Originally Posted by
WhyFi
Somewhere along the line, I was taught that tensing/pulling for a couple seconds while stretching was a good way to stretch, so that's how I've stretched the guads for years (though I probably only stretch after one out of three rides, or so). It does really seem to help more than not doing it.
I believe that’s a different thing. A momentary contraction during a stretch iactivates the tendon organs, which inhibit the stretch reflex at the spinal level, thereby relaxing the muscle and allowing it to lengthen. Eccentric contraction reeorganizes muscle and tendon structure by non-neural means.