Selective Muscular Stretching

Introduction

Brad Walker explains the benefits of selective muscular stretching when weight training.

What do you do in between sets during a weight-training session? Like most people, you relax or talk to your friends. While these activities help bide the time, they do little to improve your physique. Your time in the gym is precious. Your energies must optimise every training moment. Ultimately, wasted time amounts to lost opportunity.

One of the best ways to make productive use of your rest intervals is to utilize selective muscular stretching. Although many people regard stretching only as a way to increase flexibility, it can provide many athletic benefits when incorporated into your routine. Stretching a "pumped" muscle can enhance your workouts' quality and even help promote muscular growth. Let us take a look at the benefits afforded by this practical technique.

Reduced Lactic Acid Build-up

Nothing sabotages a workout more than the build-up of lactic acid in your muscles. Lactic acid is a waste by-product of ATP, the primary energy source used to fuel your muscles during anaerobic exercise. It is responsible for the burning sensation accompanying intense training and eventually impedes your ability to achieve a muscular contraction. Once it builds up, you cannot continue to train. Selective muscular stretching helps neutralise lactic acid's effects by restoring blood flow to your working muscles. It allows you to flush metabolic waste from your body, rapidly regenerating your muscular capacity.

Better Muscular Recovery

Contrary to popular belief, muscle tissue is broken down, not built up, during anaerobic exercise. Tiny micro-tears develop in muscle fibres when a muscle is subjected to intense stress. It contributes to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that often accompanies a gruelling workout. Selective stretching helps repair muscle tissue and accelerate the healing process by expediting nutrient delivery to the musculoskeletal system. There is less post-exercise fatigue and diminishes muscular soreness. This results in better recovery between workouts, allowing you to return strong for your next training session.

Increased Range of Motion

During weight training, concentric repetitions cause your muscles to shorten in length. Over time, your muscles can adapt to this shortened position, restricting their range of motion. Ultimately, this decreases the force you can generate in your contractions, compromising muscular gains. Selective muscular stretching helps to counteract these adverse effects, elongating your muscles to pre-exercise levels. You maintain better elasticity in your joints and connective tissue, facilitating your ability to work through a full range of motion. Moreover, since your body is more limber, you are not as likely to exceed your body's stress threshold, reducing the potential of a training-related injury.

Elevated IGF-1 Levels

IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) is central to promoting muscular development with growth hormone. Among its many functions, IGF-1 helps increase thermogenesis and expedite amino acid uptake factors that combine to reduce excess body fat while fostering gains in lean muscle tissue. Studies have shown that repeated stretching substantially raises circulating IGF-11 2. These levels can remain elevated for up to several hours after stretching, providing a large window for muscular growth. Ultimately, this helps to enhance your anabolic function and create an environment conducive to packing on fat-free mass.

Enhanced Growth Potential

Your muscles are encapsulated in a dense, fibrous sheath called fascial tissue since fascia is solid, and its primary function is to protect your muscles (and other internal structures) from injury. It is so strong that its resiliency is equated to solid steel. While the strength of this tissue is necessary as a safeguard against injury, it also constricts the ability of your muscles to hypertrophy past a certain point. Selective muscular stretching can help make the fascia more pliable, loosening its "hold" on a muscle. Theoretically, this allows the underlying fibres additional room for growth, expanding your genetic potential.

For best results, selective muscular stretching should be regularly implemented into your workout regimen. As soon as a set is completed, immediately stretch the muscle trained to utilize the movements discussed below. Hold each stretch throughout the rest interval and proceed directly to your next set.

As a rule, stretching should be static, where you slowly work into each stretch in a controlled fashion. Static stretching is the most effective way to achieve optimal benefits without potential damage to your musculature. It allows for a gradual elongation of muscle tissue, permitting you to stretch your body to its utmost degree safely. While there are those on the fringe who advocate using jerky, bouncing manoeuvers, this dangerous form of stretching should be summarily avoided. These movements (ballistic stretching) can easily overload soft tissue structures beyond their normal elasticity, causing potential harm to your muscles, joints, and connective tissue.

When you stretch, go only to the point where you feel the tension in the muscle and not to where you experience unbearable pain. If you stretch too far, your body sends a neural impulse to the overstretched muscle (called the stretch reflex), causing it to contract. This reflex tightens the muscle, creating the opposite effect of what you accomplish. By stretching slowly, you can ease into a comfortable zone, taking your body to the edge without going over. Finally, keep yourself loose and relaxed, breathing in a slow, rhythmic fashion.

Chest Stretch

From a standing position, grab any stationary object, such as a pole or exercise machine, with your right hand. Your arm should be straight and roughly parallel with the ground. Slowly turn your body away from the object, allowing your arm to go as far behind your body as comfortably as possible. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat this process on the left.

Shoulder Stretch

From a standing position, grasp your right wrist with your left hand. Slowly pull your right arm across your torso without turning your body as far as comfortably possible. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat the process on the left.

Lat Stretch

From a standing position, grasp any stationary object, such as a pole or exercise machine, with both hands. Bend your knees and sit back to extend your arms and support your weight fully. Shift your weight to the right to isolate the right portion of your lat. Hold this position for the desired time and shift your weight to the left.

Triceps Stretch

From a standing position, raise your right arm over your head. Bend your elbow so that your right hand is behind your head. With your left hand, grasp your right wrist and pull it back as comfortably as possible, allowing your elbow to point toward the ceiling. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat this process on the left.

Biceps Stretch

Extend your right arm forward with your palm facing up from standing. Place your left palm underneath your right elbow. Slowly straighten your right arm as comfortably as possible, pressing your elbow down into your left hand. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat this process on the left.

Quadriceps Stretch

Grasp a stationary object such as a pole or exercise machine with your left hand from a standing position. Bend your right knee and bring your right foot toward your butt. Grasp your right ankle with your right hand and slowly pull your foot upward as comfortably as possible. Repeat this process on the left.

Hamstrings Stretch

Straighten your legs from standing and slowly bend forward at the waist. Allow your hands to travel downward along the line of your body as far as comfortably possible at the point where you feel an intense stretch in your hamstrings. Grab onto your legs and hold this position for the desired time.

Calf Stretch

Stand on a raised wood block and grasp a stationary object for balance. Take your left foot off the block to stand on your right leg. Slowly allow your right heel to travel downward as far as comfortably possible. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat the process on the left.

Note: Since only one major artery feeds each calf muscle (the sural artery feeds the gastrocnemius, and the posterior tibial artery feeds the soleus), blood flow tends to be reduced during this training. It causes lactic acid to accrue fairly rapidly and substantially increases the potential for muscular cramping. Hence, selective stretching is especially crucial in calves.

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

WALKER, B. (2006) Selective Muscular Stretching [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article018.htm [Accessed

About the Author

Brad Walker is a prominent Australian sports trainer with more than 15 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. He is a Health Science graduate of the University of New England and has postgraduate accreditations in athletics, swimming, and triathlon coaching. He also works with elite-level and world-champion athletes and lectures for Sports Medicine Australia on injury prevention.


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What do you do in between sets during a weight-training session? Like most people, you relax or talk to your friends. While these activities help bide the time, they do little to improve your physique. Your time in the gym is precious. Your energies must optimise every training moment. Ultimately, wasted time amounts to lost opportunity. One of the best ways to make productive use of your rest intervals is to utilize selective muscular stretching. Although many people regard stretching only as a way to increase flexibility, it can provide many athletic benefits when incorporated into your routine. Stretching a "pumped" muscle can enhance your workouts' quality and even help promote muscular growth. Let us take a look at the benefits afforded by this practical technique. Reduced Lactic Acid Build-up Nothing sabotages a workout more than the build-up of lactic acid in your muscles. Lactic acid is a waste by-product of ATP, the primary energy source used to fuel your muscles during anaerobic exercise. It is responsible for the burning sensation accompanying intense training and eventually impedes your ability to achieve a muscular contraction. Once it builds up, you cannot continue to train. Selective muscular stretching helps neutralise lactic acid's effects by restoring blood flow to your working muscles. It allows you to flush metabolic waste from your body, rapidly regenerating your muscular capacity. Better Muscular Recovery Contrary to popular belief, muscle tissue is broken down, not built up, during anaerobic exercise. Tiny micro-tears develop in muscle fibres when a muscle is subjected to intense stress. It contributes to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that often accompanies a gruelling workout. Selective stretching helps repair muscle tissue and accelerate the healing process by expediting nutrient delivery to the musculoskeletal system. There is less post-exercise fatigue and diminishes muscular soreness. This results in better recovery between workouts, allowing you to return strong for your next training session. Increased Range of Motion During weight training, concentric repetitions cause your muscles to shorten in length. Over time, your muscles can adapt to this shortened position, restricting their range of motion. Ultimately, this decreases the force you can generate in your contractions, compromising muscular gains. Selective muscular stretching helps to counteract these adverse effects, elongating your muscles to pre-exercise levels. You maintain better elasticity in your joints and connective tissue, facilitating your ability to work through a full range of motion. Moreover, since your body is more limber, you are not as likely to exceed your body's stress threshold, reducing the potential of a training-related injury. Elevated IGF-1 Levels IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) is central to promoting muscular development with growth hormone. Among its many functions, IGF-1 helps increase thermogenesis and expedite amino acid uptake factors that combine to reduce excess body fat while fostering gains in lean muscle tissue. Studies have shown that repeated stretching substantially raises circulating IGF-11 2. These levels can remain elevated for up to several hours after stretching, providing a large window for muscular growth. Ultimately, this helps to enhance your anabolic function and create an environment conducive to packing on fat-free mass. Enhanced Growth Potential Your muscles are encapsulated in a dense, fibrous sheath called fascial tissue since fascia is solid, and its primary function is to protect your muscles (and other internal structures) from injury. It is so strong that its resiliency is equated to solid steel. While the strength of this tissue is necessary as a safeguard against injury, it also constricts the ability of your muscles to hypertrophy past a certain point. Selective muscular stretching can help make the fascia more pliable, loosening its "hold" on a muscle. Theoretically, this allows the underlying fibres additional room for growth, expanding your genetic potential. For best results, selective muscular stretching should be regularly implemented into your workout regimen. As soon as a set is completed, immediately stretch the muscle trained to utilize the movements discussed below. Hold each stretch throughout the rest interval and proceed directly to your next set. As a rule, stretching should be static, where you slowly work into each stretch in a controlled fashion. Static stretching is the most effective way to achieve optimal benefits without potential damage to your musculature. It allows for a gradual elongation of muscle tissue, permitting you to stretch your body to its utmost degree safely. While there are those on the fringe who advocate using jerky, bouncing manoeuvers, this dangerous form of stretching should be summarily avoided. These movements (ballistic stretching) can easily overload soft tissue structures beyond their normal elasticity, causing potential harm to your muscles, joints, and connective tissue. When you stretch, go only to the point where you feel the tension in the muscle and not to where you experience unbearable pain. If you stretch too far, your body sends a neural impulse to the overstretched muscle (called the stretch reflex), causing it to contract. This reflex tightens the muscle, creating the opposite effect of what you accomplish. By stretching slowly, you can ease into a comfortable zone, taking your body to the edge without going over. Finally, keep yourself loose and relaxed, breathing in a slow, rhythmic fashion. Chest Stretch From a standing position, grab any stationary object, such as a pole or exercise machine, with your right hand. Your arm should be straight and roughly parallel with the ground. Slowly turn your body away from the object, allowing your arm to go as far behind your body as comfortably as possible. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat this process on the left. Shoulder Stretch From a standing position, grasp your right wrist with your left hand. Slowly pull your right arm across your torso without turning your body as far as comfortably possible. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat the process on the left. Lat Stretch From a standing position, grasp any stationary object, such as a pole or exercise machine, with both hands. Bend your knees and sit back to extend your arms and support your weight fully. Shift your weight to the right to isolate the right portion of your lat. Hold this position for the desired time and shift your weight to the left. Triceps Stretch From a standing position, raise your right arm over your head. Bend your elbow so that your right hand is behind your head. With your left hand, grasp your right wrist and pull it back as comfortably as possible, allowing your elbow to point toward the ceiling. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat this process on the left. Biceps Stretch Extend your right arm forward with your palm facing up from standing. Place your left palm underneath your right elbow. Slowly straighten your right arm as comfortably as possible, pressing your elbow down into your left hand. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat this process on the left. Quadriceps Stretch Grasp a stationary object such as a pole or exercise machine with your left hand from a standing position. Bend your right knee and bring your right foot toward your butt. Grasp your right ankle with your right hand and slowly pull your foot upward as comfortably as possible. Repeat this process on the left. Hamstrings Stretch Straighten your legs from standing and slowly bend forward at the waist. Allow your hands to travel downward along the line of your body as far as comfortably possible at the point where you feel an intense stretch in your hamstrings. Grab onto your legs and hold this position for the desired time. Calf Stretch Stand on a raised wood block and grasp a stationary object for balance. Take your left foot off the block to stand on your right leg. Slowly allow your right heel to travel downward as far as comfortably possible. Hold this position for the desired time and repeat the process on the left. Note: Since only one major artery feeds each calf muscle (the sural artery feeds the gastrocnemius, and the posterior tibial artery feeds the soleus), blood flow tends to be reduced during this training. It causes lactic acid to accrue fairly rapidly and substantially increases the potential for muscular cramping. Hence, selective stretching is especially crucial in calves. Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: WALKER, B. (2006) Selective Muscular Stretching [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article018.htm [Accessed About the Author Brad Walker is a prominent Australian sports trainer with more than 15 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. He is a Health Science graduate of the University of New England and has postgraduate accreditations in athletics, swimming, and triathlon coaching. He also works with elite-level and world-champion athletes and lectures for Sports Medicine Australia on injury prevention.