Stretch forSuccess.
By Martha Ellis
With Tom Armeli
Argh! Stretching!!! That annoying, time consumingactivity youÕre suppose to do at the end of your workout, when all you reallywant to do is indulge in a well-earned meal. The ever so important andconstantly neglected act of stretching is usually quite under rated. When tostretch, how much to stretch and how to actually stretch are things that mostof us think we know, but generally donÕt. In actuality, the jury is still outon the benefits of stretching. Does it prevent injuries or increase ordecrease muscle strength or performance? In reading opposing views on thesubject one would be lead to believe that most of the major researchorganizations havenÕt come up with any compelling argument for either side. One thing is for certain; stretching will help increase or maintainflexibility.
What is flexibility? When we think about flexibilitymost of us focus on the muscular component. In actuality flexibility is ameasure of range of motion for a given joint. The pliability of the musclesresponsible for mobilizing that joint has a direct impact on its flexibility orrange of motion. Maintaining or increasing a jointÕs range of motion in mostcases requires stretching.
Firefighting presents a plethora of unique situationswhere muscle strength in a broad range of body positions can be advantageous. Often times, standard movement patterns practiced and developed in the gymrepresent a small percentage of what may be required in many common activitieson the fire ground, not to mention the truly dire environment of entrapment andself-rescue. Strength development in the outer boundaries of common movementpatterns is another subject unto itself. Suffice it to say, however, that without adequate flexibility, strength within these ranges is a moot point.
The focus of this article is stretching andflexibility. It will address the basic mechanics of stretching - when tostretch, how long to stretch, definitions of different stretches, and samplesuggestions for specific stretches. Stretching, just like any other componentof fitness training, is a very personal thing. My goal is to educate you, makesome recommendations and hopefully get you started on developing your own stretchingprogram.
YouÕre not the only one that doesnÕt want to stretch.
The interestingthing about stretching is that your body has a built in defense mechanisms toresist your stretching effort. ItÕs a protection system to avoid over-stretchingand damage, but it activates as soon as your muscle detects a change in musclefiber length.
A series of events, known as the stretch reflex, take place when lengthening of the fiber isdetected. The contraction strength is related to the rate of the elongation ofthe fiber. More sudden or rapid stretching will result in a strongercontraction.
Contrary to this is the lengthening reflex, which is one of the arguments for holding thestretch position for a prolonged period of time. The stretch reflex is animmediate protection mechanism. As a muscle is contracted, possibly due to thestretch reflex, the tension triggers signals to be sent through a system ofneuromuscular communicators. In yet another effort to protect itself, if thebody senses that the tension exceeds a certain threshold, it triggers thelengthening reaction, which inhibits muscle contraction and causes them torelax.
This is important to keep in mind as you begin yourstretching program. By knowing how your body is going to react to yourstretching effort, you can adjust your effort to get the maximum benefit.
Stretching isnot a warm up. Warming up is exactly what it says it is - actually raising thetemperature of your body. The best way to do that is by performing lightaerobic activity for 8 to 10 minutes, accompanied by systematic joint rotationprior to any athletic effort. WeÕll address stretching prior to physicalactivity later in the article. It can make the difference between a pleasantand a miserable experience. One of the classic mistakes amateur athletes makeis failing to properly warm up prior to a competition or workout.
Warming up accomplishes several things. It willimprove coordination, elasticity and contractibility of your muscles,facilitate joint lubrication and provide greater efficiency of yourcardiovascular and respiratory systems. During warm up, isometric or PNFstretching is not recommended due to the fact that it can lead to muscle fatigueand have a negative effect on performance.
You may be thinking, ÒGood Lord, IÕll need to set aside3 hours for working out to get all of this accomplished.Ó Truly, it isnÕt asgrand as it may sound. In a mere 15-20 minutes you can do enough to prepareyour body for a good workout. YouÕll increase your performance, decrease thechances of injury and likely enjoy your over all experience more so than if youignore warming up.
The most commonly recognized types of stretching areballistic, dynamic, active, passive, static isometric, and PNF. Differenttypes of stretching will promote different types of flexibility.
Ballistic stretching is pretty much what it soundslike. Momentum is utilized to force the movement of a body part of limb beyondits normal range of motion. Bouncing is a common form of ballistic stretching. This technique is not very useful or effective and will likely lead to injury.
Dynamic stretching involves gradually increasing reachand speed by utilizing rhythmic body movements. This differs from ballistic inthat the movements are controlled and the joint is not forced past, but gentlymoved to the limits of its range of motion. There is no bouncing or jerkingmovements with dynamic stretching.
Dynamic stretching is beneficial to improving dynamicflexibility and is a useful component of your warm-up for and aerobic or activeworkout such as martial arts or dance. Examples include slow twisting at thetorso and controlled leg and arm swings.
Active stretching is a technique I see being used bythose who have extremely good muscle control and strength. The stretch isaccomplished by assuming a position strictly with the use of agonist muscles toallow the antagonist muscle to be stretched. Standing with your legunsupported and extended, for example, stretching the hamstring by lifting theleg with the quadriceps. Yoga often utilized this form of stretching.
Passive stretching, alsoreferred to as relaxed stretching, is probably the technique youÕre mostfamiliar with. You either create resistance using your hands, for example, orutilize some form of apparatus to allow you to maintain your position. Anexample would be to maintain a stretch position by holding a leg or arm inposition with your hands or a stationary object, keeping the muscle fromreverting back to the neutral position. Sitting on the floor stretching yourhamstrings is considered a passive stretch. As you extend over your leg thefloor acts as the ÒapparatusÓ that hold the leg in place.
The terms static and passive stretching are often timesused interchangeably, however, there are some distinctions between them. Static stretching is defined as stretching a muscle or group of muscles to itsmaximum length and holding or maintaining that position. The definition ofpassive emphasizes the fact that the person is relaxed and an apparatus assistsin bringing the joint through its full range of motion. Really, the passivedefinition encompasses both types of stretching. For most applications, theyare synonymous.
Isometric stretching is one of the most effective waysto increase static-passive flexibility. It is a static stretch, meaning thereis no movement involved once the stretch position is attained. The differencebetween this and passive stretching is that once the muscle is stretched, it isflexed in an isometric contraction. (Contraction elicits no actual movement, itjust tenses the muscle.) This type of stretching is not recommended forchildren or adolescents whose bones are still growing due to the strain it canput on still developing ligaments and tendons.
The isometric stretch is performed by first assumingthe passive stretch position for the selected muscle group. Next, thestretched muscle is tensed for 7-15 seconds, creating resistance against astationary object. This can be the floor, a wall, a piece of equipment or apartner. End by relaxing the muscle for 20 seconds.
PNF stands for Òproprioceptive neuromuscularfacilitation.Ó Basically, PNF is not a type of stretching as much as atechnique utilizing a combination of passive and isometric stretching. It wasinitially developed to help stroke victims rehabilitate and has been found tobe the most effective means of increasing passive static flexibility.
This technique is most effective if you utilize apartner to create the necessary resistance. The basic cycle of a PNF stretchincludes assuming the stretch position, contracting either the agonist or antagonistmuscle or muscle group while still stretching, and then relaxing into thepassive stretch of the newly established range of motion. This is referred toas the contract-relax technique.
Here are two examples. Assume the passive stretch positionthen isometrically contract the stretched muscle for 7-15 seconds. Brieflyrelax the muscle for 2-3 seconds and then immediately initiate a passivestretch on the muscle past the original range of motion. (This is where apartner comes in handy.) Hold the passive stretch for 10-15 seconds then relaxthe muscle for 20 seconds before beginning another stretch.
The second technique is referred to as thecontract-relax-contract technique. This method starts out the same as theprevious one in that you assume the stretch, then contract the stretched musclefor 7-15 seconds. The next step is how it differs. As the agonist musclerelaxes the antagonistic muscle goes into isometric contraction for 7-15seconds. As the antagonist muscle contracts you should be able to increase therange of motion of the stretch. Relax the muscle for 20 seconds prior to doingany other stretching.
Aside from the mechanics that support the effectivenessof the isometric and PNF stretching techniques, I find them to be a much moreinteresting means of increasing flexibility. What I mean is, by employing thistype of stretching program into your workouts, it provides structure. Insteadof daydreaming while you stretch, you are actually focusing on timing and increasingthe range of motion with in a given joint. Aimlessly stretching will usuallyresult in minimum effectiveness.
When to stretch is actually a point up for debateright. The
The reasonwhy stretching does not affect injury rates is that most athletic injuriesoccur in the normal range of motion. While stretching will, over a long periodincrease range of motion, it will have, for a single exercise/stretching bout,little effect on the range of motion. Thus, stretching prior to activity willnot decrease the risk of injury in that normal range of motion.
Stretchingcan hurt performance in athletic or job activities. The studies on this pointfound that stretching, just like exercise, causes microscopic injury to muscleand connective tissue (ligaments, tendons, etc.). The more or longer youstretch prior to activity, the more damage you do. So, it should be obviousthat the more damage you do to muscle and connective tissue the more your performanceis affectedÉ in a negative fashion. What this means is warm up before activity,but limit stretching. Do most, if not all, of your stretching after exercise or activity when your body is warm and thedamage from stretching will not affect performance.
There are endless resourcesavailable on the subject of stretching. This article is designed to simplytouch on the basics. Stretching, just like any other component of physicaltraining, is a very personal thing. What works for one person may not be yourbest option. Try the different techniques described in this piece and see ifone suits your needs better than the others.
As for specific stretches,that depends on what you want to accomplish and what physical limitations youmay have to work with. One good book on general stretching is called, Stretching,by Bob and Jean Anderson. A quick trip to Amazon.com, however, and youÕll seethere are seemingly endless options that should cater to your needs.
First and foremost, starttaking the time to stretch, and stretch properly. Increasing your flexibilitywill improve body mechanics, increase your range of motion, and hopefully makeyou more functional through those various ranges. As firefighters we can findourselves in some pretty bizarre positions. We need to ensure, that if weÕreforced to work outside of our normal range of motion, that our lack offlexibility isnÕt the most limiting factor. We usually have more pressingthings to worry about.