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Stop Wasting Your Time With Leg Stretches
Do this instead for better results!
If there’s one thing that baffles me as a kinesiologist, it's our obsession with static stretching. Sure, it may feel good and bring about temporary health benefits, but it’s nowhere near as productive as strength or mobility training. If you’re tight for time, I’d go as far as to say skip static stretching altogether and try the exercises below instead.
I know this may come as a shock to you, but hear me out. While static stretching won’t necessarily harm you if done correctly, there are far better uses for your time. There are three key reasons as to why this is the case…
MYTH #1 — Static stretching lowers injury risk.
There is no scientific evidence to show that stretching will have a preventive effect on injury. Even if static stretching did improve elasticity (which it rarely does), there’s no link to it reducing harm to your tissues!
If you’re committed to doing static stretching for prolonged periods at a painful threshold, then yes, you may experience increased flexibility. But even if you get there after months of training, your gains are far more likely to be due to neural effects than muscle fiber adaptations. Yes, that’s right — static stretching rarely lengthens muscle tissue!
On speaking to a veteran Physiotherapist, he exclaimed, “I rarely have someone stretch as a form of treatment. More often than not, loading a joint or tissue will be more productive than stretching it.”
Not only is static stretching relatively useless for the prevention of injury, but it’s also a poor modality for recovery from musculoskeletal impairments.
If you’re tight to the point that it’s taking away from proper form, ditch your yoga mat and grab a barbell! If you have a reasonable range of motion, don’t worry about getting more flexible and focus on clocking in your miles instead.
MYTH #2 — Static stretching reduces delayed-onset muscle soreness.
There is little evidence to show that static stretching will reduce DOMS. In other words, stretching won’t alleviate the stiffness and discomfort felt in your…
