Wednesday

The Truth about Stretching

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know one of my favorite coaching phrases is “Failing to Prepare Properly is Preparing to Fail”. In today’s writing I will apply this message to stretching.

Most of us were taught the importance of warm-up exercises in elementary school and carried these lessons through high school, college and into adulthood.  These warm-up exercises likely consisted primarily of static stretching. It was accepted that “stretching” before hand warmed the body up, loosened muscles and tendons and not only prepared athletes for the more vigorous activity to follow but also prevented injuries. Studies conducted over the last several years have debunked much of this and proven many of the more entrenched ideas concerning warming up athletes are not only a waste of time, but are actually more harmful than helpful.

The generally accepted school of thought that holding a stretch for a count of 15 or 20 seconds readies muscles for practice or game has been proven false by modern science. In fact, recent studies prove muscles are actually weakened by such warm-up routines. Static stretching can temporarily reduce strength in the impacted muscle by as much as 30% with a recovery time of 30 minutes or more. This is hardly the way to “prime” muscles for athletic competition.

A proper warm-up needs to accomplish two basic things: increase body heat / blood flow throughout the body, and loosen muscles and tendons to attain full range of motion in the various joints. 

By warming the body and increasing the blood flow we allow our muscles to utilize their stored fuel and process the oxygen we take in more efficiently. Warm muscles are also able to withstand strenuous activity and increased workloads better.

My teams formally begin each training session or pre-game with light jogging for the purpose of raising the heart rate from a resting pace to approximately 50 – 60% of its maximum rate over the course of approximately 8 - 10 minutes.  A rule of thumb we use is to reach a point where the body is just approaching sweating.

Then it is time to further loosen muscles and tendons in preparation for the activities that lie ahead. This is where we move off the beaten past of static stretching and onto the new path of dynamic stretching.  We now know static stretching actually weakens the muscle and inhibits its ability to perform at peak levels for up to 30 minutes after completing a stretching regimen.  Numerous studies have demonstrated that stretching the muscles while moving, or dynamic stretching, does increase flexibility, range of motion and power in the impacted muscles.

Dynamic stretching is at its best when the regimen is sports specific. For soccer this means a high emphasis on the core muscles as well as the leg muscles.  Attention must also be given to the upper body and arm muscles, especially so for goalkeepers.

Some dynamic stretching suggestions for soccer:

High knees
Butt kicks
Walking lunges
In / outs
Out / ins
Straight leg march, raising a straight leg then touching toes with fingers of opposite hand
Straight leg march, heel in ground with toes raised, touch / pull toes back
Shuffle
Crossovers
Carioca
Diagonal shuffles forward
Diagonal shuffles backward
Back pedal
Backwards run
Spiderman
Superman
Scorpion 

What about static stretching?  

Does it hold no value at all?  

We use static stretching as part of our cool down phase at the end of training or post game.  We begin with a very light jog sans shin guards and often times barefooted if the weather and surface allows. We then “shake out our legs” to address the accumulation of lactic acid that forms from rigorous exercise. This involves lying on one’s back while a partner takes your heels in hands and shakes your legs for a count of 30. We repeat this 3 times. 

At this point we move on to static stretching.   This is basically what was once considered a warm up routine.  Formerly such routines were done with a level of intensity appropriate to preparing to play. Now, as a part of our cool down this routine is done at a more leisurely pace with post training or post game discussion amongst the players. 

The studies are inconclusive in regards to the preventative benefits of either dynamic or static stretching. My personal experience has seen us be free from strained or “pulled” muscles in the 10 + years since we began utilizing dynamic stretches at the beginning of a session and static stretching at the end of sessions. There have been a very limited sprains as well.  Of course, we have suffered he usual bruises, nicks and scratches associated with play, but our overall healthy has been quite remarkable.

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