Short frequent exercising?

W

Walken

New member
Hi

I hurt my back a few months ago and ended up doing stretches 12 times a day, once every hour, for about five minutes. Seems to me I was losing move weight when I was just stretching frequently then when I was doing 30 minutes of aerobics. I tried Googling but I couldn't find anything about it. Anyone know what was going on?

Thanks,
Jake
 
Stretching exercises are good, but they don't burn off many calories.

It's more likely that while you were injured, your diet changed and caused you to lose weight. :)
 
Stretching aids in muscle growth and has definite value. Not sure how many calories it burns, but that's not the only issue when it comes to exercising. I have lost more fat by lifting heavy weights for a short time than burning a bunch of calories doing cardio.
 
Lifting heavy weights is significantly different from 5 mins at a time of stretching. :)

Stretching in and of itself without any resistance is not going to build muscle. You have to have resistance to build muscle - which is why lifting heavy works. Stretching does help release the fascia and increase flexibility. And yes, it does burn *some* calories, but unless you're stretching to the point that you're raising your heart rate significantly, you're not going to burn as many calories stretching as you are doing cardio or lifting heavy.

All of that said, it's impossible to give a definitive answer w/out knowing what, exactly, was done. What routine of exercises/stretches were followed and what was eaten both before and after the injury.
 
Yes, that's true ... stretching AIDS in muscle growth. If you stretch during/after a solid lifting workout, you help distribute fluids (including red blood cells) throughout your worked muscle, which encourages recovery (and recovery is what builds the muscle and builds strength). When you stretch, you also help loosen and stretch the fascia, which is the fiberous connective coating over the muscle - and when you loosen the fascia, you give the muscle more room to grow. It's like stretching a balloon in your hands before you blow it up ... it makes it a little easier.

But stretching, in and of itself, is not going to give you the muscle growth that lifting heavy is and it's not going to burn the calories that lifting heavy or cardio does.

I never said that stretching doesn't have value. I said it's unlikely that someone burns enough calories just by stretching for 5 mins a few times a day to lose significant weight. There's likely some additional something going on - either more exercise or a change in diet.
 
Blancita said:
Over the years, I have read in a number of places that stretching aids in muscle growth.
Click to expand...

Loaded stretching (eccentrics) above a certain threshold necessary to stimulate growth will cause hypertrophy.

Stretching alone, will not. You still need overload.
 
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