Stretch Properly-Improve Performance

This topic is near to my heart since I worked on research in this field for UW-Milwaukee. Many of us would stretch our hamstrings and quads before being measured for a leg power task like a high jump. When we stretch before performing a power task like a jump for height or a power clean it actually is hurting our performance.

Our muscles work on a sliding filament theory, think of 2 tubes one slightly smaller than the other. When we contract our muscles the tubes slide within each other. Stretching before performing a task will decrease the surface area these tubules have with each other. By performing that stretch it will decrease your max power output by a significant amount. This means you will jump with less power and this less height. I do advocate implementing stretching into your daily life to improve flexibility however I would you rather perform static stretching at the end of a fitness bout for 2 reasons. The first is that static stretching beforehand you will hurt your performance. The second is that stretching after will help prevent blood pooling and possibly aid in decreasing Delay Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. If you have spent any time in the gym the next day you have met DOMS. More to come on a proper stretching protocol for DOMS.

Source:

Acute Effects of Static Stretching on Squat Jump Performance at Different Knee Starting Angles
La Torre, Antonio; Castagna, Carlo; Gervasoni, Elisa; Cè, Emiliano; Rampichini, Susanna; Ferrarin, Maurizio; Merati, Giampiero
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research:
March 2010 – Volume 24 – Issue 3 – pp 687-694