Do you need to exercise for a long duration to increase?

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

Big Al, I'm thinking about the Side-to-Side Stretch, this exercise is a kind of Dynamic stretch. I don't think gymnasts gain their flexibility from this type of stretch, they primary use Dynamic stretching during warm-up for skill and strength work to prepare for active movements within their current range of motion. Its primary purpose is the prevention of injuries and helping performance. I'm sure this is true.

Yes- it's one of the reasons why the Side to Side is considered more of an introductory-level stretch. The next logical progression would be towards the Tension Stretch. Still, due to the volume involved the Side to Side does lend itself to being a good lengthening movement for those beyond the general conditioning (beginner) phase. It also has the added benefit of thickening the base due to its multi-angular component.

The most effective type of stretch would be something like the PNF Stretch. Note that there's a system of progression here. The trainee starts off with the simplest and least intense/voluminous in scale methods first, then works up over time only to the level of intensity/volume that's needed. Some trainees find a specific movement that works very well for them over many training cycles, and one should exhaust a particularly useful routine until it fails to yield results.

The above method allows one to discover just what works for them and it does so without leapfrogging towards modes of training that may be too intense or even unproductive for a particular trainee's stage of development.

Taking the above into account, there's still no singular answer to your question on what's best for length because different trainees respond to stimuli in different ways. This can be seen in the beginning of a trainee's training history, and it can change over time as one continues to develop.

For very advanced trainees, the answer often requires more than one approach- done in phases or in tandem. In cases where trainees have adapted to high volume and high intensity training, performing brief, intense stretches followed by high volume work can yield results.

[tlannh Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tlannh]

Big Al, I have to say I agree with most of what you've said in the post above Regarding the Tension Stretch, I think this stretch is even closer to the concept of Dynamic stretch. When you do the Tension Stretch, you pull forward slowly, once you achived maximum tension, you hold for 10 secs then release the stretch and start again...
IMO this is still a kind of Dynamic stretch, because shorter holds in the 10s and under range seem to give benefits a bit more similar to dynamic stretching (just a controlled and more slowly form of ballistic stretching)
I have heard that it took holds of at least 60s (some people said 30s), preferably several minutes to trigger significant tissue elongation.

[thenewdude Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close thenewdude]

Perfect reply (provided one is conditioned first for that). Most my routines are intense but not that long now. The more intense the activity the shorter the session.

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

Big Al, I have to say I agree with most of what you've said in the post above Regarding the Tension Stretch, I think this stretch is even closer to the concept of Dynamic stretch. When you do the Tension Stretch, you pull forward slowly, once you achived maximum tension, you hold for 10 secs then release the stretch and start again...
IMO this is still a kind of Dynamic stretch, because shorter holds in the 10s and under range seem to give benefits a bit more similar to dynamic stretching (just a controlled and more slowly form of ballistic stretching)
I have heard that it took holds of at least 60s (some people said 30s), preferably several minutes to trigger significant tissue elongation.

Remember that you'd be doing several reps of these, so the effect would be cumulative