Should Athletes Static Stretch Before Competition? Why 60 Seconds Is the Line

"Don't static stretch before games — it kills your power." Many coaches have worked under that rule for the past two decades. A 2019 review revisits it. The conclusion: short static stretches of 60 seconds or less per muscle group cause only trivial losses in strength and power (1–2%). The real problem is holds longer than 60 seconds.

What the study looked at

Chaabene and colleagues wrote a review of studies on the acute effects of static stretching — holding a muscle in a lengthened position — on subsequent strength and power, and discussed the underlying mechanisms.

Expert opinion on static stretching has shifted over time:

Until the 1990s: believed to improve flexibility and performance
From the late 1990s: increasingly discouraged before exercise because it reduced strength and power
More recently: it has become clear that duration makes a big difference

Key findings

With 60 seconds or less per muscle group, losses in strength and power were trivial (1–2%), whether stretching was done alone or as part of a full warm-up
With more than 60 seconds per muscle group, losses were substantial and practically relevant (4.0–7.5%)
A meta-analysis of 104 studies on pre-exercise static stretching (average 86–314 seconds per muscle group) found reductions of 5.4% in maximal strength and 1.9% in power — reflecting relatively long stretching
Including short static stretches within a full warm-up of aerobic activity, dynamic stretching and sport-specific drills may help reduce muscle and tendon injury risk in sprinting and change of direction
A likely reason short stretches have little effect is the rise in muscle temperature from the dynamic parts of the warm-up

How to read this in practice

Rather than "no static stretching ever," a practical approach is keeping holds to 60 seconds or less per muscle and pairing them with a dynamic warm-up
Longer stretching can be moved to after training or another time of day
For elite athletes right before competition, even a 1–2% decrease could matter, so the authors advise caution

This is a review of existing studies. The injury benefit is described as a possibility, not a proven preventive effect.

Using ATHCON

When you change a warm-up routine, watch how athletes respond. ATHCON's daily check-in (fatigue, soreness, pain and more) is compared with each athlete's own 14-day baseline and classified into four levels. You can also log fitness test results such as jumps and sprints, so you can check for changes in performance and how athletes feel before and after a warm-up change.

Takeaways

Static stretching of 60 seconds or less per muscle causes only trivial losses (1–2%)
Beyond 60 seconds, losses rise to 4.0–7.5%
Keep it short within a dynamic warm-up, and be cautious with elite athletes right before competition