Dangerous Stretching in Bodybuilding – Part 2

HERE ARE THE ONES TO AVOID TOE TOUCHING – Most keep fit experts’ recommend this, possibly the most dangerous of all exercises/stretches. Diving forward with straight legs to attempt to touch your toes, hits the ligaments which mainly support the spine; the back muscles cannot give you any support when you stretch these ligaments arid your poor old overworked sciatic nerve risks being pulled from its connections. This stretch makes muscles tighter not more. Don’t Do It.

SIT UPS - The traditional way to achieve the six pack? IF done with straight legs, it’s a ‘no no’. Whilst the goal of sit ups is to strengthen the abdominals, after a certain range, you are actually shortening the abdominals. It’s more of a (bad) hip exercise than for the waist. Sit ups with straight legs, can and most likely will result in low back strain and nerve elongation. Better are bent leg /knee sit ups, to avoid such strains, but ideally substitute crunches’ for safety and better results.

LEG RAISES WITH STIFF/STRAIGHT LEGS - The other one of the pair of old fashioned abdominal exercises. This one again stretches the sciatic nerve beyond its’ normal limits. Most people make a mess of this exercise by not keeping their spines flat on the floor, which again leads to lower back pressure on muscles, ligaments and discs. Again substitute crunches or alternate bent leg raises.

KNEE STRETCHES - Here you lay back with your bent knees and feet behind your hips. What it does is to over exceed the normal range and motion of the knee joint, straining the patellar and collateral knee ligaments. It’s a stretch too far.

STRAIGHT LEG STRETCHES WITH FEET ON BAR (Ballet bar) Often termed Ballet Stretches as performed by ballerinas. It is unnatural and again will overstretch the sciatic nerves and can also be risky for the back of the knee, joints, discs and low back ligaments. What more do you want for self inflicted injury. Late in life ex ballerinas have good reasons for regretting the practice of this bad stretch.

SQUAT WALKS OR DUCK WALKING - I don’t know where this one started from. It is supposed to make your knee joints supple. It does not. . You are a hundred times more likely to tear your knee cartilages; leave duck walking to the ducks.

HURDLERS STRETCH - Hurdlers are better off warming up with easy, slow and low hurdles. Why bodybuilders should bother I don’t know. Forget the pictures you have seen of Tom Platz and others in similar full stretches, they are genetically favored with short bone structure to be able to achieve some of the favorite pose for bodybuilders to demonstrate rear leg muscularity by similar toe touching or elongated leg stretches. But believe me, they will regret it.

Hurdlers stretches pull muscles and ligaments in the groin further than they were designed to move. A classic result later in life, if you include this stretch is chronic groin pain. It will also wreck your knees, and strain the poor old sciatic nerve again. Forget it, better to take five minutes rubbing in some pre exercise embrocation that will warm up the muscles without fear of injury.

We are sure there are many more bad stretches, some without name or even popular ones, that suit some people but not others. It is not too clever however to have to injure oneself and set back training success by learning the hard way. So finally in our little bunch of stretches too far, beware of them…

THE YOGA PLOW - Yes we know yoga is popular, but thankfully, like being ‘Gay’ It is not compulsory. The plow or plough according to your spelling can actually be probably the most dangerous exercise you can attempt. In my personal view, it should be outlawed. It’s the one where you carry the leg raise over and beyond your head, so your toes reach the floor (The do it yourself blow job position).

What you are actually doing to your head, neck, brain and spinal cord is scary. It can stretch and put stress on the blood vessels to the brain and the upper spinal cord. It can kink the vertebral artery and cut off circulation, potentially highly dangerous. It places much too much pressure on spinal discs and ligaments and can cause fiber destruction in the base of the spine and sciatic nerves by stretching nerve fibers over and beyond their length. Sure we love yoga, meditation and all
that jazz. but DONT do this one..

So how should you warm up? Just train in an ambient temperature, not too hot, never too cold. Wear training clothing. Take a light jog or run on the spot for a couple of minutes. Precede every bodybuilding or lifting movement/exercise with one to two LIGHT sets. i.e. use an unloaded bar, going full range WITHOUT OVERSTRETCHING. Keep moving and warm also after exercise.

You already know enough about nutrition, if not ask MICK to recognize what aids recovery PS. About the only book I would recommend on stretching is Bob Andersons’ manual “STRETCHING” which covers all sports and activities wisely and sensibly. But in the main, keep to the advice offered in the article.

Train hard and be strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Do not read this unless you are ready to gain some serious lean muscle… Layman’s Guides to Steroids III (new)

Tagged as: Abdominal Exercises, Abdominals, Back Muscles, Back Of The Knee, Ballerinas, Ballet Bar, Crunches, Hip Exercise, Knee Joint, Knee Joints, Knee Ligaments, Knee Stretches, Leg Stretches, Low Back Strain, Sciatic Nerve, Sciatic Nerves, Self Inflicted Injury, Sit Ups, Straight Leg, Straight Legs