A curious reader of the L.A.Times asks Jay Blahnik, the paper’s health answer man, if it is true that stretching before workouts is no longer considered wise. The answer, says the answer man, is no one is exactly sure about that. Blahnik says researchers have yet to actually prove that pre-activity stretching
will impede exercise and sports performance or that it will increase
the risk of injury. Evidence does suggest, however, that it probably
does not enhance performance or reduce the risk of injury.
Read more about the possible pros and possible cons of stretching in the L.A. Times.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
always better to stretch….however, most people don’t realize, you HAVE to warmup BEFORE you stretch…..running in place, excercycle or whatever……to stretch the muscles when cold is tantamount to asking for an injury……in the warm weather there is more of a natural limbering due to the heat……if you have a piece of taffy and smack it on the table it will crack, if you leave it there on a summer day, the elasticity will increase with the temperature….so, too, do your muscles…..the taffy will stretch when warmed……so will your muscles…..muscles actually have only one action and that is to contract, so any stress will cause them to tighten….a quick action on an unwarmed muscle group will invariably expose you to injury…..while warmup and stretching does not guarantee an injury free performance……not warming up and stretching when warm, will certainly increase possibility of injury exponentially