Does Stretching Make You Stronger?
I am a huge believer in stretching for injury prevention, increased flexibility and improved balance & form. But I've had people tell me multiple times that stretching also improves strength. Some people have even gone so far as to say that stretching increases muscularity. So, what's the real deal behind stretching? Can it really make you stronger?
Stretching has a number of benefits. I describe some of them in Balance + Flexibility = Strength. But can stretching actually improve strength in terms of how much weight you can lift? To better answer that question, we must first discuss the different types of stretching.
Static vs. Dynamic Stretching
Stretching, as many of us think of it in the traditional sense, is static stretching. In a relatively fixed position, range of motion is extended isometrically and held or gradually increased for some period of time. However, static stretching isn't the only kind of stretching that can be performed.
Dynamic stretching is a different kind of stretching that's done with motion. That's right! Dynamic stretching uses motion to gradually extend the range of motion. Examples of dynamic stretching include shoulder circles, knee raises, and side bends. However, dynamic stretching can also be done as warmup exercises through things like dips, rotator cuff exercises and single legged squats. Concentrating on the stretch in a warmup exercise can be a form on dynamic stretching if it extends the normal range of motion.
Stretching Before Lifting
It's pretty common place to see people stretching at the gym before exercise. It's even relatively common to see people stretching at the gym before lifting heavy. But how many people do you see stretching at a powerlifting meet prior to trying for a personal record? The answer is very few.
Sure, sometimes you will see a few people at powerlifting meets rolling their shoulders, clapping their arms or doing body weight squats. And you always see people warming up before their lifts. But you rarely see competitors doing static stretching exercises prior to their lifts. Why?
It has actually been shown that static stretching executed prior to lifting can reduce maximum power output [1]. Moreover, power performance isn't the only kind of performance that can be negatively impacted by static stretching. Muscular endurance can also be negatively impacted by static stretching prior to exercise [2].
Practical Implications
As it turns out, stretching does not increase strength. And static stretching prior to exercise can actually reduce maximum output [1][2].
The takeaway from this is that static stretching prior to training can hurt your lifts. This is where dynamic stretching comes in. Warming up, and dynamic stretching using motion has been found to actually improve performance in some cases. And in other cases, it has been shown to have little to no effect [3]. So, where static stretching prior to training may reduce performance, dynamic stretching doesn't appear to suffer the same affliction.
As a result, I integrate a minimal amount of static stretching prior to exercise. And I instead emphasize dynamic stretching before training. After training and at other times, I incorporate static stretching.
References
[1] Yamaguchi, Taichi, et al.
"Acute effect of static stretching on power output during concentric
dynamic constant external resistance leg extension." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 20.4 (2006): 804-810.
[2] Nelson, Arnold G., Joke
Kokkonen, and DAVID A. ARNALL. "Acute muscle stretching inhibits muscle
strength endurance performance." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 19.2 (2005): 338-343.
[3] Behm, David G., and Anis Chaouachi. "A review of the acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on performance." European journal of applied physiology 111.11 (2011): 2633-2651.
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