Stretching's New Rules

Your current routine actually may be tightening your muscles

Never liked stretching to begin with? Good. Because certain moves may be hazardous to your health. While not as bad as a pre-workout cigarette, a plethora of recent studies (including one that tracked 1,538 Australian army recruits through basic training) has shown that conventional pre-exercise stretching has no measurable benefit to athletes, and some researchers believe it may even increase risk of injury.

Through functional magnetic resonance imaging, a breakthrough way of watching muscles in motion, sports docs are studying whether deep, static stretching—e.g., propping your leg on a fence and holding it there until it burns—inhibits your muscles' ability to contract quickly. They compare its effects to yanking repeatedly on a tightly coiled spring until it goes limp. The result: muscles that can't contract as efficiently, which increases your risk of a strain or tear should you catch an edge skiing, for example, or slip during a trail run.

Researchers also found that the "good pain" felt during a deep stretch is actually a defensive response—the "myotatic reflex"—that may leave your muscles tighter. Even yoga and Pilates have come under scrutiny. "It sounds incredible," says J.C. Andersen, a professor of athletic training at the University of Tampa, "but science shows us that the more flexible a muscle tissue is, the less energy it can absorb."

Still, physical therapists and trainers, such as Jim Wharton, Phil Wharton, and Nikos Apostolopoulos (see Stretch 1 and Stretch 2, below), maintain that it's critical for athletes to preserve their range of motion. The key, they say, is to stop over-working your muscles and, instead, focus on low-impact moves that warm them up while preserving their elasticity.

Stretch One: The Wharton School - Keep It Moving
"A muscle is like a rubber band," explains Jim Wharton, who runs a physical therapy clinic in New York City with his son, Phil (www.whartonperformance .com). "Stretching it in any forced position is going to weaken it." Instead, the Whartons concentrate on short, isolated movements that are held for only a couple of seconds. "It's just enough to get the blood flowing before activity and then flush out the waste products afterward," he says.

A) LATERAL FLEXORS: Stand with arms relaxed at your sides. Raise your left arm, and place your hand behind your head. Bend at the waist to the right, then return to the starting position. Complete all reps to the right before switching to the left.
BENEFIT: Loosens the trunk muscles for increased balance.

B) PECTORALS: Stand with arms extended out to the sides, slightly below shoulder height, elbows locked, palms facing forward. Swing your arms forward, touching fingertips at waist level. Then gently swing them back as far as they can go. With each stretch, swing a little higher, until you reach shoulder height.
BENEFIT: Lengthens chest muscles, increases oxygen intake.

C) POSTERIOR LEG MUSCLES: Lying on your back, loop a rope around the arch of one foot. With your knee up and bent at a 90-degree angle, gently straighten your leg until it is perpendicular to the floor, contracting your quad muscles as you finish.
BENEFIT: Relaxes the hamstrings and calves, which tend to stiffen from constant use.

Stretch Two: The Apostolopoulos Method - Easy Does It
Nikos Apostolopoulos (www.microstretching.com) was a track cyclist training for the 1992 Olympic team when a car struck him during a ride. The accident resulted in a spinal fusion, left him unresponsive to normal stretches, and spawned Microstretching, a low-intensity (no burn) flexibility routine. Says Apostolopoulos, who now runs a training clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia: "I'm doing my job well when my patient falls asleep during a session."

D) TRICEPS/SHOULDERS: Seated, place one hand on the opposite shoulder—elbow against the chest—grasp that elbow with your free hand and slowly pull it toward your side.
BENEFIT: Loosens triceps and posterior deltoids.

E) UPPER BODY: Seated on a bench with the backs of your knees against its edge, rest your hands on your thighs. Slowly rotate from the base of your spine to one side while reaching to place your hands on the bench.
BENEFIT: Flexes muscles around the spine, as well as the lats and rotator cuffs.

F) GLUTES: Lying on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on a wall. Make sure your hips are firmly on the floor. Bring the ankle of one foot to the opposite knee, making sure that your ankle is beyond the knee joint.
BENEFIT: Targets all three glute muscles.