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

Stretching has long been proclaimed the most potent muscle injury prevention mechanism available, and thus is used by many bodybuilders prior to weight lifting workouts to reduce the risk of muscle tears and strains. Much time is spent executing various specific stretches depending upon which muscle group is focused upon, and there is no argument that increasing flexibility can allow for superior range of motion during weight lifting exercises, and also can reduce the likelihood 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 method that can be performed in connection with, or even in lieu of stretching, and is ignored by far too many bodybuilders. Warm up sets are, by far, the most powerful weight lifting workout injury prevention method, as they prepare a muscle for pending stress, and when implemented properly within a weight lifting workout routine, they can prevent the pain and discomfort that often surfaces in joints and muscles.

We realize that fully depressing the gas pedal on a car shortly after starting the engine can cause severe 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 chances for potential engine failure, and although we all apply this concept to our automobile by way of an engine warm up period, many bodybuilders neglect to use the same idea on their own body, which acts nearly identical to a car in such circumstances, except instead of waiting for oil to flow through the engine compartments and forcing engine temperature to gradually rise, we are attempting to increase blood flow into the muscles so that they are ready to use heavy weights during an intense weight training workout session. By doing so, the muscles, like a car 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 quickly experience injuries ranging in severity from minor muscle strains to major tears.

Many bodybuilders may worry that performing warm ups will negatively impact the actual weight used during a workout set, but this is not only false, but shocking to many, the opposite is true, meaning that by performing 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 concept much more attractive to those who wish to maximize muscle building results. But even if warm ups were not to offer this substantial benefit, the injury prevention component 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 disappointing progress, the next likely reason why most bodybuilders never achieve desired muscle building results is due to numerous injuries derailing future results, and one reason why this occurs is that far too many bodybuilders dedicate themselves to proper warm up sets for every weight lifting exercise.

A friend of mine decided to experiment with some weight lifting exercises in my basement, and he expressed interest in testing his strength on the squat, so I recommended that he warm up prior to doing so, but he ignored my advice, and shortly thereafter, he suffered a painful lower back injury. As he and so many have proven, warm ups are one of the most important yet often ignored 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 should also avoid selecting weights that are too light, as this will not sufficiently 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 sufficiently stimulates blood flow to the muscles being trained, and also make sure to always engage in warm ups for each weight lifting exercise, as there is no available total body warm up technique 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 change weight on the bar.

Francesco Castano authors MuscleNOW.com, a weight lifting routine for muscle building without supplements or drugs. He also owns IncrediBody.com, an online fitness superstore selling fitness equipment at guaranteed lowest prices.