Stretching - the often neglected necessity
Stretching is one of the most neglected components of training. Most people stretch very little or not at all. There are some obvious benefits to stretching like reduced injuries and increased range of motion.

Due to the nature of weight training there is a good stretch involved when you do exercises correctly, but even so
it is not enough to get real benefits.

Frank Zane use to stretch in between sets, both for the benefits and to pace the workout. The muscle group just trained will be tired so there will be less resistance to the stretch. In addition, the muscle will be warm and the stretch will also keep blood in the muscle group for longer.

But Frank had another reason for stretching; it helps increase muscle size. Muscle fibers and groups are covered by sheaths that form compartments around muscle groups. In some people these sheaths become so tight that the muscles cannot expand and during training a painful condition knowns as compartment syndrome results. We all experience a pump, or at lest you should feel a pump, so we have an idea of what it feels like.

Stretching can help enlarge the sheaths surrounding the muscles, thereby allowing the muscle to expand more. Top bodybuilders uses this as part of their training strategy. There is a direct correlation between guys with big hamstrings and quads as well as calfs and stretching and flexibility. The use of steroids affect these sheaths. When you are on a steroid cycle you can feel an increased pump, this is due to more fluid being forced into the muscle fibre, but also because the muscle expands forcing the sheaths to stretch.

Steroids do not strengthen the ligaments and tendons, so stretching while on steroids will help with injury reduction and getting more size out of your cycle. The less flexible you are, the harder it will be to keep your form during a exercise and form is a crucial part of muscle stimulation.

Stiff hamstrings and glute muscles are most often the culprits when suffering for lower back problems. One of the biggest problem areas for people are calfs. Stiff calfs will directly affect the entire body, all the way up to your neck.

As we get older, our bodies lose flexibility. This causes reduced range of motion and that directly impacts your quality of life and increases your risk of injury. From age 30 it seems you have to stretch actively every single day to maintain a good level of flexibility. The good news is that the older you get the better you will retain your strength. Numerous studies have shown that older males will retain their strength and size for longer, with less workouts than males in their 20’s. However, their flexibility reduces almost daily if active stretching is not done.

The problem is that you will form a lot of your training and stretching habits from a young age and it is infinitely harder to start a stretching routine if you are over 30. It becomes hard enough just to keep it up. From age 40 you should spend 60-70% of your gym time stretching and the rest training. If you do a lot of cardio like running, you have to stretch even more to offset the effects of short muscle motion. Some experts put it a ratio of 3 to 1, three hours stretching for every hour of road running.
It seems you cannot stretch enough no matter what you do, but one thing is certain, the more flexible you are, the bigger you can get and the more effectively you can train.

Some interesting stretches to help you get started on:

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