Everyone wants to feel the benefits of being more limber by stretching, but did you know stretching could get you stronger?
Most people in the gym recognize that functionally strong people are usually flexible with coordination in their movements.
There are two main reasons stretching helps you get stronger. One reason is explained through the laws of physics. The other reason is explained through the principles of the nervous system and neuromuscular reciprocal inhibition. When a muscle functions with a more optimal (longer) range of motion, it generates more force.
For our body to create movement, there are two main messages that should occur. One is for the agonist muscle (two muscles that oppose the action of one another, like the biceps and triceps) to contract, while the other message is for the antagonist to relax. This paired wiring can create a state in the body where chronically contracted (tight) muscles keep sending a reciprocal inhibition message, which is the process of one side of a joint relaxing to accommodate contraction on the other side of that joint. Having tight quadriceps sends a message of deliberate relaxation or weakness to the hamstring.
Consequently, to achieve optimal strength, stretching helps to normalize the nerve message to opposite muscle groups so they are not continuously told to relax.
Adam Yoser, D.C.
