk (82)."

    From ULTIMATE BACK FITNESS AND PERFORMANCE, STUART MCGILL, PHD, Professor of Spine Biomechanics, University of Waterloo, Canada p. 12-13
    Cross-sectional studies of some team sports have shown that the higher
    performing athletes are, in many cases, the "tighter" ones! For example, despite the widely held
    notion that many athletes should be lengthening hamstrings, it is curious that the better
    performers (such as basketballers) appear to be the ones with "tight" hamstrings. They are
    "wound like springs" and take full advantage of this. Further, hamstrings contribute shearing
    stability to the knee such that lengthening them has been reported to be associated with elevated
    disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament.

    [...]

    Many demanding sports require a very strong and stable torso to transmit forces
    developed in the upper body, through the torso, for optimal projections through the legs to
    the floor. Some world class athletes have almost total disability according to the American
    Medical Association definition for low back disability - based on loss of spine range of motion.
    Our research on workers has shown that spine range of motion has little to do with function
    at work (Parks et ai, 2003) - Olympic weightlifters have proven they are functional using
    minimal spine motion when setting world records! However, they have wonderful range of
    motion ability in the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles which they can control with incredible
    strength. A spine must first be stable before moments and forces are produced to enhance
    performance, and arranged in a way that spares the spine from a potentially injurious load.