Why Stretching Before Training is the Devil

There is a common misconception about the utilization of static stretching as a way to prepare the body for activity. I say misconception, because like most of the tools used in fitness and performance, they are being used the wrong way. Don’t get me wrong, stretching can be beneficial fitness and performance development, but variables such as: when, how long, and intensity all need to be considered before touching your toes in preparation for sprints

When we stretch, we are temporarily changing the resting muscle length. Your body has adapted to your lifestyle, and we have to be extremely cautious when making acute alterations  to your body prior to intense activity. We all have our own unique range of motion (ROM) in each joint. Attempting to move an external load throughout this ROM, we are able to complete this without injury. When we “open up” in an attempt to increase the ROM at the target joint, this new joint angle is not as strong as the original ROM. This is the biggest problem with static stretching before strength training in my opinion. We are making the body essentially adapt on the fly to this new found motion, and we are throwing on weight with no regard to safety. This completely contradicts the claim that static stretching prevents injury. As a matter of fact, in some ways it may increase the chance of injury! And, performance of exercise can also be hindered by long duration static stretching prior to exercise via ill advised alteration of muscle length. 

Now, before we say that “Coach Nate doesn’t stretch, because it’s the devil…” everyone relax. Static stretching definitely has its place in my program, and I use it often with my athletes. Like I said previously, when we consider the variables of: when, how long, and intensity, we can easily and accurately prescribe static stretching. Personally, I stretch 2-3x/ week for roughly 8 minutes. I cover all major muscle groups, and some more than others. These sessions either take place on my “recovery day” or after an intense session to help return the muscles to their resting length and facilitate recovery. The one variable that is consistent for myself and my athletes is that stretching occurs after the session is over! If the goal of a warm-up is to elevate performance, the dynamic warm-up is the gold standard. Inducing thermogenesis, elevate heart rate to anticipated work level, lubricate the joints, prime the central nervous system, amongst other things are all accomplished with the proper dynamic warm-up. 

Flexibility is one thing, what I am more concerned with is can we be strong throughout your ROM, not just get into the position.

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Why do it on Two, When you can do it on One

A hot topic of discussion between us strength coaches is the benefits of unilateral and bilateral training. For years now, and we have been taught “if we can’t do it on two, we shouldn’t be doing it on one!” There is merit to this, no doubt. What your body does to accommodate loading on one leg is a totally different neural pattern compared to two legs, and it will lead to different training adaptations. Bilateral exercises such as the squat, deadlift, and RDL have been proven to be useful exercises to improve strength and power that transfers to on field performance. Unless you participate in a bar sport like powerlifting, you may not be getting as much out of these lifts as you think.  

We are asymmetrical creatures, we are never going to perfect balanced no matter how hard we to strive to attain symmetry. When you play an asymmetrical sports such as baseball, the asymmetries are further attenuated. While your body adapts to these asymmetries, the possibility of injury tends to increase. While a lot of movements in the weight-room are performed on two limbs, athletes can hide asymmetries in these bilateral movements. Over time something will give on the field or in the weight-room that causes an injury. In unilateral movements, hiding compensation patterns is almost impossible! It can actually highlights the flaws in the system. While we may never be symmetrical (maybe we aren’t supposed to be) if I can close the gap between left and right, the total system benefits. 

The majority of athletic activity takes place on one leg. Running, cutting, jumping all take place on one leg; the amount of time spent on two limbs is not as often as your would think. The body relies on each individual limb to produce force to propel the body forward; while the opposite leg prepares for ground contact. Bilateral movements like the squat train the appropriate muscle groups required to improve performance, however it is not a movement athletes often experience on the field. A big counter argument is that you are stronger/ more powerful on two legs compared to one, and this is true… in the moment of the lift. 

The bilateral deficit is a term used to describe the sum of two limbs lifts has a greater total load compared to using two legs at the same time. For example, athlete A can back squat 300lbs. But,  he can single leg squat 155lbs on each limb individually and this totals to 310lbs. If the rep and set scheme is the same between the two exercises, total tonnage will be greater with the single leg squat compared to the back squat; which would elicit greater adaptation (maybe). 

Finally, two limb movements do not always equal improvements with one limb movements, while one leg movements can further improve the ability of two limb movements. In my experience, my athletes have trained primarily on two limbs, while often neglecting unilateral movements. With that being said, their RDL strength and coordination completely exceeds their Single Leg RDL ability (most cannot even get into the position). This is troublesome because we ask these athletes to perform single leg plyometric exercises such as a sprint on a daily basis. The Single Leg RDL almost directly mimics the requirements of the sprint, and if these guys can hardly get in the correct position in a controlled, unloaded environment… I cannot expect them to have any type of advanced sprint ability. I want to change our current mindset that you should be able to perform a movement on two limbs before you attempt it on one. I think we should train single limb ability before attempting bilateral movements. 

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Instability Training... Why?

There seems to be an increased popularity in the utilization of unstables surfaces in the weight-room to improve balance, strength,  core strength, and sports performance. Why add another variable to a skilled movement? What does training on an unstable surface enhance, and/or hinder? To what capacity should you incorporate this modality in your own training regimen?

In the rehab setting, when an individual is returning from injury, it is very common for the usage of unstable surfaces to strengthen all muscles associated with the area being rehabbed. Without going too far out of my scope of practice, the unstable surface promotes co-contraction of agonist and antagonist muscle groups to stabilize the joint and prevent future injury. 

Once someone is cleared from the rehab setting, the capacity to which someone would use instability training methods vary quite a bit. As I have discussed in previous posts, it all depends on what the goal of your program is! Let's look at two people: 1- a sprinter who has 5+ years training experience, 2- an average person not training for competition with < 5 years training experience. 

The sprinter has one goal in mind, and that is to get from point A to point B faster than everyone else. Peaking for these events require detailed programming in order to get the best out of the athlete at the time of the event. A sprinter needs to the ability to put a high amount of force in the ground in a very short amount of time. To aid in force absorption and redistribution, sprinters have the ability to disinhibit the natural inhibitors of muscle contraction. This is part of the reason why they look so fluid running down the track! This has a lot to do with co-contraction of muscles, sprinters want agonist muscle groups to shorten rapidly while the antagonist muscle groups relax. This increases the range of motion of the movement, allowing more time for force generation, and shortens the amortization phase of the stretch shortening cycle. I say all that because unstable surfaces promote co-contraction, thus fighting the results we are looking for! They also limit force production in one direction, meaning as you put force in to the unstable surface like sand, or a bosu ball, the force is distributed across the platform rather than back into the movement. Training to improve balance focusing on the usage of unstable surfaces for the sprint athlete would not be recommended. 

As an average person looking to improve overall fitness, I see no problem with using instability training as long as it’s performed safely with a purpose. Exercise should be fun for people, and if someone is inclined to use a bosu ball to do push-ups because they like the challenge… why not? Sure, they might be emphasizing efficient strength development, but there isn’t strength competition to prepare for either. Instability training provides a unique challenge, and easy way to track improvement with added variables to the exercise. As long as someone has a general strength foundation, and demonstrates that they can do the movement safely, I say go for it. BUT, you should know what instability training promotes if you are utilizing it in your program. If the goal of your program is to increase maximal power output, and one of your programs pillar’s is the utilization of unstable surfaces… I will shake my head in disappointment. 

People use unstable surfaces to promote balance ability, core development (abs, obliques, erectors, etc), a warm up to “activate” muscle groups before the session, rehabilitation from injury, and sometimes just to show off! These are all true statements, but are there better ways to accomplish these goals? For example, nothing has been shown to better develop core strength than performing standing, total body movement with an external load (LIKE A BACK SQUAT), and that includes the 30 minute crunch class. There is a time and a place for unstable surfaces, and IMO that is in the rehab setting, a warm up, a new challenge for someone not training for a competition, and to only be attempted safely by someone with training experience. 

Thank you for your time! If you have any questions, please reach out to us!

Instagram: tp_strength

train@tpstrength.com (Coach Nate)

scott@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

Phone: 914-486-7678