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As a young-athlete, your coach might've made your team jog around the football pitch a few times, then huddle up in a circle and perform static-stretches.
Because of this, many people are led to believe that holding static stretches before your training session is the most effective way to warm up before an intense training.
However, many studies have revealed the opposite, shining light on the truth on why static stretching might not be the most effective use of your time to get your body prepared for exercise.
In this blog post, you will read about whether or not you should stretch before or after your training sessions, and the benefits of static and dynamic stretching.
Should You Stretch Before Training Sessions?
The short answer to this question, would be yes, but not in the way you would typically consider 'stretching.'
There are two main forms of stretching your muscles:
Static Stretching is the type of stretching you're most likely familiar with. It's the type of stretching where you hold a pose for a certain number of time, and lengthen your stiff muscles and tendons. The purpose of static stretching is to lengthen the Range of Motion of the targeted muscle and to create mobility.
Dynamic Stretching is stretching out your muscles through movement, where you repeatedly place the muscle in extended ranges of motion in order to get blood flow into the area and to lengthen the muscle more actively.
Think of exercises such as high knees, butt kicks, leg swings, open the gates, and lunges. The main purpose of these type of exercises is to bring blood flow and warmth into the muscles while also extending their ranges of motion in the process.
You've probably been put through a few dynamic stretches by your coach before a game. They're your typical high knees, butt kickers, open/close the gates, etc.
Dynamic Stretching vs Static Stretching: Which is Better?
Both static stretching and dynamic stretching are great for you as an athlete, but each type of stretching is more efficient when done at the right time.
Many people swear by stretching before a workout, while most consider static stretching as a waste of time.
However, this study conducted by J Sports Med Phys Fitness actually found out that performing static stretches before intense activity actually decreased the amount of power and force the athlete is able to produce.
The study performed a variety of different tests of maximum force production and speed to determine whether static stretching or dynamic stretching had a more positive effect post-warm up. The tests included "1) Illinois Agility Test; 2) vertical jump; 3) 30 meter sprint; 4) consecutive turns; 5) flexibility of knee."
The results of the study determined that the players who were put through static stretching as their warm-up had lower scored overall than the players who performed dynamic stretching as their warm-up.
The players who performed dynamic stretching as their warm up saw increased power and force production as compared to their static stretching counterparts.
Other studies, such as this study conducted by Scand J Med Sci Sports also concluded that performing static based stretching before exercises decreased overall strength, power, and explosive muscular performance.
If you're looking to maximize your strength and explosiveness in the session you're about to go through, then you'd see better results by performing dynamic stretching as your main pre-session warm up routine instead of static stretching.
How to Warm Up Effectively?
Your goal when warming up is to increase the range of motion and the blood flow in your muscles in order to get them activated and prepared to perform explosive movements that will challenge the capacity of your muscles.
If you fail to warm up properly, you're at risk of overstretching a muscle and causing a strain, since your muscle wasn't properly prepared and introduced to working in it's extended range of motion.
Your warm-up should consist a series of dynamic stretches to lengthen that range of motion in the muscle, a few high intensity bodyweight exercises to promote blood flow in your legs, and increase heart rate, and some activation exercises to wake up any weak areas of your body.
If you would like a full warm-up routine to try out before your training sessions, check out this video from Coach Javi on YouTube:
The only time it would be advised to perform static stretches before your training sessions is when you have previously injured a muscle or tendon, and you would like to lengthen it's range of motion just a little bit more. However, the stretch shouldn't be held for too long.
When Should I Perform Static Stretching?
Again, static stretching is best for lengthening the muscle or tendon targeted, and to create mobility.
It's most beneficial for you as athlete to do static stretching after your training sessions and workouts, since this will promote the recovery process and allow your body to cool down and your heart rate to drop back down.
Although several studies have shot down the idea that static stretching after your training session will not decrease muscle soreness, stretching after intense activity would still promote the recovery process.
This is because as you stretch, and as your nervous system calms down, blood flows through your body and delivers oxygen and water to those damaged muscle tendons.
Static stretching is also best performed on your recovery days after an intense series of tough training sessions.
By working on flexibility and mobility on your recovery days, you are once again providing the body with a healthy blood flow that delivers the necessary nutrients to the exhausted muscles and allows them to recover quicker. However, that being said, in order for you to recover properly, you must make sure you are feeding your body the right foods, as well as getting quality sleep.
Summary
Many people have the misconception that static stretching before exercise is the best way to warm up your muscles and prepare for activity. It's been drilled into the heads of many people by previous team sport coaches and the fitness community.
However, as athletes, it's not 100% beneficial for our performance to perform static stretching before our workouts.
Many studies done on the effect of static stretching before exercises compared to the typical dynamic stretching routine, demonstrated a decrease in explosive muscular performance when performing static stretching before your training.
The athletes who were examined weren't able to transfer as much power or force into the ground when stretching statically, as opposed to when they warmed up dynamically.
Dynamic stretching should be your go to method in your pre-training warm up because it delivers more blood to the muscles and tendons while also preparing the muscles by pushing them into their ranges of motion more actively.
Although static stretching isn't the best before exercise, it is still heavily beneficial for athletes to partake in daily static stretching routines in order to improve their mobility, and the range of motion of their muscles, as well as promote the recovery process.
I hope you were able to learn something new from this blog post, and you are now more aware of how to properly warm-up before your training sessions.
Thanks for Reading! Get Up. Go GRIND.
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