Is Stretching Truly An Important Bodybuilding Method For Preventing Muscle Injuries?

Stretching has long been promoted as the most potent muscle injury prevention mechanism available, and thus is used by bodybuilders around the world prior to weight lifting workouts to reduce the risk of muscle tears and strains. Much time is spent executing various specific stretches depending upon which muscle is focused upon, and there is no doubt that increasing flexibility can allow for increased range of motion during weight training exercises, and also can reduce the likelihood of various muscle injuries.

Yet, despite the benefits of stretching, for the bodybuilder who is hoisting heavy poundage during weight training workouts, there is a far more potent injury prevention method that can be executed in concert with, or even in replacement of stretching, and is neglected by far too many weight lifters. Warm up sets are, by far, the most effective weight lifting workout injury avoidance method, as they prepare a muscle for pending stress, and when implemented properly within a weight lifting workout routine, they can prevent the pain and discomfort that often plagues joints and muscles.

We all know that fully depressing the gas pedal on an automobile shortly after starting its engine can cause great damage, as the oil has yet to circulate through the various sections of the engine, and operating a vehicle at full power when engine temperature has yet to rise will increase the chances for wear, tear and potential engine failure, and although we all apply this concept to our car by way of a prerequisite engine warm up period, many weight lifters neglect to use the same logic on their own body, which responds nearly identical to an automobile in such circumstances, except instead of waiting for oil to circulate through the engine compartments and forcing engine temperature to slowly rise, we are attempting to enhance blood flow into the muscle vessels so that they are ready to handle heavy weights during an intense bodybuilding session. By doing so, the muscles, like an automobile engine, are essentially lubricated, preparing them for intense stress, but when warm up sets are avoided, the muscles are forced to perform at maximum capacity from a cold state, and can easily experience injuries ranging in severity from minor muscle strains to major tears.

Many bodybuilders may fear that performing warm ups will adversely impact the amount of weight used during a workout set, but this is not only a false notion, but shocking to many, the opposite is true, meaning that by implementing warms ups properly, the muscle are capable of lifting greater amounts of weight during a workout set than if they were attempting to perform the weight training exercise without any warm ups, which makes this concept much more attractive to those who wish to maximize muscle gain. But even if warm ups were not to offer this substantial benefit, the injury prevention advantage itself is extremely important to any bodybuilder who has a long term vision, as other than improper weight lifting workout and bodybuilding diet techniques creating disappointing progress, the next likely reason why most weight lifters never achieve desired muscle gain is due to injuries derailing future results, and one reason why this occurs is that far too many weight lifters neglect proper warm up sets for every weight lifting exercise.

A friend of mine decided to experiment with some weight training exercises in my basement, and he expressed interest in testing his strength on the squat, so I urged him to warm up prior to doing so, but he rejected my advice, and shortly thereafter, he suffered an agonizing lower back injury. As he and so many have proven, warm ups are one of the most important yet often neglected keys to maximum muscle gain, but make sure not to use warm up weights that are excessive, otherwise you will reduce the effectiveness of your weight lifting workout sets, but you must also avoid selecting weights that are too light, as this will not sufficiently prepare a muscle for pending workout stress. The proper balance has you using a weight for warm ups that does not cause any fatigue, but which sufficiently stimulates blood flow to the muscles being trained, and also make sure to always implement warm ups for each weight training exercise, as there is no available total body warm up method that substitutes for performing each specific workout exercise with lighter weight. Warm ups should not extend your weight lifting session length significantly since such sets do not compel you to rest for longer than is necessary to modify weight on the bar.