2024 Portfolio Performance
8 months ago
Fall 52DC Objectives:
88 Clean eats (out of 104 possible)
20 Resistance training sessions
20 Cardio workouts
Lose 10.5 lbs (5% body weight)
20 Resistance training sessions
20 Cardio workouts
Lose 10.5 lbs (5% body weight)
I stopped stretching before my workouts a long time ago - my warm-up typically consists of a few minutes of light cardio. Stretching is done kind of mid-work-out - I might stretch my back between sets of a seated row, or stretch out my shoulders after a set of presses.
It seems like the body of evidence is piling up that the old-school advice to stretch before exercise is just not a good idea. The "SweatScience" guy (who I've linked to in the past) recently reported on a study that came to that exact conclusion. In fact it seems that even the five-to-ten minutes of cardio is unnecessary - just going "neuromuscular", starting your scheduled training, with lighter weights or lower intensity, is the way to go. (I think that New Rules of Lifting advocates the same thing).
I kind of like breaking a sweat before hitting the weights, but as the data piles up it seems clear that struggling to reach my toes is not such a good idea at the start of a workout. And any excuse to put off stretching is just fine by me.
Labels: Articles and Research, Resistance Training
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Anonymous said...
I came to the same conclusion. The Word is that stretching is now out. I did 5 minutes of Cardio for a warmup - to get the blood flowing - finally gave up on that as well. Now I will do a set of the exercise using just the bar or light weights to get my muscles both warmed up and ready for action.
Next article - they will all reverse their positions. Stay tuned.
TNT Man
November 14, 2009 at 4:50 PM