# Stretching Can Explode Muscle Growth



## bod1ggity (Aug 17, 2007)

Iron Magazine
How Stretching Can Explode Your Muscle Growth
Posted on Wednesday, March 01 by: Nick_Nilsson

When you think about gaining muscle, stretching is probably not the first thing that pops into your head. But did you know that stretching plays a critical role in building muscle?

Every muscle in your body is enclosed in a bag of tough connective tissue known as fascia. Fascia is important for holding your muscles in their proper place in your body. But your fascia may also be holding back your muscle growth. Think for a moment about your muscles. You train them and feed them properly. They want to grow and will grow but something is holding them back. They have no room to grow!

Because fascia is so tough, it doesn't allow the muscle room to expand. It is like stuffing a large pillow into a small pillowcase. The size of the muscle won't change regardless of how hard you train or how well you eat because the connective tissue around your muscles is constricting the muscles within.

The best example of this is the calf muscle. The lower leg is riddled with fascia because of its tremendous weight-bearing duties in the body. It is because of this fascia that many trainers have great difficulty developing their calves.

The solution: stretching.

Using the pillowcase example from above, imagine you can expand the size of the pillowcase by stretching it. Suddenly, the pillow within has more room and will expand to fill that new space. By stretching your muscles under specific conditions, you can actually stretch your fascia and give your muscles more room to grow.

The key to effective fascial stretching is the pump. The best time to stretch to expand the bags that are holding in your muscles is when your muscles are pumped up full of blood.

When your muscles are fully pumped up, they are pressing against the fascia. By stretching hard at that time, you increase that pressure on the fascia greatly, which can lead to expansion of the fascia.

One of the major reasons Arnold Schwarzenegger had such incredible chest development was that he finished his chest workouts with dumbell flyes, an exercise that emphasizes the stretched position of the pectoral muscles. He would pump his chest up full of blood during the workout then do flyes, holding the stretch at the bottom of the flye. This gave his chest room to grow to amazing proportions.

Fascial stretching is more rigorous than regular stretching but the results can be amazing. When you stretch hard enough to cause the fascia to expand, you will really feel it! When you are stretching the fascia, you should feel a powerful pulling sensation and pressure as the muscle works against the fascia to expand it.

Be sure you do not stretch so hard that you cause the muscle to tear or cause injury to yourself. You will rapidly learn to distinguish the difference between a good stretch and a bad stretch. You should not feel any sharp pain, just a steady pull.

Hold each stretch for at least 20 to 30 seconds as you must give your fascia time to be affected by the stretch. Stretch hard like this only when you have a fully pumped muscle as you must give your fascia a reason to expand. If your muscles aren't pumped, just stretch normally.

One set of hard stretching after each set you do for a muscle group, besides the obvious benefits of increased flexibility, can have an incredible effect on the size of your muscles and their further ability to grow.


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## bod1ggity (Aug 17, 2007)

This is also how *Syntherol* works. It stretches the Facia allowing for new muscle to fill the space.


The following are examples of general static stretching and mobility exercises that could form part of the cool down program at the end of a training session. The aim is to relax the muscles and facilitate an improvement in maximum range of motion. In all exercises breathe easily whilst performing them and hold the static stretches for 20 seconds.

*Chest Stretch*


 Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent
 Hold you arms out to the side parallel with the ground and the palms of the hand facing forward
 Stretch the arms back as far as possible
 You should feel the stretch across your chest

*Biceps Stretch*


 Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent
 Hold you arms out to the side parallel with the ground and the palms of the hand facing forward
 Rotate the hands so the palms face to the rear
 Stretch the arms back as far as possible
 You should feel the stretch across your chest and in the biceps

*Upper Back Stretch*


 Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent
 Interlock your fingers and push your hands as far away from your chest as possible, allowing your upper back to relax
 You should feel the stretch between your shoulder blades

*Shoulder Stretch*


 Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent
 Place your right arm, parallel with the ground across the front of your chest
 Bend the left arm up and use the left forearm to ease the right arm closer to you chest
 You will feel the stretch in the shoulder
 Repeat with the other arm

*Shoulder and Triceps Stretch*


 Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent
 Place both hands above your head and then slide both of your hands down the middle of your spine
 You will feel the stretch in the shoulders and the triceps

*Side Bends*


 Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands resting on the hips
 Bend slowly to one side, come back to the vertical position and then bend to the other side
 Do not lean forwards or backwards

*Abdominal and lower back muscles*


 Lie face down on the ground in a prone position
 Lift your body off the ground so that you are supported only by your forearms and toes. The elbows should be on the ground and should be almost directly below your shoulders. Your forearms and hands should be resting on the ground, pointed straight ahead, toes and feet should be shoulder width apart and your head in line with your spine
      Abs and back
 Contract your gluteus (bum) muscles gently. Hold for ten seconds
 Lift your right arm off the ground, straighten it and point it straight ahead, holding it in the air for 10 seconds
 Return to the starting position
 Repeat with the left arm
 Return to starting position
 Lift your right leg off the ground and hold it there for ten seconds (keep back straight).
 Return to starting position
 Repeat with left leg
 Return to starting position
 lift your right arm and left leg simultaneously and hold them in position for ten seconds
 Return to starting position
 Lift your left arm and right leg simultaneously and hold them in position for ten seconds
 Return to the starting position

*Hamstring Stretch*


 Sit on the ground with both legs straight out in front of you
 Bend the left leg and place the sole of the left foot alongside the knee of the right leg
 Allow the left leg to lie relaxed on the ground
 Bend forward keeping the back straight
 You will feel the stretch in the hamstring of the right leg
 Repeat with the other leg

*Calf Stretch*


 Stand tall with one leg in front of the other, hands flat and at shoulder height against a wall.
 Ease your back leg further away from the wall, keeping it straight and press the heel firmly into the floor
 Keep your hips facing the wall and the rear leg and spine in a straight line
 You will feel the stretch in the calf of the rear leg
 Repeat with the other leg

*Hip and Thigh Stretch*


 Stand tall with you feet approximately two shoulder widths apart
 Turn the feet and face to the right
 Bend the right leg so that the right thigh is parallel with the ground and the right lower leg is vertical
 Gradually lower the body
 Keep you back straight and use the arms to balance
 You will feel the stretch along the front of the left thigh and along the hamstrings of the right leg
 Repeat by turning and facing to the left

*Adductor Stretch*


 Stand tall with you feet approximately two shoulder widths apart
 Bend the right leg and lower the body
 Keep you back straight and use the arms to balance
 Repeat with the left leg

*Groin Stretch*


 Sit with tall posture
 Ease both of your feet up towards your body and place the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to come up and out to the side
 Resting your hands on your lower legs or ankles and ease both knees towards the ground
 You will feel the stretch along the inside of your thighs and groin

*Front of Trunk Stretch*


 Lie face down on the floor, fully outstretched
 Bring your hands to the sides of your shoulders and ease your chest off the floor, keeping your hips firmly pressed into the ground
 You will feel the stretch in the front of the trunk

*Iliotibial Band Stretch*


 Sitting tall with legs stretched out in front of you
 Bend the right knee and place the right foot on the ground to the left side of the left knee
 Turn your shoulders so that you are facing to the right
 Using your left arm against your right knee to help ease you further round
 Use your right arm on the floor for support
 You will feel the stretch along the length of the spine and in the muscles around the right hip

*Quadriceps Stretch*


 Lie face down on the floor, resting your fore-head on your right hand
 Press your hips firmly into the floor and bring your left foot up towards your buttocks
 Take hold of the left foot with the left hand and ease the foot closer to you buttocks
 Repeat with the right leg
 You will feel the stretch along the front of the thigh


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## ASHOP (Dec 4, 2007)

Great post. I cant stress enough how important stretching is fro growth.


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## J4CKT (Mar 22, 2010)

Great read, thank you.


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