EISSN 1676-5133

ACUTE

EFFECT OF STATIC STRETCHING ON THE

STRENGTH PERFORMANCE OF JIU-JITSU ATHLETES IN HORIZONTAL BENCH PRESS Eduardo Caldas Costa1 [email protected] Cláudia Margherita dos Santos2 [email protected] Jonato Prestes4 [email protected] João Batista da Silva1,3 [email protected] Maria Irany Knackfuss1,3 [email protected] doi:10.3900/fpj.8.3.212.e

Costa EC, Santos CM, Prestes J, Silva JB, Knackfuss MI. Acute effect of static stretching on the strength performance of jiu-jitsu athletes in horizontal bench press. Fit Perf J. 2009 May-Jun;8(3):212-7.

ABSTRACT Introduction: There is increasing discussion with regard to the use of stretching in sports practice. In jiu-jitsu, a good pattern of flexibility and strength is essential for performance. The aim of the present study was to verify the influence of acute static stretching on maximal strength in jiu-jitsu athletes. Materials and Methods: 20 male jiu-jitsu athletes (age 24.1±1.8 years and body mass index 25.1±3.8kg.m-2) were evaluated. In two separated trials, maximal strength tests (1RM) were performed in bench press exercise, with and without performing static stretching before the evaluation. The protocol consisted of three stretching exercises performed in three series of 20s each, with a total 180s of stretching for the main muscle groups involved in bench press. Results: Under the protocol with stretching, the maximal load achieved by the individuals was 78.3±17.9kg, and in the protocol without stretching the maximal load was 85.8±17.8kg. In the protocol with the stretching the 1RM value was 8.75% lower (p