prestretch, actin, myosin & stretching before exercise?

[peter90036]

so in the kaplan book it says somewhere that in vivo skeletal muscle is pre-stretched to the ideal length = all cross bridges will cycle

so... is there a reason to stretch your muscles before working out?

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[osli]

Stretching before exercising isn't for the benefit of active contractile units in sarcomeres, but rather for all of the non-contractile connective tissues.

 

[mudphudwannabe]

This is not likely to come up on step 1, but I think the general consensus is that stretching before exercise is not a good idea. It can loosen your joints too much and predispose you to injury. Warming up, however, is recommended - for example, walking for a few minutes before running. I'm not sure what the exact physiological explanation of that is, though.

 

[Hurricane95]

Increase blood flow to the muscles maybe? That way you have more nutrients and can get rid of metabolites faster once demand goes up right away?