Weighted Stretching.
More Muscle.
Increased Recovery!

Weighted Stretching is something I have been doing for a long time now and something I attribute much of my muscle gain to! I believe in stretching a particular body part after a body part has been worked and is warm with more than normal force. I am not talking about an easy warm up type stretch. Stretches with explanation and how to do them will be in the Stretching section of the website.

For example, after a tough set of squats I like to stretch out my quads by doing a good quad stretch for a minute or so. I go straight to stretching after I rack the weight. You should have a pump in the muscle after doing a set so stretching will probably be a little more painful than usual. You never want a bad painful type of feeling. You should be able to tell the difference easily.

Don't stretch too forcefully. Start out easy and work your way into the stretching. Use your common sense here. If something is painful in a bad way, then don't do it. Never do something that is painful to you. Weighted stretching will be tough and will burn, but it does not hurt in the bad sense of the word.

For stretches that allow the use of weights, I like to add extra weight. For example, to stretch out my lats, I like to hang from a pull up bar with weights around my waist for a minute or so. As the cycle progresses, I like to add more and more weight to the stretches and attempt the same amount of time. This can get very tough, and you must be mentally tough to complete much of this stretching. You will start seeing results in only a few weeks! Visual results! So, it's worth the extra effort to learn these stretches and find ones that feel good to you.

You should experiment with finding stretches in which weight can be added. Use your creativity for finding stretches, but be careful when first attempting any stretch. I am always trying to find new stretches and would be glad to here of any new stretches you find. You'll learn to love these parts of your workout! The results you get from weighted stretching alone are spectacular. You will be amazed at the muscle you can build simply by stretching!

Pick your weighted stretches before your WLC Weight Lifting Cycle and stick with them throughout the cycle. Work on progressing on your stretches just like you do on your weight lifting. Treat the stretching just like you would treat each exercise. Make sure you are focused while doing the stretch so you ensure you're stretching the muscle as well as possible. Only change a stretch in your cycle if it doesn't feel right to you.

You can injure yourself stretching, so be careful. I've never injured myself doing weighted stretches, but I'm sure someone out there has! Use your common sense and you should be fine. Don't be scared away from stretching with more than normal force by someone who has never tried it or implemented into their weight lifting program. Some people will say it's dangerous, but I along with thousands of others have safely been doing it for many years!

I have found that my recovery is improved by adding these stretches. I can't say for sure that these stretches have added muscle, but I have a feeling that they have. I started to do them once I heard about hyperplasia in the weighted wing bird study and have never turned back. I have tweaked the stretches over the years for my body and what feels best as a stretch for each body part. You may also have to do this, but hopefully, many of the stretches I will discuss will work for you too.

Please do not skip the stretching. You will be glad that you didn't and you will become addicted to the stretching. They are fun in a painful kind of way! I will never stop stretching again. I have dedicated an entire section of the website to stretching, so please take the time to read about the stretches because they are that important. You will improve your recovery, keep overtraining away, and progress longer than you ever have simply by adding these stretches! Build more muscle. That's the WLC way.

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