«To stretch or not to stretch», that is the question.
Stretching is a natural activity often performed without thinking by most people and many animals. We’ve all heard of the purported benefits of a stretching regime before and after exercise. Like all health advice these days, there is now contradictory data as to whether stretching is beneficial in preventing injuries. While some studies suggest that there is no benefit to stretching, other studies have suggested that stretching actually increases muscles’ susceptibility to injury. They claim that by stretching, our muscle fibers are lengthened and destabilized, making them less prepared for the strain placed upon them by exercise.
Is it best to stretch before and/or after exercise? Should you even bother stretching at all? Personally, I’m with evolution on this one. You would think there would be some evolutionary benefit: injured animals are far less likely to survive and breed than healthy injury-free animals. We’ve all seen the classic feline stretch. And what better example than the cheetah? The magnificent cheetah is the fastest of all land animals; it has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (70 mph) in three seconds – faster than most supercars.
(this must be the 1st video not to show a kill)
