This is just my experience, I'm not trying to convert anyone...
I have always been a believer in stretching. I think it keeps me loose and efficient when I swim. (There is probably a psychological aspect as well.)
Furthermore, I stretch before working out and somehow, despite the findings cited in the NYT article, I don't think I lose 30% of my muscle strength (something that I imagine would be pretty noticeable).
But I don't think I really do "static" stretching in the way implied in the artlcle, holding one position for 30 seconds. It is more like 5 seconds. There is a lot of movement when I stretch, though not as much as most of the exercises cited in the article.
I have no doubt that the stretching warms me up, "activates" my muscles. How do I know? Simply from a long time of comparing warmups with and without. And even when I don't stretch on the pool deck before warming up, I do so WHILE I warm up (on the walls, during the stroke itself, etc).
I also seem to need less warmup than many of my workout buddies. Of course, that may be due to years of arriving late to practice, halfway thru warmup, then chatting (maybe while stretching) for another 5-10 min before finally getting in.
Again, YMMV.
This is just my experience, I'm not trying to convert anyone...
I have always been a believer in stretching. I think it keeps me loose and efficient when I swim. (There is probably a psychological aspect as well.)
Furthermore, I stretch before working out and somehow, despite the findings cited in the NYT article, I don't think I lose 30% of my muscle strength (something that I imagine would be pretty noticeable).
But I don't think I really do "static" stretching in the way implied in the artlcle, holding one position for 30 seconds. It is more like 5 seconds. There is a lot of movement when I stretch, though not as much as most of the exercises cited in the article.
I have no doubt that the stretching warms me up, "activates" my muscles. How do I know? Simply from a long time of comparing warmups with and without. And even when I don't stretch on the pool deck before warming up, I do so WHILE I warm up (on the walls, during the stroke itself, etc).
I also seem to need less warmup than many of my workout buddies. Of course, that may be due to years of arriving late to practice, halfway thru warmup, then chatting (maybe while stretching) for another 5-10 min before finally getting in.
Again, YMMV.
