Is Stretching The Least Important Bodybuilding Method For Avoiding Muscle Injuries?

Stretching has long been promoted as the most potent muscle injury prevention method available, and thus is used by numerous bodybuilders prior to weight lifting workouts to reduce the chance of muscle strains and tears. Much time is spent performing various specific stretches depending upon which muscle is focused upon, and there is no doubt that increasing flexibility can allow for enhanced range of motion during weight lifting exercises, and also can reduce the incidence of numerous muscle injuries.

Yet, despite the benefits of stretching, for the bodybuilder who is lifting heavy poundage during weight training sessions, there is a far more potent injury prevention technique that can be executed in addition to, or even in lieu 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 plan, they can prevent the pain and discomfort that often surfaces in joints and muscles.

We realize that fully depressing the gas pedal on an automobile shortly after starting the engine can cause great damage, as the oil has yet to circulate through the various chambers of the engine, and operating a vehicle at full power when engine temperature has yet to rise will increase the opportunity for wear, tear and potential engine failure, and although we all apply this wisdom to our automobile by way of a prerequisite engine warm up period, many weight lifters neglect to use the same idea on their own body, which responds similar to an automobile in such a situation, except instead of allowing oil to flow through the engine compartments and forcing engine temperature to slowly rise, we are attempting to enhance blood flow into the muscles so that they are prepared to use heavy weights during an intense weight training workout session. By doing so, the muscles, like an automobile engine, are in essence lubricated, preparing them for intense stress, but when warm up sets are avoided, the muscles are performing 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 negatively impact the amount of weight used during a workout set, but this is not only false, but shocking to many, the opposite is true, meaning that by integrating warms ups properly, the muscle are able to use greater amounts of weight during a workout set than if they were attempting to perform the weight lifting exercise absent any warm up efforts, which makes this method much more attractive to those who wish to maximize muscle gain. But even if warm ups were not to offer this significant benefit, the injury prevention advantage itself is extremely important to any weight lifter who wishes to achieve long term muscle gain, as other than improper weight lifting workout and bodybuilding diet techniques creating lackluster progress, the next likely reason why most weight lifters never achieve desired muscle gain is due to numerous injuries derailing consistency, and one reason why this occurs is that far too many weight lifters dedicate themselves to proper warm up sets for every weight lifting exercise.

My friend decided to experiment with some weight lifting exercises in my basement, and he expressed interest in testing his squat strength, so I recommended that he warm up prior to doing so, but he rejected my advice, and within several reps, he suffered a painful lower back injury. As he and so many have proven, warm ups are one of the most effective yet often neglected keys to maximum muscle gain, but make sure not to select warm up weights that are excessive, otherwise you will adversely impact your weight lifting workout sets, but you must also avoid selecting weights that are too light, as this will not properly prepare a muscle for the workout stress that is to follow. The proper balance has you using a weight for warm ups that does not cause any fatigue whatsoever, but which properly stimulates blood flow to the muscle groups being trained, and also make sure to always implement warm ups for each weight lifting exercise, as there is no available total body warm up method that can replace performing each specific workout movement with lighter weight. Warm ups should not extend your weight lifting session length significantly since such sets do not require you to rest for longer than is necessary to modify weight on the bar or machine.