Continuing on this theme of what you might do in your interset rest/recovery periods. How about static stretching? We wrote about this in 2011, suggesting that it might be a way to maximise hypertrophic adaptation i.e. stretch induced hypertrophic adaptation. The trick being that the stretching shouldn’t affect the kinematics and kinetics of ensuing sets i.e. shouldn’t impair lifting performance.
You might want to consider such practice as a couple of studies since have found that adding stretching interventions between sets can induce additional muscle growth. These studies employed 30 second interset passive stretch training between sets and reported significantly greater hypertrophic increases than the resting controls. This increase may be due to the blood flow restriction associated with stretching, and associated effects on metabolite accumulation and signalling pathways. For a recent review in this area check out Nunes et al., (2020).
JC Online provides online physical conditioning education for physiotherapists, strength and conditioning coaches and physical therapists. If you have any questions about our courses and other resources, please get in contact with us using the email above.
Please note that answers to many questions may be found in the FAQ section of this website. JC will endeavour to answer your questions but due to his work commitments and the high volume of emails received each day, he may be unable to respond to every email personally.
JC's team will coordinate and may respond on his behalf.
