Is Stretching The Least Important Weight Lifting Method For Avoiding Muscle Injuries?
Stretching has long been touted as the most effective muscle injury prevention mechanism available, and thus is used by numerous bodybuilders prior to weight training workout sessions to reduce the risk of muscle tears and strains. Much time is spent executing various specific stretches depending upon which muscle group is focused upon, and there is no argument that increasing flexibility can allow for superior range of motion during weight training exercises, and also can reduce the incidence of various muscle injuries.
Yet, despite the benefits of stretching, for the bodybuilder who is hoisting heavy poundage during weight training workout sessions, there is a far more effective injury prevention method that can be performed in concert with, or even in replacement of stretching, and is ignored by far too many weight lifters. Warm up sets are, by far, the most effective weight training workout injury avoidance method, as they prepare a muscle for pending stress, and when integrated properly within a weight training workout routine, they can prevent the pain and discomfort that often surfaces in muscles and joints.
We realize that fully depressing the gas pedal on a car shortly after starting the engine can cause great damage, as the oil has yet to circulate properly through the various sections of the engine, and operating a vehicle at full power when engine temperature has yet to rise will greatly boost the chances for wear, tear and potential engine failure, and although we all apply this wisdom to our automobile by way of a prerequisite engine warm up period, many weight lifters neglect to use the same logic on their own body, which acts nearly identical to a car in such a situation, except instead of allowing oil to circulate through the engine compartments and forcing engine temperature to gradually rise, we are attempting to enhance blood flow into the muscles so that they are prepared to handle heavy weights during an intense weight training workout. By doing so, the muscles, like a car engine, are essentially lubricated, preparing them for intense stress that follows, but when warm up sets are avoided, the muscles are performing at maximum capacity from a cold state, and can quickly experience injuries ranging in severity from minor muscle strains to major tears.
Many bodybuilders may fear that performing warm ups will negatively impact the amount of weight used during a workout set, but this is not only false, but surprisingly to many, the opposite is true, meaning that by implementing warms ups properly, the muscle are actually able to lift greater amounts of weight during a workout set than if they were attempting to perform the weight training exercise without any warm up efforts, which makes this concept much more attractive to those who wish to maximize muscle gain. But even if warm ups were not to offer this significant benefit, the injury prevention advantage itself is extremely important to any weight lifter who has a long term vision, as other than improper weight training workout and bodybuilding diet techniques creating lackluster progress, the next likely reason why most weight lifters never achieve desired muscle gain is due to numerous injuries derailing consistency, and one reason why this occurs is that far too many weight lifters avoid proper warm up sets for every weight training exercise.
My friend decided to perform some weight training exercises in my basement, and he expressed interest in testing his squat strength, so I urged him to warm up prior to doing so, but he rejected my advice, and shortly thereafter, he suffered a painful lower back injury. As he and so many have shown, warm ups are one of the most effective yet often ignored keys to maximum muscle building, but make sure not to select warm up weights that are excessive, otherwise you will reduce the impact of your weight training workout sets, but you must also avoid selecting weights that are too light, as this will not sufficiently prepare a muscle for pending workout stress. The correct balance has you using a weight for warm ups that does not result in any fatigue whatsoever, but which sufficiently stimulates blood flow to the muscles being trained, and also ensure you always implement warm ups for each weight training exercise, as there is no available total body warm up method that substitutes for performing each specific workout movement with lighter weight. Warm ups should not extend your weight training session length by a significant margin since such sets do not compel you to rest for longer than is necessary to modify weight on the bar.
Francesco Castano authors the www.MuscleNOW.com web site, which is a bodybuilding routine for muscle gain without supplements or drugs. He also owns the www.FatVanish.com site, teaching exactly how to lose fat without supplements.
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