Stretching is meant to help you gain flexibility slowly and progressively. Static stretching before weight lifting does not reduce soreness or DOMs, it doesn't warm up your muscles, and it doesn't put your body in the right state. A few examples of static stretching would be a stationary cobra pose, holding a side bend, or holding a standing quad stretch.Īgain, what you DO NOT want to do is static stretching before a workout session. Static stretching should always be done after your workout is complete as part of your cool down.

Static stretching is where you hold a certain stretch for up to 30 seconds per muscle group. These types of stretches will allow your body not only to warm up, but it prepares your muscles and joints for the workout ahead. A few examples of dynamic stretching movements would be jumping jacks, torso twists, and arm swings. However, we have to make an important distinction between static and dynamic stretching: What Is Dynamic Stretching?ĭynamic stretching is an active type of stretching where you do not hold the stretches but you would stretch with movement. This will allow you to perform better in any activity. As mentioned before, when the muscles are warm, they are more pliable and flexible. Stretching should be done after the warm-up or you can do dynamic (active) stretching with the warm-up (before the workout).Įither way, it's a good idea to get it done for many reasons. Stretching is just as important as warming up in most cases. Warming up also lubes the joints, readies the tendons and ligaments, and has quite a few mental benefits as well. The muscles will become pliable and more flexible allowing for better range of motion and exercise performance. When you get your heart rate up, it will start pumping more blood and oxygen throughout the body, including into the muscle tissue. Actually it's a great way to get your heart pumping and get you in the right state for exercise.Ī good warm-up should last about 5-10 minutes making sure to get the heart rate elevated. The excuse is usually that a warm-up will take away from the energy needed for the actual workout, but that’s just not true. I've heard it time and time again that warming up is a waste of time and energy.

The Truth About Stretching and Warm Up Warm Up This list is the only resource you'll ever need to find stretch exercises for ALL your body parts!ĬLICK HERE to jump straight to the 101 stretches, or read further to learn more about stretching and exercise in general. Stop looking for dynamic stretching exercises in Google.

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