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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People

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Static stretching and performance in multiple sets in the bench press exercise.

Alex S Ribeiro¹, Marcelo Romanzini, Douglas F Dias

¹Metabolism, Nutrition, and Exercise Laboratory, Physical Education and Sport Center, Londrina State University, Paraná, Brazil.

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

|October 1, 2013

Summary

Static stretching before resistance exercise, like the bench press, does not appear to impact performance across multiple sets. This study found no significant differences in total repetitions or fatigue index between stretching and control conditions.

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Area of Science:

Sports Science
Exercise Physiology
Biomechanics

Background:

Static stretching is a common warm-up method.
Its acute effects on subsequent resistance exercise performance are debated.
Understanding these effects is crucial for optimizing training protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the acute impact of static stretching on bench press performance.
To analyze the effect on multiple sets to concentric failure.
To determine if static stretching influences fatigue accumulation during resistance exercise.

Main Methods:

A randomized, counterbalanced, crossover design was used.
Fifteen men performed 4 sets of bench press at 80% of 1RM to failure.
Static stretching (pectoral, triceps) was compared to a rest control condition.

Main Results:

No significant difference in total repetitions completed across 4 sets was observed between static stretching and control conditions.
The fatigue index, measured by the rate of force decline, was not significantly different.
Performance and fatigue were similar whether or not static stretching preceded the bench press exercise.

Conclusions:

Acute static stretching does not appear to negatively or positively influence multiple-set bench press performance.
The findings suggest that static stretching can be incorporated before resistance training without compromising performance.
Further research could explore different stretching durations or types.