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Press Release: Stretching Before Running May Lower Endurance
Quote:
Distance runners who stretch before running may not be able to run as far-and yet spend more energy doing it, according to a study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.
"Our results suggest that stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running," write Jacob M. Wilson, PhD, CSCS, and colleagues of The Florida State University, Tallahassee.
Static Stretching Leads to Decreased Running Performance
Ten male collegiate runners performed a 60-minute treadmill run on two different occasions: once after stretching and once without stretching. The 16-minute stretching regimen consisted of static stretching-stretching a muscle to its maximum length and holding it-of the major muscles of the lower body. The sessions were performed in random order. At each time, the runners were instructed to run as far as possible; however, they were unable to view their running distance or speed.
Running distance was actually longer without stretching. When the runners stretched, their average running distance was 3.4 percent less than when they ran without stretching.
Even though the athletes covered less distance, the energy cost of running was significantly greater after stretching. On average, the runners burned about five percent more calories in the run performed after static stretching.
Stretching has long been a part of the warm-up routine for runners and athletes in other sports. However, recent studies have suggested that static stretching may actually have some negative effects. These effects-particularly reduced muscle-tendon stiffness and reduced muscle strength-could have a negative impact on running performance.
The new results suggest that stretching before running reduces endurance while increasing energy expenditure. The differences may not seem great-on average, running distance decreased by 0.2 kilometer after stretching while energy expenditure increased by 20 calories. However, for highly trained runners, those differences are more than enough to affect competitive performance.
Building on previous studies showing negative effects on muscle strength, the new results suggest that static stretching may reduce endurance performance as well. "Therefore, static stretching should be avoided before endurance events, at least for young male endurance athletes," Wilson and colleagues write. They call for more research to clarify how static stretching affects muscle performance, as well as to evaluate the effects of other types of stretching-particularly dynamic stretching.
Stretching before anaerobic events has resulted in declines in performance; however, the immediate effects of stretching on endurance performance have not been investigated. This study investigated the effects of static stretching on energy cost and endurance performance in trained male runners. Ten trained male distance runners aged 25 ± 7 years with an average V̇O2max of 63.8 ± 2.8 ml/kg/min were recruited. Participants reported to the laboratory on 3 separate days. On day 1, anthropometrics and V̇O2max were measured. On days 2 and 3, participants performed a 60-minute treadmill run randomly under stretching or nonstretching conditions separated by at least 1 week. Stretching consisted of 16 minutes of static stretching using 5 exercises for the major lower body muscle groups, whereas nonstretching consisted of 16 minutes of quiet sitting. The run consisted of a 30-minute 65% V̇O2max preload followed by a 30-minute performance run where participants ran as far as possible without viewing distance or speed. Total calories expended were determined for the 30-minute preload run, whereas performance was measured as distance covered in the performance run. Performance was significantly greater in the nonstretching (6.0 ± 1.1 km) vs. the stretching (5.8 ± 1.0 km) condition (p < 0.05), with significantly greater energy expenditure during the stretching compared with the nonstretching condition (425 ± 50 vs. 405 ± 50 kcals). Our findings suggest that stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running.
Try to tell this to your local boys soccer team coaches and they give you the "what does he know" face, and try to mention the benefits of dynamic stretches and it's "we never did them"
I always remember what the late Percy Cerutty (coached Herb Elliot to Olympic gold and world records in the 1960's) said about warming up before competition. He never believed in it. His evidence for that was rabbits do not warm up and they can run very fast! .... maybe he was right.
__________________ Craig Payne
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ Follow me on Twitter | Run Junkie God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
Interesting findings. I have suspected this could be the case - at least for myself anyway. I inadvertently noticed similar results during training sessions where I have been in a rush & didn't have time to stretch - practically just ran out the front door or from the car & started running. I just sensed more strength & efficiency during these time constrained training sessions.
Whilst I thought that the act of not stretching could have something to do with it, I thought that the adrenalin from being in a rush was the prime factor. However, knowing now about the leg stiffness phenomenon it does make sense that performing static stretches before exercise will affect this state. As mentioned dynamic (or ballistic as termed by the East Germans) stretches are probably better for you for the shorter distances where more speed is involved, thus more range of motion needed, thus a higher chance of injury if muscles/tendons are not sufficiently conditioned for the speed & joint ROM required.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Payne
I always remember what the late Percy Cerutty (coached Herb Elliot to Olympic gold and world records in the 1960's) said about warming up before competition. He never believed in it. His evidence for that was rabbits do not warm up and they can run very fast! .... maybe he was right.
Percy had some profound logic back then. An eccentric character who had good insight on training & physiology.
morning all,
like Ben Hur i also noticed this by accident. i am a keen amatuer runner (under 1:40 for half and under 4:00 for full marathon - the kenyans are safe) and pre-kids i used to stretch etc before running but as they came along and time was limited i was going out whenever i got spare time and the stretching got binned. started to find that i wasnt getting injured at all and wee niggles that i had didnt really bother me anymore. i use my first couple of minutes out to do some bounding, lunges etc and then i'm off.
obviously this is a research project with a cohort of 1 (me) but its interesting none the less.
Great, a study that supports something I've known for years but now it's official. Of course if I had shared this wisdom beforehand, it would have been dismissed as anecdotal and lacking supporting evidence.
Dana, who is relieved the world now knows about something that experienced runners have known for 30 yrs.
This study used a 16 minute stretching period before the run, which is quite a bit more than I ever did (or nearly any of the other runners I competed with did) before any of my running workouts or my races during my years of competing. I would doubt that 1 minute of light gastrocnemius-soleus and hamstring stretches following a brief warmup will decrease performance which is the usual amount done by many competetive runners before a race. Taking 16 minutes to stretch, to me, seems like an excessive amount, especially before competitiion. Also, this study does not look at injury rates which is another reason why one may want to suggest stretching before running or racing. I will still recommend 1-2 minutes of stretching to my athletic patients, but would never recommend 16 minutes of stretching before a workout or race since I think that duration of stretching is excessive.
__________________
Sincerely,
Kevin
**************************************************
Kevin A. Kirby, DPM
Adjunct Associate Professor
Department of Applied Biomechanics
California School of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt College
I do recall reading a study that showed that stretching before exercise does not prevent injury. That does not mean you should not stretch as it has other benefits, its just stretching immediately prior to exercise did not lower the injury rate (if I recall the study correctly).
__________________ Craig Payne
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ Follow me on Twitter | Run Junkie God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
I do recall reading a study that showed that stretching before exercise does not prevent injury. That does not mean you should not stretch as it has other benefits, its just stretching immediately prior to exercise did not lower the injury rate (if I recall the study correctly).
Great, a study that supports something I've known for years but now it's official. Of course if I had shared this wisdom beforehand, it would have been dismissed as anecdotal and lacking supporting evidence.
Dana, who is relieved the world now knows about something that experienced runners have known for 30 yrs.
Agreed. Its always good when research confirms what we beleive and what we do.... the cognitive dissonance problems develop when the well designed research shows the opposite.
Off topic, but I wrestling with this issue big time at the moment. There is something that is commonly used in clinical pactice; we have a thread on it here at Podiatry Arena; I use it clinically; I teach it at the Boot Camps; a number of uncontrolled studies shows it probably works; the data from some poorly done RCT's have reported mixed results. I am privy to the results of a very well done long term RCT that shows it does not work (I privy to it as I was involved - we can't release the results yet) .... BUT, what is one to do when confronted with this .... I have no hair left as its all fallen out ..... it will be posted on Podiatry Arena the instant the results are ready for release.
__________________ Craig Payne
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ Follow me on Twitter | Run Junkie God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
Stretching Before Running Decreases Endurance
) and pre-kids i used to stretch etc before running but as they came along and time was limited i was going out whenever i got spare time and the stretching got binned. started to find that i wasnt getting injured at all and wee niggles that i had didnt really bother me anymore. i use my first couple of minutes out to do some bounding, lunges etc and then i'm off.
Linear Mode
