Dynamic Warmups vs. Static Stretching

These days, the benefits of static stretching are being challenged. Static stretching is a method of preparing the muscles for physical activity, and typically consists of holding a position that stretches the muscle for an extended period of time. This is usually anywhere from 15 seconds to over a minute. The idea is that stretching muscles causes them to loosen up, allowing for increased flexibility and preparation for exercise.

Over the past few years however, many have been leaning away from static stretching. Some of the latest research has shown it can actually be detrimental to performance in some cases, rather than enhancing it. This is especially true for explosive and strength exercises such as jumping, sprinting, or lifting. Additionally, static stretching does nothing to prevent injuries as previously thought, and may even increase their occurrence. There are a couple reasons for these effects. The first is that static stretching can overstretch the muscle. When you pull a spring too far it no longer recoils back all the way, causing it to lose some tightness and "spring". The same happens with your muscle; stretching it can pull the muscles and connective tissues too far and reduce their elasticity and tension. This effect can last at least an hour, causing performance decreases. The second reason is that static stretching does nothing to warm up the muscle. The goal of a warmup is too get blood flowing through the muscle, stimulate the nervous system, increase the muscle's temperature, and others. Due to the lack of muscle movement, static stretching does none of this. As a result, the muscle is not prepared for exercise and can be more easily injured.

The solution to this problem is using dynamic movements and stretches in your warmup. Dynamic stretches use movement of the muscle in a gradually increasing range of motion to loosen the muscle, increase its flexibility, and warm it up. An example of a dynamic warmup could be a walking lunge, which activates the muscle for work to get blood flowing. Another is walking toe touches (bending over and reaching toward your toe with every step forward you take), which works flexibility of the muscles by gradually increasing the range of motion the leg can move in with each movement. Dynamic exercises prepare the muscle better for exercise because the body actually gets moving, so your muscles encounter an easy version of movements you are preparing to do. These warmups fix the problems of static stretching, which reduce performance and increase injury.

Static stretching does have a place, though. After exercise, you do not need to worry about warming up your muscles or temporarily reducing performance. One function of static stretches is to increase range of motion for a movement. After exercise the muscle is already warmed up, and is the perfect time to static stretch to increase range of motion and flexibility. Static stretching can also be done throughout the day to increase general flexibility. It is perfectly okay to do as long as it is not done close to exercise or in place of a warmup. That's when you need to go dynamic.