“Striated muscle displays the striking ability to rapidly adapt to changes in physiological requirements through the dynamic assembly and disassembly of its functional building blocks, the sarcomeres.”

–

“We have proposed, for the first time, a mechanistic multiscale model for stretch-induced sarcomerogenesis, in which chronic muscle lengthening is characterized through a scalar-valued internal variable, the serial sarcomere number.”

“The ultimate goal would be to maximize stretch-induced muscle growth, such that the muscle always stays within a physiologically reasonable operating range.”

–

“The ultimate goal would be to guarantee optimal regeneration and long-term repair durability.”

–

A.M.Zollner, et al

Stretching Skeletal Muscle: Chronic Muscle Lengthening through Sarcomerogenesis

PLoS One — Volume 7 #10 — 2012

National Institutes Of Health [NIH]

–

–

“Human skeletal muscle responds to mechanical loading by adapting its structure. Muscle structure can be described by quantifying its architectural parameters, namely fascicle length and angle, muscle thickness, and cross-sectional area, using ultrasonography. Mechanical loading induced either by muscle contraction or muscle stretching triggers alterations in cellular signaling and gene expression, which modify the physiological, structural, and contractile properties of muscle fibers.”

–

“Skeletal muscle stretching is commonly used in sports and clinical settings, with the aim to increase maximum joint range of motion (ROM) and muscle-tendon unit extensibility.”

“Increased ROM following long-term stretching interventions may be explained by increased stretch tolerance and/or changes in tissue mechanical properties, while some recent studies have found changes in muscle morphology.”

–

“Most studies found no detectable changes in fascicle angles and muscle thickness following static stretching training, with some notable exceptions. Regarding fascicle length, an increase in resting values has been found following 6–12 weeks of stretching training, while increases in muscle fascicle length during stretching may appear earlier, i.e., after 3–4 weeks of static stretching training.”

–

“….the conflicting results between studies can be partly attributed to differences in stretching protocols and methodologies used.”

“Longer-term static stretching interventions, overloaded static stretching, and high-intensity and/or long-duration stretching bouts may be more effective in inducing changes in muscle morphology.”

–

“To examine the effect of static stretching training on muscle architecture (i.e., fascicle length and fascicle angle, muscle thickness and cross-sectional area) in healthy participants.”

“From the 2946 records retrieved, 19 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis (n = 467 participants).”

“Subgroup analyses showed that fascicle length increased when high stretching volumes were used, while no changes were found for low stretching volumes….”

–

“High stretching intensities induced fascicle length increases, while low stretching intensities did not have an effect….”

“Also, high intensity stretching resulted in increased muscle thickness.”

–

“Meta-regression analyses showed that longitudinal fascicle growth was positively associated with stretching volume and intensity.”

Static stretching training increases fascicle length at rest and during stretching in healthy participants. High, but not low, stretching volumes and intensities induce longitudinal fascicle growth, while high stretching intensities result in increased muscle thickness.

“High volumes of static stretching and high stretching intensities are necessary to induce increases in fascicle length and muscle thickness, while fascicle angle remains unaffected by static stretching.”

–

“These results show that long-term static stretching, using extended bouts of intense muscle elongation, may modify muscle architecture, with possible effects on muscle function. In that respect, static stretching may be used not only to increase ROM, but also to enhance muscle performance…..”

—

I.Panidi, et al

Muscle Architecture Adaptations to Static Stretching Training: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Sports Medicine Open — Volume 9 — article 47 — 2023

—–

–

Just as strength training can be a stimulus for muscles and tendons to grow in width, long hold stretching such as for 4 minutes for each stretch is a stimulus for muscles and tendons to grow in length resulting in a maintained or increased range of motion.

In TheETG we don’t do traditional stretching before or after workouts.

We have formal stretch sessions spread across the month all year around. These sessions take about 60 minutes. They consist of long duration holds [10 minutes] for each stretch.

The importance of range of motion…….range of motion impacts energy expenditure. The greater resistance to movement your tight tissues create, the greater the energy expended just to move the limbs. Add this to issues at ground contact, the loss of elastic energy in the calfs, achillies, and plantar tissues, at some point that stuff adds to energy necessary to cover the same distance and time on the clock.

Injury prevention……hamstring, calf, or quad issues occur at times when your fitness level is moving forward. The rate of tissue tightening as your fitness level progresses in any given week may exceed the rate [frequency of stretching and strengthening] and/or effectiveness of your stretching protocols.

Strength requirements of tissues that are the weakest link in the chain may exceed the frequency or effectiveness of your strengthening protocols.

——

–

TheETG free pdf packets.

—– TheETG range of motion

Across the last 17 years downloads of TheETG free pdf packets have averaged over 4500 per year, and ranged between 2000 – 11,000.