It’s absolutely amazing how many people who are trying to build muscle simply get changed and start going into their weight lifting routines right away without first stretching.
I realize that stretching is boring and seems like there is no benefit to it however, the truth of the matter is that properly stretching before your muscle building workout can actually help to improve muscle growth and as always greatly cut down on the chances of you getting hurt.

There are basically 2 types of stretches that you can do, there are dynamic stretches which are good for getting blood to the muscle groups you will be working and loosening them up, and there are static stretches which are good for after a workout to cool down and stretch out your tightened muscles.

Dynamic stretches basically consist of a continuous movement that mimics the motion of an exercise in order to stretch a certain muscle group that you will be working on. For example if you were going to be doing the bench press, a good dynamic stretch would be to lie on the bench and with no weights simply do the motions of a bench press getting a deep stretch at the bottom of the movement. This not only forces blood into that muscle group but it stretches that muscle group in the exact way that it will be stretched with the weight.

Static stretches are the classic stretch the muscle group and hold it for about 30 seconds. These kinds of stretches are good for after a workout because after a workout your muscles are going to be tight and static stretches help to bring the muscle back to its normal length.

Benefits of Stretching

– Increased Range of Motion = More muscle fibers worked

– Muscle fibers are less likely to tear or become pulled.

– Increased flexibility

– Reduced muscles cramps or soreness

If you are having a hard time gaining muscle or want to further maximize the results you get for all the hard work you put into the gym then stretching is a simple and very effective way to increase your muscle gains.