Written by Jim Karanas
13th March 2013Bicycling is a repetitive-motion exercise that can lead to tightness in several major muscle groups.
Static (traditional) stretching gradually lengthens a muscle and holds that elongated position for 20 seconds. When done properly, static stretching slightly lessens the sensitivity of stretch receptors in our muscles. That allows the muscle to relax and stretch to a greater length. Many elite athletes in all sports are ditching static stretching altogether, and using “dynamic” stretching as a viable pre-exercise warm-up and an effective post-training technique to restore muscle elasticity.
Several recent studies have found that doing static stretching before playing a sport actually makes you slower and weaker, because the lower sensitivity of the stretch receptors makes us less able to move quickly or freely.
Each muscle has sensory structures called stretch receptors that monitor the state of the muscle and feed the information back to the central nervous system. Stretch receptors sense the velocity of the movement and the degree that the muscle is lengthened.
The Golgi Tendon Organ is a stretch receptor located where skeletal muscle fibers insert into tendon. It provides the sensory component of the Golgi tendon reflex, aka the stretch reflex. The stretch reflex is a protective mechanism to prevent over-stretching and tearing of the muscle fibers.
Active-Isolated Stretching (AIS) uses the body’s natural stretch reflex to enhance flexibility. Because it’s movement-based, it also dynamically stimulates blood flow and muscle extension through movement.
After a couple of seconds of stretching, a muscle begins to contract. This is the protective stretch reflex preventing excessive elongation and potential tearing. With AIS, the key is not to continue stretching beyond that point. Static stretching continues, and thus diminishes performance.
The AIS technique involves holding each stretch for 2 seconds, rather than 20. The stretch is repeated 8 to 12 times for a progressive muscle release. The repetition dramatically increases blood flow to the muscles, improves circulation, and enhances warm up.
Active-Isolated Stretching:
1. Provides a transition between inactivity and physical exertion.
2. Assists the pre-exercise warm-up process by increasing blood flow and soft-tissue temperature. This settles the long-running debate in the fitness industry about whether or not it’s necessary to warm-up prior to stretching. With AIS, both occur together.
3. Produces supple, relaxed muscles, which have a higher capacity for activity.
4. Reduces the likelihood of muscle cramping, tightness and pain.
5. Increases and maintains the range of motion in a joint.
AIS is used by today’s athletes, massage therapists, personal/athletic trainers, and fitness professionals. Personally, I’ve done AIS daily for 17 years.
I attribute much of my athletic longevity and my body’s ability to perform at a high level to Active-Isolated Stretching.
