How long should you spend on stretching exercises?
According to most surveys, lack of time is the number one reason
people give for quitting their exercise programs.
And with some exercise
professionals suggesting that you stretch before
and after you train, it's
easy to spend most of your time just warming up and cooling down.
In truth, a lot of it is unnecessary.
In an attempt to establish the optimum stretching time needed to
improve flexibility, researchers from the University of Arkansas
examined the effects of four different stretching routines [1].
Previous studies show that stretching exercises lasting 30 seconds
improve your flexibility to a greater extent than stretching exercises
lasting 15 seconds.
However, this group of researchers wanted to
know if a 60-second stretch was any better than one lasting 30 seconds.
They examined the effects of four hamstring stretching routines carried out five days per week for six weeks.
- Stretching three times daily for 60 seconds
- Stretching three times daily for 30 seconds
- Stretching once a day for 60 seconds
- Stretching once a day for 30 seconds
Subjects aged between 21 and 39 years stretched their hamstrings
five days each week for six weeks. They were asked to place their
heel on an elevated surface, and bend forward from the waist until
they felt a "gentle stretch" in the back of their thigh.This
position was held for 30-60 seconds.
Each stretching session was supervised. Anyone who missed more
than four sessions was dropped from the study.
Results showed that stretching once a day for 30 seconds led to a 27% increase in flexibility. This is similar to the 24% improvement seen in the group stretching three times daily for 60 seconds.
In other words, there was
no difference between three 60-second stretches and one 30-second
stretch.
I should point out that all of the participants in this study were under
40 years of age. Longer stretches do appear to be more effective
than shorter ones the older you get.
In a study carried in Physical Therapy, a 60-second stretch improved flexibility
more quickly than a 30-second or 15-second stretch in a group of 62 subjects aged
between 65 and 97, all with "tight" hamstring muscles
[3].
What's more,
participants who stretched for 60 seconds remained more flexible
for longer than subjects in the other groups.
There's also evidence to show that short (10 seconds) but frequent
stretches (6 times daily) are equally as effective as longer (30
seconds) stretches performed less often (twice a day) at increasing
flexibility [2].
In other words, regardless of the length of a single stretch, the
key to improvement is total daily stretch time.
About the Author
 Christian Finn holds a master's degree in exercise science, is a certified personal trainer and has been featured on BBC TV and radio, as well as in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Fit Pro, Zest and other popular fitness magazines.
If you want better, faster results from the time you spend in the gym, click here now for instant access to his step-by-step muscle-building and fat-burning workout routines.
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References
1. Bandy, W.D., Irion, J.M., & Briggler, M. (1997). The
effect of time and frequency of static stretching on flexibility
of the hamstring muscles. Physical
Therapy, 77, 1090-1096
2. Cipriani, D., Abel, B., & Pirrwitz, D. (2003). A comparison
of two stretching protocols on hip range of motion: implications
for total daily stretch duration. Journal
of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17, 274-278
3. Feland, J.B., Myrer, J.W., Schulthies, S.S., Fellingham, G.W.,
& Measom, G.W. (2001). The effect of duration of stretching
of the hamstring muscle group for increasing range of motion in
people aged 65 years or older. Physical
Therapy, 81, 1110-1117
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