Feb 21, 2018 5 min read

The Biggest Winner competition has reached the midway point, and the Observer-Reporter team has lost 1.91 percent of its body weight (a total of 23 pounds).

The common sentiment among the six team members is that they are sore – but in a good way. Soreness can be a positive sign after starting a new training program, but too much of it is a bad thing. One of the pillars of the program the Biggest Winner contestants are learning about is recovery and allowing the body to heal and re-energize for its next workout.

“Many of us try to avoid too much soreness by stretching, which is an important element of your daily routine. Stretching can be a benefit to the majority of people on an exercise routine,” said Bill Jones, exercise physiologist and personal trainer at the Washington Health System Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center. “It can increase joint flexibility, which may help some in performing daily activities or allow joints to attain an optimal range when performing exercise. Stretching is only one of many tools that can be used to increase joint range of motion.”

However, contrary to what has been taught through the years, Jones points out that stretching has not been conclusively shown to reduce soreness.

“The immediate effects of stretching are transient, meaning they do not last long,” says Jones.

There are recent studies that show stretching can reduce soreness somewhat immediately after a workout. But these studies show the effects are not long-lasting. What’s worse is that other research shows stretching muscles too much before they’re property warmed up may do more harm than good.

“Active forms of recovery to warm up the body will more sufficiently aid in recovery by allowing the blood flow to clear the muscle of by-products and deliver nutrients for repair,” Jones said.

Doing some light movements to gradually warm up the body may help muscles more than a pre-workout stretch.

“Following a consistent flexibility program by performing stretches at optimal times will lead to increases in ranges of motion about the joints focused on,” said Jones.

That means stretching before exercise can help a specific joint restriction that is caused by a chronically tight muscle. But, on average, Jones recommends stretching after a workout when the muscles are still warm, or even as its own session after properly warming up your muscles.

“The primary focus before exercise should be on warming up the body as a whole,” he said, “picking movements of low intensity that take joints through a full range of motion to perform and prepare the body for the intensities that will be incurred in the exercise session.”

The key to stretching properly is to not overdo it, and to make sure you’re holding the proper position. Stretching incorrectly can hurt rather than help.

“When stretching a muscle statically, only increase the stretch to a point of mild discomfort and hold for 15 to 30 seconds,” Jones explained.

As a personal trainer, Jones sees many people making mistakes when working out, and especially when stretching. The most common mistakes he sees are in the positions used to isolate certain muscles – for example, a person elevating one leg very high onto an object and reaching for the toe of the same leg to stretch the hamstring.

“In the example, that person may feel a stretch in the hamstring,” explains Jones, “but this position normally also forces compensatory stretching of the low back and calf muscles.”

Basically, by lifting the leg too high, you negate the effects of the stretch by being in the wrong position.

Bouncing on stretches is another common mistake.

“Those fast actions activate parts of the nervous system that will cause the muscle to tighten, a mechanism designed to protect the muscle from injury,” Jones said.

Although there are many stretching techniques that are effective, he said static stretching is the easiest and requires the slow stretching of a muscle.

Once a person has started a workout by slowly warming up rather than simply stretching cold muscles, the focus should be on helping those muscles recover post-workout. While static stretching doesn’t help prevent injury or reduce soreness, it does increase flexibility. Experts say it’s best to do this toward the end of the workout when muscles are warm.

Instead of just ending the workout and dropping into a stretch, try a slow cool down or some active stretching. This has been shown to improve strength and muscle endurance.

What is active stretching? Just like it sounds, active stretching means repeatedly putting muscles through a range of motion while still moving, rather than static stretching, where you’re stationary.

Good examples of active stretches are squats, leg kicks, side lunges and arm circles. These can help lengthen muscles and increase blood flow to them while slowly recovering from a cardio workout.

Experts also recommend drinking plenty of water after exercise, getting enough rest, snacking on protein, allowing ample time between workouts and massaging muscles with a foam roller to reduce stiffness and promote circulation.