Quote (My_Lesson @ Mon, Jul 28 2008, 01:40pm)
Quote (Rucka @ Mon, 28 Jul 2008, 14:27)
I
just want to jump in here... stretching is one of the key components in
not only health/functionality but getting bigger. If you are a
bodybuilder you should definetly look into intense stretching or "DC
stretching" for those of you DCers out there.
Well, what purposes does it fill?
In which way does it help me to get bigger?
Great question:
In a nutshell: You're basically mimicking muscle memory by manipulating the connective tissue that surrounds/binds every muscle. This connective tissue can prevent the expansion of the muscle thus growth. So stretching and expanding the fascia, epimysium and other connective tissues will in essence allow for a muscle to "get bigger" all things being up to par.
From a physiological standpoint John Parillo believes that the deep fascia is the main concern of the bodybuilder to target, and Millwards research leads him to believe that the endomysium and perimysium are chiefly responsible for the restriction of muscle growth. The great news is that the same techniques for expansion of the fascia, work for the expansion of the endomysium and perimysium.
"There are four factors involved in fascia stretching.
1. Heat
If you are intent on truly mimicking muscle memory, you must not only stretch the fascia, but you must do it in an absolutely perfect environment or you will not reap even near optimal results! The first factor mentioned above was heat. You see a cold muscle has a limited range of motion. Our goal is to stretch the fascia past its previous limits and this cannot take place if range of motion is limited. Therefore you must adequately warm up before performing the techniques discussed shortly.
2. An incredible blood pump
Everyone here understands the extreme power of fluid! Whole canyons have been carved from water erosion! The same principle is applicable here. A tremendous back flow of fluid in a muscle group will stretch the connective tissue that restricts muscle growth. In other words the greater the pump, the more direct and effective the stretch in the fascia, epimysium, and perimysium will be!
3. Insanely Extreme Stretching
The third and most painful step in fascia expansion, is to manually stretch it. This entails stretching the target muscle group with insane intensity! By doing this you will force the girdle which inhibits enhanced mass, and enable further growth in the myofibrils( the largest aspect of a muscle fiber ).
4. Recovery!
Unfortunately, like every aspect of bodybuilding, we must have enough will power to allow the area worked to recover. You see, the pump, combined with extreme manual stretching will damage the connective tissue. In order for it to grow back and be remodeled as Millard puts it, into a larger bag, it must have a significant enough time to recover. This is not only a painful process, but like any type of extreme training is also stressful, and needs significant time to recover."
If you want more info I can point you in the right direction
But that's the general idea
hope i helped