Static Stretching Affects The Speed,Jumping And Agility Of Women's Basketball Players

Static stretching prior to sport has been shown to decrease force production in comparison to the increasing popularity of dynamic warm-up methods.However some athletes continue to use a bout of static stretching following dynamic methods.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on speed,agility and power following a period of additional static stretching following a dynamic warm-up routine.Twenty-five male University students who participated in team sports performed two warm-up protocols concentrating on the lower body one week apart through a randomized cross over design.The dynamic warm-up(DW)protocol used a series of specific progressive exercises lasting 10 minutes over a distance of 20m.The dynamic warm-up plus static stretching(DWS)protocol used the same DW protocol followed by a 5 minute period during which 7 muscle groups were stretched.Following each warm-up the subjects performed a counter-movement vertical jump,20m sprint and Illinois agility test,2 minute apart.The results demonstrated no significant differences in speed,agility and jump performance following the two protocols DW and DWS.The study concludes that performing static stretching following a dynamic warm-up prior to performance does not significantly affect speed,agility and vertical jump performance.