Lounge
Is there a time of day when you shouldn't stretch your muscles?
Summary
Stretching feels good no matter when you do it. It is also great for your body. But there is a time when you probably shouldn't stretch.
As fitness science has evolved, we have learnt more about how stretching affects the body, the types of stretching, and when to do them. The norm is to do dynamic or movement-based stretching before a workout and static ones after a workout. But the other day, in between a superset of barbell squats and jumping squats, my hamstring felt as if it would be nice to give it a bit of a stretch between the sets. Which instantly makes one wonder if it is okay to stretch between sets, especially during compound moves.
This is not an argument about the importance of stretching. “Both [static and dynamic stretching] can, in fact, be done before and after workouts depending on how you pair them with other drills. The trick is to find the right balance between the two, and more importantly, knowing how they affect the body," I had written in an earlier Lounge story titled, Is There A Perfect Way To Stretch?This piece is about whether those 90-120 seconds which we take to catch our breath between sets, might also be a good time to ease the muscles before using them again.
Also Read How to build six pack abs with a 10-minute workout
One of the most cited researches on this was published in the Journal Of Strength And Conditioningfive years ago. Titled, Interset Stretching Vs. Traditional Strength Training: Effects on Muscle Strength and Size in Untrained Individuals, the study concluded that the interset stretching group gained more muscle mass than the group which did not stretch between sets.
But the key phrase in all of that is ‘untrained individuals’. And the first person to question this finding was fitness expert Menno Hanselmans. He cited another research which stated that reducing muscle stiffness between sets by stretching can also reduce muscle power output.
“In the new study, repetitions were equated between groups. Assuming the static stretching reduced strength, that would mean the inter-set stretching group was training harder to complete the same workload, and that may be the reason they gained more muscle," he wrote in a study review on his website.
Hanselmanns also critiqued the first study’s use of stretch duration. He claimed that the stated duration did not apply to trained individuals who were used to lifting load while their muscles were still fatigued with contraction during sets.
Also Read 5 great home workouts for rainy days
But then there is legendary body-builder Frank Zane who said in an interview with Muscle & Fitness that one of his secrets to growth was a 15-second stretch between sets. But the three-time Mr. Olympia was aided in this by his supreme motivation, strict schedule and proper nutrition: Those 15-second stretches were just a minor part of his overall regimen.
A deep-dive into the subject, done by Houseofhypertrophy.com in a piece titled Does Stretching Between Sets Increase Hypertrophy and Strengthalso takes into account unpublished research, that states that holding a dorsiflexion (which is pulling the ankle towards the leg) stretch between leg presses helped trained individuals to gain greater hypertrophy. But the one rep-max strength of this formula on leg press or bench press did not show any increase. Stalemate again.
Maybe there is a middle ground on this slippery slope? It comes in the form of a tip from a story published in Performancerevolution.com.au titled Why Stretching Between sets is Bad.The fundamentals of what the piece states is simple: Stretch the opposing muscle group in between sets of a particular muscle group. So stretch the quads between sets of a deadlift, or stretch the mid-back in the rest period between bench presses.
“This makes sense if you consider that you are relieving the residual tension and pull of the antagonists (the muscles inhibiting a movement) and allowing the agonists (the muscles causing the movement) to not be countered as much," states the piece. There is also the suggestion that experimenting with this and observing how you feel, is key to understanding the body.
Also Read What is the 12-3-30 workout and should you do it?
Most experts do agree on the duration of stretches. 15 seconds is the right amount, given how a 30-second stretch is more intense. Also, never hit the pain threshold. Stretches should feel comforting and challenging, and should not hurt. It is also risky to hold stretching positions between high intensity training. Because speed work requires a lot of muscular output, and stretching may reduce the output of force, this could lead to injury.
Stretching between sets feels good, as does stretching before and after sets; or anytime in the day for that matter. There are no bad stretches and it almost feels unfair to question this muscle-relaxing and range-of-motion increasing practice. But there are bad times to stretch. And those windows are small enough to ignore, especially if you haven’t plateaued. Don’t fix something that isn’t broken yet.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator, podcaster and writer.
