Question Sheet: Workouts: Does Stretching Help?

By Science News Explores

SCIENCE

Before reading:

  1. Describe how you would warm up before a soccer game or some other sport in which you participate.

  2. Why is stretching commonly considered a good idea before exercise?

During reading:

  1. What does Stacy Ingraham do and what is her position on stretching?

  2. What is the ACL?

  3. Draw a picture of how a skeletal muscle works.

  4. Is stretching at all helpful?

  5. How is stretching different from lifting weights?

  6. What does the article recommend an athlete do before he or she starts exercising?

After reading:

  1. What particular stretches would you imagine are the hardest on your body? Why?

  2. What is Yoga? If you don’t know, check the Internet to obtain information about Yoga. See, for example, www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html#WhatisYoga(American Yoga Association). How might Yoga exercises that involve stretching help you? Could they also hurt you? Why are Yoga exercises not recommended for children under 16?

  3. Why are women more flexible than men?

  4. How do supplements or diet affect how muscle fibers grow and multiply?

  5. What should an athlete do when he or she has sore muscles? See, for example,

    www.kidsrunning.com/columns/coolingdowncory.html(KidsRunning.Com).

  6. How does temperature affect muscles? You can learn more about muscles and how they work at kidshealth.org/kid/body/muscles_noSW.html (KidsHealth for Kids).

  7. How does a doctor fix a torn hamstring? See orthopedics.about.com/cs/sprainsstrains/a/hamstring.htm (About.Com).

LANGUAGE ARTS

  1. Create a recommended reading list for someone who wants to know more about stretching and muscles.

  2. Write a letter to your gym teacher explaining why you should not stretch before exercise in gym class.

MATHEMATICS

A runner warms up for 35 minutes. He then runs a race, going 1 mile in 5 minutes, 10 seconds. Finally, he cools down by jogging for 20 minutes. How much time does he spend altogether on this activity? What percentage of the total time does he spend actually running the race?