Quote:
Originally Posted by memyselfI
Again, if you are in your 20s or 30s you may not understand the importance of stretching. As we age though flexibility becomes much more important as our muscles lose their range of motion and become weaker. Strength training and flexibility/stretch training should go hand in hand.
I think physical therapists, yoga teachers, pilates instructors, etc. would disagree with your assertion of stretching being worthless. Of course, this attitude does guarantee a boom of future business for all of the aforementioned. Not to mention big pharma.
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Stretching is good. I do it before every workout, after my warmup. However, you don't need to go overboard with it. For most muscle groups, 15-30 seconds per day is all that is needed. However, a lot of lifters still need a lot of mobility work, especially in the shoulder and hip areas, so they need to stretch there a lot more and concentrate on that as much as their lifting. It will improve form and prevent injury.
Some foam rolling helps, too.