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JD’s already written about stretching previously here. But I just found a really interesting article over at the NYT. According to the article, if you’re still stretching like you stretched when you were a little kid at soccer practice, you’re seriously risking injury. The kinds of stretches we used to do–touching your toes and holding, folding back your knee to stretch your quad–are called static stretches and the latest research suggests that they actually weaken the muscles being stretched. Does it really make sense to weaken your muscles BEFORE your workout? I didn’t think so.
Current research suggests that warming up with a new type of stretching, called dynamic stretching, is the way to go.
THE RIGHT WARM-UP should do two things: loosen muscles and tendons to increase the range of motion of various joints, and literally warm up the body…A well-designed warm-up starts by increasing body heat and blood flow. Warm muscles and dilated blood vessels pull oxygen from the bloodstream more efficiently and use stored muscle fuel more effectively. They also withstand loads better.
So, how should you warmup then? Well, according to the article, start out with 5-10 minutes of aerobic activity at around 40% of your maximum heart rate. Then immediately follow the warm up with some dynamic stretches such as “Straight Leg Marches,” “Scorpions,” and “Handwalks.” Instructions for all of these stretches can be found in the link above. Now your body is primed and ready to perform the way you want it to during your workout. Now if only I would pay attention to what I write. Maybe my back wouldn’t be so sore!
J.D.
8 responses so far ↓
1 DR // Nov 6, 2008 at 8:36 am
Dynamic stretching reminds me of something from the olden days…calisthenics.
Specifically targeted calisthenics, but calisthenics just the same.
Eric cressey and Mike Robertson have a great dvd all about dynamic flexibility - the web site is a little cheesy, but the product is top notch - http://www.magnificentmobility.com/
2 Avery // Nov 6, 2008 at 8:41 am
I can see the NYT’s point about stretching being a bad warm-up, but they don’t really talk about stretching in terms of increasing flexibility. Are they really implying that stretching is bad in general?
I had cross country coaches that would encourage us to do most of our stretching -after- we ran, when we’d get the most flexibility benefit from it. We also stretched beforehand, but it was in combination with cardio warm-up.
3 brad // Nov 6, 2008 at 8:43 am
What I found disappointing about the NYTimes article was that they didn’t talk about stretching AFTER a workout. I’ve never stretched before a workout as I never found it helpful, but after any workout I usually do some stretching and it helps me feel more limber and less sore. I’d like to see an article about the current thinking on post-workout stretches.
4 Andrew is getting fit // Nov 6, 2008 at 9:53 am
Yeah, stretching after a workout is supposed to be quite good - not that I ever bother.
5 Andrew R // Nov 6, 2008 at 10:15 am
That was a very interesting article, thanks for sharing it. With regards to another viewpoint on stretching (which still holds that it doesn’t do what people think it should), here’s an article published on Fitness and Health with Dr. Gabe Mirkin that talks about how stretching can improve strength in the tendons:
http://drmirkin.blogspot.com/2008/10/stretching-pros-and-cons.html
Thanks for the post!
All the Best,
Andrew R
6 Nat // Nov 6, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Post of the day… great advice. Thanks
7 Leah // Nov 6, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Another vote for stretching post-workout. This is what my physical therapist recommends. I told her that I read some studies where the researchers suggested that stretching wasn’t important for preventing injury. And she was quick to point out that stretching made my back feel significantly better in a short period of time. I now just warm up by walking or doing calisthenics (the “dynamic stretching”) before running/lifting and stretch for 5-15 minutes after every workout, and that seems to do the trick for me.
8 Ian // Nov 7, 2008 at 8:30 am
I had not realized this before, but thankfully the trainer who leads my workout group every day did. We never do static stretching, and I always wondered why, but never had a problem because we start every workout with some light dynamic stretches intermingled with short aerobic bursts.
Also, dynamic stretching is something that a lot of dancers (particularly ballet) do. My dance instructor has us do stretches and movements that do exactly what you said — warm the muscles. It’s interesting to feel the blood flow and warm the muscles. I had never experienced that sensation as gradually as I do in dance.
Good post.
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