Stretching Too Much Can Be A Bad Thing For Olympic Athletes

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Didier Defago of Switzerland stretches with a ski stick during a free training session at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Skiing mountain resort ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Didier Defago of Switzerland stretches with a ski stick ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Stretching seems like a standard thing to do before any form of exercise, especially hardcore athletic events like those in the Winter Olympics.

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On Tuesday, American luger Kate Hansen was criticized by an NBC commentator Duncan Kennedy for her unusual warmup routine of dancing to Beyoncé.

"I would like to see something a little more sport-specific from her," Kennedy said. "What you see out of the top runners, the real heavy-hitters, is they're working the start muscles. They're working the low back. They're working the arms and shoulders, and getting the power out of them because the start has to be a powerful, explosive movement."

Stretching works by raising the temperature of your body before more rigorous exercise. Warm muscles are more stretchy. The widely-held belief is that stretching increases flexibility, gives you more strength and power during the activity, and reduces muscle soreness afterward.

But, according to a video released by AsapScience, the benefits of stretching may depend on the activity. Stretching too much can be a bad thing for power sports like speedskating and bobsledding because it may "cause a temporary decrease in muscle strength," the video says. "The overstretched muscle becomes less responsive and can stay weakened for up to 30 minutes."

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In other words, overstretched muscles are actually less flexible and won't pack the same amount of power. This is obviously a bigger concern for competitive athletes. In general, warming up your muscles before a workout is a good way to get the blood flowing.

For more on the science of stretching, check out the video below: