Stretching: A Sore Subject
October 1, 2008 by Kelly Turner
Filed under Fitness
Remember him? I actually ripped one in half once. I did it with a friend. We stretched him across the kitchen, tied him to two seperate cupboards and then slammed them. Sand everywhere. I was grounded for a very long time.
Does stretching prevent soreness?
Nope. While stretching is very important to increase your range of motion, help your muscles recover after a workout and prevent injury (not to mention it just feels good) stretching will not help prevent or aleviate soreness after a tough workout. Stretching increases your flexibility, but the only way to decrease soreness is to break down all that lactic acid build up. The easiest way to do that? Take a walk. Using those sore muscles will help work out all the ache-causing acid and get your muscles back to normal in no time.
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I DO remember him! Talk about a blast from the past…they should bring him back. And maybe make him out of something that doesn’t explode all over your living room in a giant mess of sand. ;)
Heh. Somehow, it never occurred to me that stretching doesn’t prevent soreness. Then again, I heart the walking and go walking every day so I guess I just didn’t notice. Good to know!
PS I’m still giggling over the exploded Stretch Armstrong dude.
did your stretch armstrong always have a greasy feeling to him? mine did. it was gross. like someone sprayed him with cooking oil. and then packaged him up for little kids to destroy.
koootz- extra “o” today, huh? feeling sassy?
yeah he was all greasy. My friend had the red guy, who if im remembering right was the villian, and he was all greasy, too. i think its to keep the plastic from cracking. didnt keep it from breaking, though.
I don’t think it’s a little muscle soreness that bothers most athletes anyway– as long as stretching seems to prevent injury, that seems like the most important thing.
I like to pretend that stretching helps with soreness… even though it doesn’t. It’s a mental thing.
and I like to pretend I stretch.
age is not my friend in this realm and I SO need to make the time.
sad I need reminding? maybe
do I? fo’shizzle.
I’ve definitely had other runners say stuff to me like “You know, running doesn’t enhance performance.” So many people miss the point–it’s to prevent injury!
I just noticed that I’m on your blogroll. Just made my day so much better! Thanks!
tfh- i LOVE being sore. Im a glutton for punishment
AllisonK- whatever gets it done, right?
runjess- runner ESPECIALLY need to stretch. long distance running is so rough on the body. you have to take any preventative measures you can.
of course you are! Im slowing getting it built up…
MizFit- m not a big fan of sitting still, so I have to stretch AS i do other things. i like to multitask.
I guess I just always thought stretching DID prevent soreness cuz it feels sooo good sometimes! I’ve been running more/longer distances lately and I can usually tell a difference when I don’t stretch afterwards (bad runner, I know! I only do it when I’m rushed). I feel all tight afterwards. I like stretching :)
hahahhaha- love the stretch armstrong story! I never knew those things could break!
Great post! I def try to take walks when I’m hurting from working out. I feel like it really makes my aches and pains feel better!!