What Happens If You Exercise Without Stretching (2023)

Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. Then, when you call on the muscles for activity, they are weak and unable to extend all the way. That puts you at risk for joint pain, sprains, and muscle damage.

It’s not enough to build muscle and achieve aerobic fitness. You need to think about flexibility, too. Stretching can help.

You may think of stretching as something performed only by runners or gymnasts. But we all need to stretch in order to protect our mobility and independence. “A lot of people don’t understand that stretching has to happen on a regular basis. It should be daily,” says David Nolan, a physical therapist at the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. Then, when you call on the muscles for activity, they are weak and unable to extend all the way. That puts you at risk for joint pain, sprains, and muscle damage.

Is it better to workout without stretching?

Theoretically, stretching before exercise should make the muscles more pliable and less likely to tear. But when studies have compared rates of injury or muscle soreness in people who stretch before exercise and those who don’t, they have found little benefit to stretching.

Q. Should I stretch before or after my workout to help prevent muscle injuries and soreness? I’ve gotten conflicting advice on this.

A. We all remember the importance placed on stretching in our high school physical education classes. However, recent expert opinion has moved away from static stretching before activity and toward a gradual and active warm-up period before exercise. Stretching a healthy muscle before exercise does not prevent injury or soreness.

Muscles are made of bundles of tiny fibers. In a typical exercise-related muscle strain, these fibers develop microscopic tears. Theoretically, stretching before exercise should make the muscles more pliable and less likely to tear. But when studies have compared rates of injury or muscle soreness in people who stretch before exercise and those who don’t, they have found little benefit to stretching. In fact, stretching a cold, tight muscle could lead to injury.

At what point do muscles stop growing?

Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, and then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men.

Some people perform incredible feats of strength and endurance well into their retirement years. The great news is: You don’t have to bench press 300 pounds or run a marathon to show off the benefits of strength training.

NIA-supported researchers have been studying the effects of strength training for more than 40 years and have identified multiple ways it can benefit older adults, including maintaining muscle mass, improving mobility, and increasing the healthy years of life. Learn more below about these findings from NIA-supported researchers, along with their tips for maintaining strength or becoming stronger as we age.

Some people have a hard time gaining muscle no matter how much they lift, while others have a hard time losing weight even when focusing on aerobic activity. This variability from person to person is another area of current research, both at the NIA and the institutions it supports.

At what age is it harder to grow muscle?

Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, and then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men.

Some people perform incredible feats of strength and endurance well into their retirement years. The great news is: You don’t have to bench press 300 pounds or run a marathon to show off the benefits of strength training.

NIA-supported researchers have been studying the effects of strength training for more than 40 years and have identified multiple ways it can benefit older adults, including maintaining muscle mass, improving mobility, and increasing the healthy years of life. Learn more below about these findings from NIA-supported researchers, along with their tips for maintaining strength or becoming stronger as we age.

Some people have a hard time gaining muscle no matter how much they lift, while others have a hard time losing weight even when focusing on aerobic activity. This variability from person to person is another area of current research, both at the NIA and the institutions it supports.

Is it bad to not stretch every day?

Is it okay to stretch every day? Not only is it okay to stretch every day; it’s actually recommended. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests stretching at least two to three times per week and that daily stretching is most effective.

There are several different types, and each offers a unique benefit. Some common types of stretching include:

What the different types of stretching have in common is that they help lengthen the muscles of the body and keep them (and thus you) mobile, according to ACE.

Stretching increases muscle flexibility, which is needed to maintain a healthy range of motion in the joints, according to Harvard Medical School. Flexibility may sound similar to mobility, but they’re different in that flexibility is the ability of the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments) to stretch without assistance, whereas mobility is the ability of the joint (where two bones connect) to move through its full range of motion, according to the International Sports Sciences Association.

Will tight muscles eventually loosen?

The short answer is no. People who have chronically tight muscles may stretch and stretch in an attempt to improve their muscle length, but feel like they are seeing little improvement—and for good reason.

For a lot of people, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a stiff joint or muscle is stretching. Stretching has historically been performed as a method to make our muscles ‘long and lean’, but we need to consider and adhere to what the evidence is telling us regarding static stretching.

Does stretching increase the length of our muscles? The short answer is no.

People who have chronically tight muscles may stretch and stretch in an attempt to improve their muscle length, but feel like they are seeing little improvement—and for good reason. Static stretching does not increase the length of our muscles!

What happens if you never stretch after running?

“Not stretching after a run can lead to tight muscles, which are more likely to be strained,” Dobler said. “A runner who does not stretch is also more likely to suffer from post-run soreness and cramping than a runner who stretches routinely.”

This content is brought to you in partnership with Ortho Carolina, one of the nation’s leading orthopedic practices with offices across the Southeast.

We all know that post-workout recovery is important. You’ve heard that after exercising, you need to hydrate and that you should consider foam rolling or a massage for your muscles’ sake.

For runners specifically, it’s said that stretching after getting a few miles in is crucial for proper recovery. But is it? And if so, why? We reached out to Matthew Dobler, a physician’s assistant and former athletic trainer at OrthoCarolina (as well as a former cross-country runner for UNCC), to find out what you really need to know about post-run recovery.

Do tight muscles grow slower?

Every muscle in your body is surrounded by fascia, which is connective tissue that hugs your muscles to stabilize and keep them in place. Sometimes this tissue can be so tight that it restricts muscle expansion and prevents growth.

Stretching is a fitness staple. For most of us, it’s one of the first forms of exercise that we are exposed to. Whether you think of vintage articles and brightly colored leotards or you conjure up memories from grade-school gym class, stretching has long been associated with physical fitness: ‘touch your toes, and hold for 30 seconds’. But there’s a lot of debate about the merits of stretching. Depending on who you ask, you may hear that ‘stretching kills gains’ or that ‘stretching reduces strength’. Others are convinced that stretching is the key to safe exercise and injury prevention. It turns out that there might be merit to both sides of this argument. There’s a right way and a wrong way to engage in stretching, and if you’re not deliberate, you may be doing more harm than good.

If you watch professional sports, you’ll know that most athletes stretch before hitting the ice, turf, or hardwood. They do this to loosen up their muscles and prevent injury, but the type of injury that they’re trying to prevent is different from the ones that are most commonly experienced in the weight room. Regular stretching will help increase your range of motion and prevent injuries related to over-extension (think groin pulls or torn hamstrings). These usually happen at speed, when muscles are quickly pulled beyond where they’re accustomed to moving. This type of movement isn’t common during a slow and controlled weightlifting session. Most weightlifting injuries occur within a normal range of motion and cannot be prevented by a pre-lift stretch.

I know when I’ve got a bad case of DOMS, I’m itching like a dog with fleas to stretch out my sore muscles. But unfortunately, stretching has a very minimal impact on muscle soreness, at least according to a study published by the University of Sydney. They had two groups of athletes perform identical training, where one group engaged in pre- and post-workout stretching and the other did not. Across all of their research, they found that stretching had almost no impact on next-day muscle soreness. So if you’re really sore, you’re much better off foam rolling and focusing on getting the proper nutrition for a quick recovery.

Will muscles grow if you don’t stretch?

• Not only is stretching important for flexibility, it is critical for massive, rapid muscle growth.
• Not only is stretching important for flexibility, it is critical for massive, rapid muscle growth.
• By Nick Nilsson | First published April 21, 2008 | Updated September 9, 2022.

When you think about muscle growth or 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?

How can I loosen my muscles without stretching?

Foam rolling is a common tool utilized to treat tight muscles. This type of self-massage can help loosen tight muscles or release those hard-to-reach trigger points. Foam rolling can be uncomfortable, but similarly to massage guns, it can help improve muscle length in the short term.

A common question we get as physical therapists is, “What can I do to stretch this tight muscle?” While stretching may seem like the best method to treat a tight muscle, stretching may not always be the answer. Muscle tightness can be caused by weakness or tightness of the muscle and weakness in surrounding muscles. Most commonly, all of these things are involved on some level, which causes a muscle to tighten.

Stretching can be very important for the tightness of muscles, but is recommended to be performed at the end of an activity and performed statically. Static stretching is when a stretch is performed and held for a specific duration of time. Holding a stretch will help improve muscle length and reduce muscle strength in the short term. If high-intensity activities are performed following static stretching, injury can occur secondary to the reduced strength of the stretched muscle.

Recommendation: Perform specific static stretching after activity to prevent muscle tightness.

Why do I run better when I don’t stretch?

Recent studies caution people away from stretching before workouts, suggesting it actually impedes your body’s performance. According to this research, runners run more slowly, jumpers jump less high, and weight lifters lift more weakly by stretching, all without significantly ensuring against injury during their exercise.

Once upon a time, stretching was to exercise what proposing is to marriage: an essential ritual that had to be done before the main event. Athletes of a certain age were warned to stretch their muscles before exerting themselves to avoid a debilitating pull or injury.

Recent studies caution people away from stretching before workouts, suggesting it actually impedes your body’s performance. According to this research, runners run more slowly, jumpers jump less high, and weight lifters lift more weakly by stretching, all without significantly ensuring against injury during their exercise.

With the new semester well under way and (at least some) people still vowing to exercise as their New Year’s resolution, we asked three BU fitness experts to describe how they warm up before sweating and what they’d advise others. Here are their answers:

Why is it bad to not stretch before working out?

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows that stretching before you lift weights may leave you weaker and less coordinated during your workout. Stretching alone before a workout might actually increase the risk of injury.

We are constantly taught and reminded of the importance of stretching, whether that’s stretching pre-workout or stretching post-workout. We know it is essential for our bodies to avoid injury and remain supple.

Last week, we took you through the dos and don’ts of how to stretch, and today we are going to take you through the ‘when to and when not to’ of stretching!

A common belief is that we should always stretch prior to any physical workouts, exercises, or activities. The reason behind it is to loosen and prepare your muscles for the extra exertion they are about to experience. However, recent studies caution people away from stretching before workouts, suggesting it actually impedes your body’s performance. According to this research, runners run more slowly, jumpers jump less high, and weight lifters lift significantly less by stretching, without ensuring against injury during their exercise. Not many people know that stretching actually decreases your muscle power by up to 30%! Because of this, anyone looking to engage in a high-intensity workout or weight lifting will be decreasing their chances of operating at maximum capacity, performance, and ability during their workout.

Will tight muscles go away on their own?

With these two symptoms, your muscles remain stiff even when you are not moving. Muscle stiffness usually goes away on its own. You can find relief with regular exercise and stretching. Sometimes, muscle stiffness can be a sign of something more serious, especially if other symptoms are present.

Muscle stiffness, also known as muscle tension, rigor, or stiffness, is one of the most common causes of muscle pain. It is characterized by the inability of the muscles to relax normally. The condition can affect any of the muscles in the body, causing a sharp pain that makes movement difficult.

Muscle stiffness occurs when your muscles feel tight and you find it more difficult to move than usual, especially after rest. You may also have muscle aches, cramps, and discomfort.

This differs from the stiffness and spasticity of the muscles. With these two symptoms, your muscles remain stiff even when you are not moving.

Do you lose flexibility if you don’t stretch?

A break in training will result in some reduced tolerance to stretching but not a reduction in range (e.g., it will feel harder but you will achieve the same level).

At what age do we lose flexibility?

With age, we gradually lose the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion. By age 70, 25–30% of overall flexibility is usually lost (in an average population).

Can you regain your lost flexibility?

By becoming more active and doing the right exercises, we can regain our flexibility. I have seen and helped this happen many times over my career as a physiotherapist, and the research shows that with the right exercise and activity, age-related loss of flexibility is reversible.