For generations, every sports team, gym class, and recreational athlete was told to stretch first thing. It was assumed that stretching prepped the muscles for better performance. Then research came out saying that static stretching, the kind where you hold the stretch for a while, actually reduces strength, speed, and power. So stretching has been getting a bad rap. Should we even bother?
In the March 2012 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Effect of Acute Static Stretch on Maximal Muscle Performance: A Systematic Review, researchers looked at 106 of the best studies concerning stretching. The researchers were particularly interested in whether the length of time spent stretching impacted strength, speed, and power. They concluded that in the large majority of studies, static stretches held for less than 60 seconds did not impact maximal physical performance. So go ahead and stretch, just don’t hold the stretch for more than a minute.