People often as me questions about stretching and why we don't devote as special class or more time to it during class.
Here is my thinking: Our warm up, Squat, roll out, OHS develops functional flexibility along with useful NORMAL ranges of motion. If someone can overhead squat with a PVC pipe, maintain lumbar arch through a full range of motion, that they have normal AND useful flexibility. There are a lot of conflicting opinions about stretching. So, I revert to the my observation, if it looks normal, it probably is, if it doesn't, it isn't. A joint that is in a position to exert power is in less danger than one that isn't. Going outside a normal range of motion is bad, training it to do so is stupid. If your goal is to be able to be in the circus and extend joints BEYOND normal ranges of motion, then there are places that train that way. We don't.
If you would like to become more informed about stretching and have more information click on Brad Appleton for all you really need to know about stretching. I encourage stretching. Absolutely. Due to the time it takes to go through a complete stretch of the body, we leave that to the responsibility of the client.
Appleton's information is posted on Crossfit.com
