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wonderwoman
May 9, 2012, 5:45 PM
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So, I'm listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air and I just heard this interesting tidbit:
To Stretch Or Not To Stretch?: Research now suggests that stretching before a workout isn't necessarily a good thing, because it causes the brain to think you're about to tear those muscles, says Reynolds. "When you stretch and hold a pose, the brain thinks you are about to damage yourself and it then sends out nerve impulses that actually tighten the muscles," she explains. "... The result is, you're less ready for activity, not more ready for activity."
http://www.wbur.org/...-just-for-20-minutes
That's probably the only climbing related piece of the program, but what do folks think? I've always thought that I was slacking by not stretching before climbing, but maybe I am doing the right thing after all.
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edge
May 9, 2012, 6:09 PM
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wonderwoman wrote: So, I'm listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air and I just heard this interesting tidbit: To Stretch Or Not To Stretch?: Research now suggests that stretching before a workout isn't necessarily a good thing, because it causes the brain to think you're about to tear those muscles, says Reynolds. "When you stretch and hold a pose, the brain thinks you are about to damage yourself and it then sends out nerve impulses that actually tighten the muscles," she explains. "... The result is, you're less ready for activity, not more ready for activity." http://www.wbur.org/...-just-for-20-minutes That's probably the only climbing related piece of the program, but what do folks think? I've always thought that I was slacking by not stretching before climbing, but maybe I am doing the right thing after all.
Wouldn't you get the same result after your first climb?
Would your muscles tighten and inhibit you for the rest of the day?
As for me, I'll continue to stretch. I know for a fact that I can high step much further after warming up than just jumping on the wall and going "cold."
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wonderwoman
May 9, 2012, 6:14 PM
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I'm not sure. When I stretch, I tend to hold the pose for longer periods of time than if I am in the process of climbing and stretching to reach for the next hold. Maybe it revolves around the matter of holding the pose versus movement.
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wmshub
May 9, 2012, 6:23 PM
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I always stretch at night, just before I go to sleep. My warmup is doing mild exercise, not stretching. It has worked for me for years and across several different sports. My flexibility seems to be above average, although below contortionist level, and I never feel like I'm not warmed up enough when I start the "real" exercise I'm doing.
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amarius
May 9, 2012, 6:27 PM
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Most likely the statement was regarding static stretching, and is, probably, based on this article
IIRC, most alphabet experts recommend dynamic stretching before exercise, and static after.
Edit - meta study on stretching
(This post was edited by amarius on May 9, 2012, 6:30 PM)
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lena_chita
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May 9, 2012, 6:27 PM
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wonderwoman wrote: I'm not sure. When I stretch, I tend to hold the pose for longer periods of time than if I am in the process of climbing and stretching to reach for the next hold. Maybe it revolves around the matter of holding the pose versus movement.
I forget where I read this, but I emember hearing from several sources that your best pre-physical-activity routine is not a stretch-and-hold type of stretch, but rather dynamic range-of-motion warmup stretching. (e.i. you should be swinging your arms around, rotating shoulders back/forth up/down, tilting the head to stretch the neck, rotating the wrists and elbows, pumping the fists open/closed, etc. etc.) The more conventional stretch should be done at the end of the activity.
I don't know if there is truth to it, but I do know that wriggling the fingers and rotating the shoulders feels better in the morning before climbing, and deep stretching feels much better after 1.5 hours of a yoga class. It never feels right to start by doing a deep stretch with cold muscles.
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lena_chita
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May 9, 2012, 6:28 PM
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amarius wrote: Most likely the statement was regarding static stretching, and is, probably, based on this article IIRC, most alphabet experts recommend dynamic stretching before exercise, and static after.
Ah, thanks for finding a reference!
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edge
May 9, 2012, 7:16 PM
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How hard does Terry Gros climb, btw?
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karmiclimber
May 9, 2012, 9:58 PM
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wonderwoman wrote: So, I'm listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air and I just heard this interesting tidbit: To Stretch Or Not To Stretch?: Research now suggests that stretching before a workout isn't necessarily a good thing, because it causes the brain to think you're about to tear those muscles, says Reynolds. "When you stretch and hold a pose, the brain thinks you are about to damage yourself and it then sends out nerve impulses that actually tighten the muscles," she explains. "... The result is, you're less ready for activity, not more ready for activity." http://www.wbur.org/...-just-for-20-minutes That's probably the only climbing related piece of the program, but what do folks think? I've always thought that I was slacking by not stretching before climbing, but maybe I am doing the right thing after all.
I don't stretch before climbing. Outside, I hope for a good approach for a warm up. Inside, I hop on the elliptical for 30 mins before I go to the climbing gym. If my muscles get tight while I'm climbing, I do stretch them out a bit. I don't stretch at the climbing gym after climbing...but I do when I get home. On a side note, I think yoga and climbing go together like pb and chocolate...perfectly.
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RedRightHand
May 10, 2012, 9:57 AM
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I usually do a 5-10 minute warm up (easy traversing is ideal if indoor). Then a short static session (about two exercices) followed by dynamic session. Not only do my muscles feel less strained the day after, I also feel that i have a lot more reach.
Although I have only been climbing for 5 months, I would recommend this routine. I come from a kickboxing background, a sport where stretching is very important, and used to do this same routine.
So definitely: to stretch
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sungam
May 10, 2012, 12:54 PM
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I think the general idea is that dynamic stretches before a workout is beneficial, but static stretching is best done afterwards or as a session of it's own.
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granite_grrl
May 10, 2012, 5:56 PM
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sungam wrote: I think the general idea is that dynamic stretches before a workout is beneficial, but static stretching is best done afterwards or as a session of it's own.
This is my understanding too. I have also been told that static streching can reduce your power and make you more prone to injury during your workout.
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sungam
May 10, 2012, 7:27 PM
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granite_grrl wrote: sungam wrote: I think the general idea is that dynamic stretches before a workout is beneficial, but static stretching is best done afterwards or as a session of it's own. This is my understanding too. I have also been told that static streching can reduce your power and make you more prone to injury during your workout.
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shockabuku
May 10, 2012, 10:08 PM
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At most I do dynamic stretching before climbing, not usually even that. I find my fingers are what really needs to ease into the process so I hit about 20 easy boulder problems (without any crimps) or climb two to four routes a few grades below my redpoint level and then progress to gradually harder things to warm everything up before I start trying to pull hard. I should probably do a little stretching after climbing but rarely do. I used to do yoga which was very good for my flexibility and probably good for my frame of mind but quit due to conflicts with the timing.
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outsidethelines
May 10, 2012, 10:20 PM
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When in the gym, I usually traverse until I start to feel the blood start moving. Then I do about four to six V0's or V1's and then stretch out my arms and legs. It seems to work pretty well for me but I think it is up to everyone to find their own warmup routine to keep their body happy.
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rmsusa
May 10, 2012, 10:26 PM
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I stretch a LOT, but not usually before activity. OTOH, I used to stretch religiously before gymnastics practice when I was in my 20's. YMMV. If you're decent at what you do, you can do it any way that feels good.
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ceebo
May 11, 2012, 1:22 PM
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It's quite funny to me watching instructors take groups through rigerous dynamic warm ups.. but for their own personal climbing they dont do anything close to the same.
Since im a sucker for compareble examples here goes.
Any normal person who gets a gun pointed to their face and the triger pulled.. loses their face.
Any cop who gets a gun pointed to their face and the triger pulled.. the gun jams.
Could have game a lighter example, sorry.
- in before the gun-ho's correct me on the physics of being shot in the face and its actual effects.
(This post was edited by ceebo on May 11, 2012, 1:27 PM)
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shockabuku
May 13, 2012, 1:02 AM
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ceebo wrote: It's quite funny to me watching instructors take groups through rigerous dynamic warm ups.. but for their own personal climbing they dont do anything close to the same. Since im a sucker for compareble examples here goes. Any normal person who gets a gun pointed to their face and the triger pulled.. loses their face. Any cop who gets a gun pointed to their face and the triger pulled.. the gun jams. Could have game a lighter example, sorry. - in before the gun-ho's correct me on the physics of being shot in the face and its actual effects.
Another case of nonsense.
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spikeddem
May 13, 2012, 1:33 PM
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shockabuku wrote: ceebo wrote: It's quite funny to me watching instructors take groups through rigerous dynamic warm ups.. but for their own personal climbing they dont do anything close to the same. Since im a sucker for compareble examples here goes. Any normal person who gets a gun pointed to their face and the triger pulled.. loses their face. Any cop who gets a gun pointed to their face and the triger pulled.. the gun jams. Could have game a lighter example, sorry. - in before the gun-ho's correct me on the physics of being shot in the face and its actual effects. Another case of nonsense.
A second grader has been stealing passwords on RC.com again!
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jamesnater
May 17, 2012, 9:19 PM
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Hmm, this certainly is a shock to me. I always feel good after stretching before climbing. I've always done it though, so I guess I've never noticed a difference. I also stretch afterwards as well.
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hildenmw
May 22, 2012, 11:36 AM
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warm up and stretching are not the same . Same thing for flexability and range of motion. Keep a log over aperiod of time and find what works best for you.
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hafilax
May 23, 2012, 4:41 PM
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Some light dynamic stretching after a warm up is generally a good idea. Static stretching for the most part isn't a great idea. The exception to this is for movements that work your body at the extremes of the range of motion. If you can improve your range of motion with some static stretching then this can offset the injury potential of straining a fully stretched muscle.
For example, for a lot of wide stemming a groin stretch might be good. YMMV
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JackRock
Jun 5, 2012, 12:21 PM
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Can you please give me some examples what can be regarded as a dynamic stretching?
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bentgate03
Jun 5, 2012, 1:48 PM
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Umm....Google dynamic stretching.
you get hundreds of videos and pictures as well as articles.
Think of it as moving while stretching. None of this hold and count crap.
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