Stretching It Out
Friday, November 16, 2007 at 09:58AM 
I am an idiot. For my entire training career, I’ve been spouting lines like “stretching is for pussies” and “namaste motherf*cker”, assuming that anyone who dressed up in spandex and grabbed for their ankles was better suited for ballet than CrossFit. Simultaneously, I’ve neglected to stretch beyond the range required for a half-decent front squat, concentrating on loads and times rather than perfect movement patterns.
Unfortunately, this decidedly macho attitude has come back to bite me in the ass. My right shoulder is a good half-inch lower than my left shoulder, my ankle flexion reaches an absurd 87 degrees, and my overhead squat has the structural stability of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Somewhat predictably, my athletes followed my ill-informed lead, putting the majority of them in a similar situation. Tight hamstrings, elevated traps, and vertical shins pervade my clientele, inducing cringe-worthy mechanics and less-than-desirable WOD performances.
My zero-stretching approach to fitness was outwardly justified by the fact that stretching limits the subsequent contractile potential of any given muscle, decreasing its ability to produce force in the near term. I took this exercise phys finding to its (il)logical conclusion, figuring that any stretching—before or after exercise—would limit my ability to churn out maximum horsepower.
Hanging my hat on this tenuous justification, I continued to train my ass off, building strength, stamina, and cardiovascular endurance in an environment of slowly constricting range of motion. My clients did the same. They lived with fixable deficits in form, ignoring my hypocritical entreaties to stretch the responsible muscle groups. I ended up with a bunch of Quasimodo-looking CrossFitters, and had no one to blame but myself.
Recently, we’ve set about remedying this problem. Flexibility training is now an institutional requirement at CrossFit Boston, and the payback has been nothing short of astronomical. Torsos are upright, knees are in front of toes, and under-adduction is a thing of the past. Our athletes are putting greater loads through longer ranges of motion, dropping their WOD times in the process. Ironically, this increased power output is the very thing we were trying to accomplish with our zero-stretching policy.
My mechanics have improved in lockstep with those of my athletes, mostly because someone has to lead them through our sessions. We focus on shoulder, hip, and ankle flexibility/mobility, performing dislocates, pry squats, good mornings, splits, lunges, and the “downward dog”. This limited selection of stretches is performed post-WOD, and participation is mandatory.
If your mechanics are imperfect, I’d encourage you to take up a similar regimen. You’ll risk looking like a maladjusted soccer mom for five minutes, but your performances will skyrocket. Just leave the spandex at home.
Moving large loads long distances with great mechanics at the Olympic Training Center. Flexibility is not optional on these platforms.
Reader Comments (9)
Nice article, thoughtful as always.
I think the last line should read "Flexibility is not optional on these platforms", though.
Thanks, Sam! I've corrected my incredibly dumb mistake, and I appreciate the help!
Best,
Jon
Jon,
We've done the same neglect ourselves (not for our clients, but us)... so we've started a dedicated (but optional) trainer stretching day. We do it as a group and it helps the accountability.
good stuff, jon. im glad that flex/mob has found a place in our daily classes. your article got me to go back and re-read kelly starrett's article in xf journal 59 - jul 2007. thought you might enjoy this quote:
"if you know you have tight hips, calves, hamstrings, quads, thoracic spine, or shoulders and aren't actively, agresviely striving to fix them, you must be afraid of having a bigger squat, faster rowing splits, or a more explosive second pull."
Is there a site or info on what those stretches entail? Mainly pry squats, dislocates, and any streches done for shoulder flexibility.
I am terribly inflexible and am looking to add these exercises to my stretching routine.
Your best bet is to do even a small 5 minute set of stretching every day instead of a single big session once or twice a week.
NICE QUOTE EC!!!! Now I have to go and read it again!!
Syd O,
I'll put up an article this week dealing with the stretching techniques we've utilized recently.
Best,
Jon
Thank you for writing this because it needs to be read. The neglect of flexibility is not only a performance limiter, but it's dangerous.