Abstract
It is commonplace for athletes and coaches to use stretching as a part of pre-activity warm-up. Most individuals use static stretching based on prior experience and the ease of performing the task, and some even believe that it will improve performance and reduce injury. Findings from different studies are somewhat conflicted regarding static stretching and its usefulness in the warm-up. Many groups have found that a static stretch warm-up will hinder performance, while other research has indicated no positive or negative effect. Most of the research to-date has been performed on strength and speed focused activities, with minimal attention paid to endurance activities. Participants included competitive men and women cyclists of not pre-set age range (average age= 32 ± 7 years). Testing consisted of four sessions; with the first including a graded exercise test and baseline lower body ROM (range of motion) measurements. This session determined VO2 max, maximal power, time trial resistance, and aided to acclimatize the subjects with the testing site and equipment. On the first day of testing subjects were assigned to one of three groups in a Latin squares fashion. The three groups consisted of a Stretch (S), Active Warm-Up (W), or a No Stretch (NS) group, and subjects were given a minimum of 48-hours to rest between testing days as the effects of stretching can last 24 hours. The static stretch protocol consisted of five positions that target the primary cycling muscles in the lower limbs: quadriceps, hamstring, plantar flexors, hip extensors and hip flexors. The warm-up protocol consisted of no stretching, but rather subjects pedaled on a stationary cycle for 15 minutes at 20, 35, and 50% of their max wattage, as determined from the baseline GXT. Each stage is five minutes in length and transfers to the next stage without stopping. Subjects participating in the no stretch treatment sat quietly in the riding position, refraining from excessive movements, for 15 minutes. Following each protocol subjects had two minutes to prepare and mount the testing cycle to perform the 576kJ TT. All variables were measured and recorded in the same way for each trial. No significant differences was found in time to completion (S= 41.34 min ± 7.166, WU = 41.31 ± 7.61, NS = 40.92 ± 7.18, p= 0.993) for the three trials. Power output every 28.8 kJ was not significantly different between treatments (p=0.88) but showed a trend over time (p=0.07). HR showed a trend (p=0.09) between trials while RPE was not significantly different between trials (p= 0.43), however, both increased significantly over time (p=0.00). VO2 was also not significantly different between trials (p=0.981) or over time (p=0.61). The results of this study suggest that static stretching as a part of the pre-exercise routine is neither beneficial nor detrimental to the subsequent endurance performance.