Heya T-freques. As some of you know (and fewer care, hehe) I’ve been doing Ian’s 12 week protocols for abs, lower and upper body. Ian stresses the importance of warm-up stretching (at least 15 mins). While I have been doing the prescribed 15 mins of lower/upper body stretching, I feel lethargic after I stretch, even under the influence of Power Drive which otherwise revs my engines. Now Pavel, Pavel has a completely different outlook on stretching. He’s all about “Comrade, fuck pre-workout stretching and warm up. Vat the hell is et good for? Notzing. Jump into it. The party is always right. I’m going to fight a bear.” Damn how I love that crazed Russian. So what are some of the Forumite takes on this conundrum? When I did my Super Strength program today I nixed the stretching but plan to do so later. Feel great right now. Thanks. Lata.
I stretch pre-workout. I do feel lethargic, but Powerdrive or stimulants help. I think the convience is that you ACTUALLY stretch. I’m NEVER going to stretch at home, just a fact. Right now, because of injuries and a birth defect (mom and dad made me with a fused vertebrae, looking at my x-rays is spooky), I stretch my neck from 6 angles, my lower back from two, and my hip flexors, then my shoulders, lats, and pecs. Interestingly enough. I feel better, but it hasn’t prevented any strains. I sort of lean to Pavel.
I lean towards dynamic stretching pre-workout and static stretching post-workout. I also like to do a little rope skipping or some light plyometric work before hand to get the blood flowing. This works well for me.
Interesting you should mention Plyos, I am curious about them and want to start incorporating more into my workouts. Any specific programs you reccomend? Thanks.
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I think it depends on what the aim of your training is and what you are training on a particular day. Coach Davies might be able to help you out a little more. I usually head over to a local high school track and use the hurdles if possible for different jumps and then box jumps at the gym. I always make sure to keep things light (bodyweight and low reps with plenty of rest) as this is only a warmup. Coach Davies would be an excellent resource. I e-mailed him prior to my last baseball season and all the advice he gave me made a tremendous difference in my training and my on-field performance. Hopefully this will be of some help.
When in Rome do as the Romans do. When I was doing the King stuff (that’s Ian not Rodney) I followed his philosophy of pre workout stretch. Now I am training Renegade style and do rope work as warmup, as that includes ‘active rest’ it can also be a sort of stretch eg burpees. The GPP post weights and then passive stretching is a great way to finish up.