Guest guest Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 Micky, I gotta ask. How does one stretch "connective tissues and not only muscles?" I can't figure out how to DO that. If I stretch my hamstrings, just for example, am I not stretching the fascia and the tendons along with the muscles? Except for possibly an isolated stretch of the iliotibial band, I'm at a loss to understand what you're getting at. What do you mean when you say that stretching can harm joint stability? What IS joint stability? Are you talking about injuring the joint by overstretching? And how is it that I'm even more likely to "harm joint stability" if I stretch "connective tissue and not only muscles?" Connect the dots for me. This sounds like a whole new branch of exercise physiology that I missed somewhere. Francesca, the debate about stretching is normally held in another email group on down the hall. They've been debating this issue for years because nobody wants to admit that nobody really knows the answer. I'll just tell you what I do, because that's what I was TAUGHT to TEACH people to do when I prepared for my AFAA certification exams in personal training/weight room training. (Note: AFAA is to NSCA and ACSM as Alfred E. Neuman is to Geroge Bush and Al Gore, so take my advice with a grain of skepticism.) Anyway, I was TAUGHT to warm-up for approximately 8 minutes. You're "warm" when you feel lightly sweaty. Then stretch LIGHTLY, gently for 3 or 4 minutes. THEN do your workout, whatever that may be for the day. FOLLOWING the workout and a cooldown, stretch relatively more DEEPLY for 10 or 12 minutes. Hey Dave. No, I don't shoulder press 120# for 40 reps. Kale isn't THAT good! Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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