Acute Effects of Static Stretching on Bench Press Power and Velocity in Adolescent Male Athletes

Abstract

The purpose was to examine the acute effect of pre-exercise static stretching on barbell power and velocity during the bench press exercise. Forty male high school athletes performed 1 repetition maximum (1 RM) testing and were divided into either a static stretching (SS), or a no stretching (NS) protocol. Subjects performed 1 set of 3 repetitions of the bench press with 50% 1 RM as a warm-up. SS then performed a series of stretching exercises for the involved muscles. After completing either the bench press warm-up or the stretching protocol, subjects executed one bench press repetition at 85% 1 RM. After 24 hours, the groups switched protocols. Concentric mean barbell power and velocity were measured during the 85% lift. Stretching resulted in significantly lower mean power (NS=366.6±115.7 W, SS=282.7±111.4W) and mean velocity (NS=0.413±0.103 m×s−1, SS=0.302±0.086 m·s−1) when compared to NS. Static stretching has an acute detrimental effect on muscular performance.