Nelson, A. G., Winchester, J. B., & Kokkonen, J. (2006). A single thirty second stretch is sufficient to inhibit maximal voluntary Strength. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38(5), Supplement abstract 1811.

This study examined the relationship between the volume of acute stretching and strength inhibition. College students (N = 18) performed a 1 RM test of knee-flexion following either zero, one, two, three, four, five, or six 30-second bouts of a hamstring stretch held at the limit of toleration. All seven volume variations were performed on different days. One week separated each test, and the order of the stretch variations was balanced across the seven testing days.

Stretching significantly reduced 1 RM after one 30-second stretch (-5.4%), and continued to decrease 1 RM up to and including six 30-second stretches (-12.4%).

Implication. A single 30-second stretch held at the limit of toleration is sufficient to cause an inhibition in strength production.

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