Stretches & Warmups
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Deadships
Posts: 16 Member
Hey all, just kinda wanted to get the insight and the benefits of doing stretches and warm up sets before workouts. It's something I always skip and prefer to go straight to the actual sets which itself are relatively lower in weights as I'm just starting over again and pretty much have lost whatever strength I have acquired previously.
Are they necessary or skippable is my question. Thanks!
Are they necessary or skippable is my question. Thanks!
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Replies
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Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
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I stretch before and after only because i screwed myself up. so have to try loosen some muscles up otherwise I suffer the next day badly (nerve pain)1
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I stretch before the gym and warm up. Read a lot, viewed a lot and follow the king of pumping iron, Arnie. His program consists of set of 30, warmup then 12,10,8,6,4. At the end of the day you need to get the blood flowing in the right muscle to benefit from the training. Ie I did my legs yesterday and stretched my legs and did warm up sets. Also I have seen a guy, video proof of not doing cardio before. So the guy did 20 odd chin ups with out cardio. The next day he did 10 mins of cardio before on his legs and then could only do 12 chin ups, because the blood was reaching the legs first, not his arms because of the cardio that he did first.4
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Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
While I would agree that there may not be a benefit from stretch for strength, I have found when I don't stretch, injury/strain/DOMS occurs more often. Also, certain lifts have actually improved for me when I stretched (i.e., squat). I do dynamic stretching/warm up sets before and about 5 mins of stretching after.1 -
I do 1 warm up set with little to no weights to get the blood flowing to the muscle I'm about to work before I work it.
I stretch now and then after a workout if a muscle group I trained a day or 2 before still feels a little tight.0 -
I do a buttload of mobility work using a lacrosse ball and foam roller prior to deads and squats. However, I also have the hips, thoracic spine and legs of someone who's been a truck driver for almost 14 years, so this may be completely unnecessary for anyone else.0
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Stretching before you lift can actually reduce your total volume. At the most I will do 5 minutes of elliptical before I start lifting. I think it is the "White Rino" that does absolutely no warmups, he is an absolute beast though.3
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Stretching before you lift can actually reduce your total volume. At the most I will do 5 minutes of elliptical before I start lifting. I think it is the "White Rino" that does absolutely no warmups, he is an absolute beast though.
Rhino (Efferding) still warms up to his working weights, or he'd have crippled himself long ago. Not even the strongest guys in history just rolled in and started their sessions with 800+ lbs. squats and deadlifts. It's just that once they are that strong, their warmups end up containing weights that most can't 1RM.0 -
Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
While I would agree that there may not be a benefit from stretch for strength, I have found when I don't stretch, injury/strain/DOMS occurs more often. Also, certain lifts have actually improved for me when I stretched (i.e., squat). I do dynamic stretching/warm up sets before and about 5 mins of stretching after.
There is zero data that proves injuries are more prone to happen if stretching outside of the lift itself is not taking place prelifting.
The best stretch for the squat is a squat.
If you want to do stretches that are less specific to than the exercise itself, you can. It's just not optimal or going to do anything more than if you properly warm up with the exercise itself.
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Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
While I would agree that there may not be a benefit from stretch for strength, I have found when I don't stretch, injury/strain/DOMS occurs more often. Also, certain lifts have actually improved for me when I stretched (i.e., squat). I do dynamic stretching/warm up sets before and about 5 mins of stretching after.
There is zero data that proves injuries are more prone to happen if stretching outside of the lift itself is not taking place prelifting.
The best stretch for the squat is a squat.
If you want to do stretches that are less specific to than the exercise itself, you can. It's just not optimal or going to do anything more than if you properly warm up with the exercise itself.
I do specific stretches for the specific moves I am doing for the day; for squats, I work on hip/ankle flexibility, which also includes doing non weighted squats. Overall, my belief is this, if you feel better stretching, then do it. I don't need a study to tell me I am less prone to DOMS when I stretch more.3 -
Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
While I would agree that there may not be a benefit from stretch for strength, I have found when I don't stretch, injury/strain/DOMS occurs more often. Also, certain lifts have actually improved for me when I stretched (i.e., squat). I do dynamic stretching/warm up sets before and about 5 mins of stretching after.
There is zero data that proves injuries are more prone to happen if stretching outside of the lift itself is not taking place prelifting.
The best stretch for the squat is a squat.
If you want to do stretches that are less specific to than the exercise itself, you can. It's just not optimal or going to do anything more than if you properly warm up with the exercise itself.
I do specific stretches for the specific moves I am doing for the day; for squats, I work on hip/ankle flexibility, which also includes doing non weighted squats. Overall, my belief is this, if you feel better stretching, then do it. I don't need a study to tell me I am less prone to DOMS when I stretch more.
I said there is no data that says stretching outside of the lift itself will prevent injuries...which you claimed.
You can stretch all you want, it doesn't mean it's more efficient than proper warm up of the lift you are training.
My feeling is the same, do what you want....though personally I have better things to do than stretch or foam roll while taking more of my time than just doing a proper warm up which takes less than five minutes.
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I need a proper warmup in order to lift with good form, and feel better if I do stretching after. But a lot of the "after" part feels like it has more to do with tension/nervous system than my muscles.1
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Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
While I would agree that there may not be a benefit from stretch for strength, I have found when I don't stretch, injury/strain/DOMS occurs more often. Also, certain lifts have actually improved for me when I stretched (i.e., squat). I do dynamic stretching/warm up sets before and about 5 mins of stretching after.
There is zero data that proves injuries are more prone to happen if stretching outside of the lift itself is not taking place prelifting.
The best stretch for the squat is a squat.
If you want to do stretches that are less specific to than the exercise itself, you can. It's just not optimal or going to do anything more than if you properly warm up with the exercise itself.
I do specific stretches for the specific moves I am doing for the day; for squats, I work on hip/ankle flexibility, which also includes doing non weighted squats. Overall, my belief is this, if you feel better stretching, then do it. I don't need a study to tell me I am less prone to DOMS when I stretch more.
I said there is no data that says stretching outside of the lift itself will prevent injuries...which you claimed.
You can stretch all you want, it doesn't mean it's more efficient than proper warm up of the lift you are training.
My feeling is the same, do what you want....though personally I have better things to do than stretch or foam roll while taking more of my time than just doing a proper warm up which takes less than five minutes.
If you read what I actually wrote, I said that I have found that if I dont' stretch I am more prone to injury. Stretching/foam rolling not only got rid of my sciatica issues, it also has prevented it from coming back. While working with a PT, I have been given a series of stretches to prevent my tendinitis from flaring up, which allows me to lift heavy. Without those stretches, I can barely lift a barbell. And that was a problem that I had for about a year.
And incorporating flexibility work is what was able to get my squat below 90. When I listened to advice like yours, I was never able to do it. So while there may not be a study, I personally see the benefits. I would also like to note, that if flexibility and mobility work served no purpose, then elite athletes and lifters (such as Layne Norton) wouldn't be doing it.1 -
I warm up before and stretch during and after. Stretching before warming up/activity/exertion has lead to injuries for me in the past, so I just don't do it. I sometimes stretch in between sets. It's very relaxing and feels good afterwards.0
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Despite what people see or read there absolutely no benefit from stretching before or after a workout(unless injured) for the goal of strength.
The only warm up or stretch needed is the exercise itself with a progressive intensity starting from a empty barbell.
It's a waste of time from efficiency stand point.
While I would agree that there may not be a benefit from stretch for strength, I have found when I don't stretch, injury/strain/DOMS occurs more often. Also, certain lifts have actually improved for me when I stretched (i.e., squat). I do dynamic stretching/warm up sets before and about 5 mins of stretching after.
There is zero data that proves injuries are more prone to happen if stretching outside of the lift itself is not taking place prelifting.
The best stretch for the squat is a squat.
If you want to do stretches that are less specific to than the exercise itself, you can. It's just not optimal or going to do anything more than if you properly warm up with the exercise itself.
I do specific stretches for the specific moves I am doing for the day; for squats, I work on hip/ankle flexibility, which also includes doing non weighted squats. Overall, my belief is this, if you feel better stretching, then do it. I don't need a study to tell me I am less prone to DOMS when I stretch more.
I said there is no data that says stretching outside of the lift itself will prevent injuries...which you claimed.
You can stretch all you want, it doesn't mean it's more efficient than proper warm up of the lift you are training.
My feeling is the same, do what you want....though personally I have better things to do than stretch or foam roll while taking more of my time than just doing a proper warm up which takes less than five minutes.
If you read what I actually wrote, I said that I have found that if I dont' stretch I am more prone to injury. Stretching/foam rolling not only got rid of my sciatica issues, it also has prevented it from coming back. While working with a PT, I have been given a series of stretches to prevent my tendinitis from flaring up, which allows me to lift heavy. Without those stretches, I can barely lift a barbell. And that was a problem that I had for about a year.
And incorporating flexibility work is what was able to get my squat below 90. When I listened to advice like yours, I was never able to do it. So while there may not be a study, I personally see the benefits. I would also like to note, that if flexibility and mobility work served no purpose, then elite athletes and lifters (such as Layne Norton) wouldn't be doing it.
Where I don't know your situation, I can tell you I know a thing or two about tendonitis and flexibilty since it takes me minimally 30 minutes just to walk in the morning because of swollen joints and flared tendons from a pretty nasty joint disease.
I can also tell you with zero stretching and only warmups, I have accomplished a record or two in powerlifting.
Did I stretch at one time? Yep. Foam rolled too, did the lacrosse ball until I educated myself on how it's a waste of time eccentially, barring injuries which I did mention previously.
I can also tell my advice is not mine, it's Mark Riptoe, Dr Austin Buraki, Dt.Jordan Feigenbaum who are equally as strong as Norton in their own right.
My point is stretching outside the movement itself is unnecessary on a efficiency level. Once again, you want to...go for it. I have no problem with it.
I would love to hear how exactly foam rolling got rid of your sciatica tissues along with how you figure it prevented it from coming back.
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Stretch if you like that as a warm up or cool down or want to increase your flexibility. It's not mandatory for improve physique or strength.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Just because a study doesn't prove something for the general population, it doesn't mean that it isn't beneficial for a particular individual.1
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Just because a study doesn't prove something for the general population, it doesn't mean that it isn't beneficial for a particular individual.
Nor does a person doing something prove it's beneficial just because they believe so. That is done by data. If you claim something prevents injuries and there is zero data that proves that, I'm inclined not to believe it.
My point was optimal and efficiency, not beneficial regardless.3 -
My warmup typically consists of a lot of PT kind of stuff for my shoulder along with some overhead squats with the bar and some more shoulder mobility work...but I have shoulder impingement issues...I typically do a couple of warmup sets with my bigger lifts before going into the actual work.0
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I have always warmed up, cooled down, and stretched. I've been exercising on average 10-15 hours a week for the past 25 years and have not once suffered an exercise-related injury. Not even a sprain. Current science says otherwise, but I am convinced my lack of injury is directly related to my flexibility and gentle approach.0
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