Pretesting static and dynamic stretching does not affect maximal strength.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in static stretching (SS), dynamic stretching (DS), and no stretching (NS) on maximal strength (one-repetition maximum [1RM]) in the bench and leg presses using free weights on 19 college-aged men and 32 women. Most of the participants were moderately to very active and had previous experience with weight training. The design was repeated measures, with each treatment being randomly assigned. Each testing session was separated by 72 hours. Moderate-intensity stretching was defined as stretching as far as possible without any assistance, and subjects were encouraged to do their best. For the SS routine, the chest, shoulder, triceps, quadriceps, and hamstrings were stretched. Three repetitions were performed for 15 seconds, each separated by a 10-second rest. For DS, the upper-body stretch was swinging each arm, one at a time, as far forward and then as far backward as possible in a diagonal plane. For the legs, the same movement was done for each leg, except performed in a sagittal plane. Each forward and backward movement took about 2 seconds. Three 30-second sets were administered, and a 10-second rest was allowed between sets. Next, 1RM was determined for the bench and leg presses in random order. Two warm-up sets were given, followed by several 1RM attempts. The last successful lift was recorded as the 1RM. Data were reported using means +/- SD. A one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used with alpha set at 0.05. There was no significant difference among the treatments. Moderate-intensity stretching does not seem to adversely affect 1RM in the bench and leg presses.
Beedle
Barry
B
Department of Health and Human Performance, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina, USA. beedle@elon.edu
Rytter
Scott J
SJ
Healy
Ryan C
RC
Ward
Tara R
TR
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014891:Weight Lifting / Q000502:physiology*