A muscle feels ‘tight’: what do you do?\r\nThe natural intention is to stretch the muscle but is this really what you should be doing prior to your workout?\r\n\r\nFirstly, I want you to know that the ‘tightness’ you feel isn’t necessarily a bad thing! In fact, tightness is a sign of our body functioning appropriately. It is a protective mechanism controlled by the nervous system to prevent injury.\r\n\r\nTightness experienced across the body is likely the result of several variables. Most notably, the position you find yourself in for the majority of your day could influence the position and posture your body adopts.\r\n\r\nLet’s look at the example of an office worker. This person spends 6-8 hours each day sat an office desk. Because of this, there are certain muscles that will be positioned in a stretched state.\r\nFor instance, let’s consider the gluteus maximus (butt). The gluteus maximus attaches to the back of the pelvis (sacrum and coccyx) & then to the upper aspect of the femur (thigh bone). Therefore, when in a seated position (if we imagine the muscle as an elastic band), the muscle is being stretched/lengthened for prolonged periods of time.\r\n\r\nNow, if the goal is to gain ‘length’ of a muscle to access a certain range of motion (an outlined definition for flexibility & the requirement for stretching), would we really need to stretch the gluteus maximus in this example?\r\nProbably not: we would not gain any additional benefit from doing this.\r\n\r\nHowever, let’s look into what’s happening on the other side of the body. The Psoas major (also known as a ‘hip flexor’) attaches from the lower spine to the top of the femur (thigh bone). Again, if you can imagine it almost as an elastic band, when seated this muscle would find itself in a shortened position – a position we often look to achieve when performing strength-based movements. By spending a long time in this position, this muscle will likely become what’s referred to as ‘chronically short’. This is the response of our nervous system trying to find the safest and most efficient position for our body to perform its day to day.\r\n\r\nIn this scenario, would it be beneficial to stretch the muscle?\r\nAbsolutely. By stretching the hip flexor muscle(s), you would be able to achieve an improved ‘length’ to the muscle. This effect would be short-term but by preparing the muscle in this way, alongside some mobility work, you’ll be able to facilitate an increased intensity in your strength training. This is because you are able to move through a greater muscle range & stimulate more strength and hypertrophic responses to the muscles worked. In addition, by strengthening the muscles in these ranges, you will facilitate improved flexibility and strength in the end ranges. Not only that, but you will also likely see a decrease in the tightness experienced to given muscle groups (I’m certain you can relate to this sensation).\r\n\r\nTherefore, the answer to stretching prior to a workout is…it depends.\r\n\r\nIt’s important to assess whether or not stretch work will support your performance prior to a session (especially when we consider that bouts of stretching have been shown to decrease strength performance). You will likely not need to spend long on stretching (targeting only specific areas) & should be more focused on mobility and ‘potentiation’ work before a session. Not only that, but you should also know that stretching without mobility and strength work will lead to sub-optimal improvements. Strengthening a muscle through its range and function will be required if you want to see improved results from your training from both an aesthetics and a functionality perspective.