Hey T-Machos.Do you guys strech after every w-out? and how often you go massage(I dont mean thai-massage)? I thought about would it be wise to drink small/medium PW drink after massage? Any inputs…
No, I stretch BEFORE every workout…read Ian king’s article “Lazy Man’s Guide to Stretching” to find why and give it a go for yourself perhaps. If you can afford it, sports massage on a regular basis should be very beneficial as a preventative technique. One benefit would be the avoidance of muscle adhesions that builds up over timewith training. Eventually, these will inhibit your movements and you may run into injury.
Personally I would stay away from stretching before workouts and instead focus on performing a general warmup and then a specific warmup consisting of working an exercise through a full ROM with gradually increasing weight. Static stretching should be limited to after workouts, if at all.
guys, I honestly can tell you that i think King’s ideas of static stretching are off target, non effective, foolish, etc. All literature I have read, and all qualified experts will tell you to warm up before you work out but stretching is probably not neccessary, and definately DO NOT STATIC STRETCH. I wish someone would give me a massage.
Scott is right on the money.
DMAN, Have you tried stretching prior to lifting? Or are you just relying on your research? Do you remenber in the 1980’s when ACSM stated anabolic steroids did nothing to increase muscle mass, when main line dietitians believed 0.4 g of protein / lb body weight was all athletes needed, and “aerobics” ruled the scientific litature? I, for one, wouldn’t pretend I could muster the scientific knowledge to back up what Ian King recommends (even with my master’s degree in exercise physiology) but Ian King is an “expert” in training for physical prep, and has trained numerous world caliber athletes. Don’t dismiss his ideas out of hand without trying them and then make a determination.
It is fair enough if something is working well for you, but it doesn’t mean that you may not make better progress with other methods. If you give something an honest go and it doesn’t pan out, you can revert back to previous methods without any real loss. But if it does work better…
Yes I have practiced what i preach. Case in point, I used to stetch (staticly) before my basketball practices and games to “warm up.” but was somewhat slow when playing time came. Needless to say i run better and jump better now that i dont static stretch before I play, now i just gradually jog and warm up going through the motions (as I do with weightlifting). One can stretch dynamically beforehand if he/she has a reason but stay away from static stretch since it relaxes the muscle. Tsatouline in Beyond stretches is totally anti-static stretching, in Fitness and Strength Training for All Sports, I am sure of Haertman and Tuenneman saying that static stretches relax the muscle and can be used for recovery (hence the reason to do them after you lift not before), ditto for Science and Practice, the guys at WSB i am sure as hell don’t static stretch before hand, and Mel Siff also is total anti- static stretching before you work out. Thats as good of Science and Practice of not pre-stactic stretching as I can think of. I think highly of most of King’s stuff, just not his ideas on static stretching before you work out.
Scott you have to consider that as innovative as some of his ideas are Ian King is not all-knowing. His opinion on stretching runs counter to just about every strength coach I can think of. Unless your main activity is yoga or contortionism I see no physiological or practical reason to employ static stretching before a workout. Even Ian in his article didn’t really give a specific reason to use it - Just a “trust me, I know it works” whereas guys like Siff, Hatfield, Simmons et al can provide you numerous reasons why it is contraindicated before weight training. Why don’t you try my suggestion and see if it help. BTW I hope the fighting is going well. I’m in London this week and hope to see you at workout world.
I do charles staleys warmup, from t-mag, I do both static and balistic stretching post workout, and am also lucky enough to train a licensed(and drop dead gorgeous 6 foot scandinavian goddess, its kind of cruel joke though cause she’s engaged to a very very large guy) massage therapist once a week, and as barter goes I get a 1 hour massage every other week in trade. As a suggestion get 2 treatments your first week then every other week for new problems. As per her suggestion I drink gallon of water over the next several hours to help get rid of toxins released from the muscles by the massage. As a side note the first time I got a massage I actually had trouble falling a sleep because I was so relaxed, I usually sleep in a fetal position. Once I fell asleep it was the best ten hour I ever slept.
I try to stretch after every workout. I really should stretch more. I’ve done yoga with my wife a couple of times and that helps. I’m definitely going to do more when my next bulking cycle comes around, I got really tight last time.
Massage, about once a month is good. I’d do more but I’m not rich.
Hey Reg, you will have to fill me in on the specifics of your warm-up process when I see you. Is it along the lines of Staley’s article that was on here? Yes, hopefully see you later this week. By the way, Testosterone magazine issue 4 is on it’s way to us this week if you are interested (along with the Advanced Protein).