Stretching Do's and Don'ts

There are a lot of stretching myths out there and a lot of new research done within the last couple decades about stretching safety. One question that I get quite often is "Is it safe to stretch before exercise?" I can only imagine that this question was spawned when a number of studies concluded that stretching before exercise inhibits the natural protective mechanisms in muscles and therefore increases the risk of injury. Luckily, there are also studies that show that proper stretching before exercise in fact decreases the risk of injury by warming up the muscles and joints for the more intense activity to follow. Currently, the most accepted stretching routine by trainers is dynamic stretching prior to exercise and static stretching after exercise.

Dynamic Stretching: Is an active type of stretching where you move your body through a range of motion with continual, controlled movements. It helps to warm up the muscles, lubricate joints, and prepare the body for more activity. Examples are walking or light jogging, arm circles, trunk rotations, leg swings, bum kicks, and shoulder rolls.

Static Stretching: Is a type of stretching where you maintain an active or passive pose without movement for a minimum of 30 seconds. Static stretching safely allows you to move your body to a full range of motion to stretch the muscles. It is great for increasing flexibility and preventing muscle soreness after exercise, as well as, enhancing relaxation at any time. Examples are classic yoga postures and athletic stretches.



Quicknotes:

DO stretch (often)
DON'T stretch muscles to a point where you feel sharp pains in the muscles or joints
DO breath while you stretch
DON'T bounce while you static stretch
DO bring your stretches to a point where you feel a slight tension in the muscle
DON'T do stretches that put your knees, back, or neck in danger
DO stretch with a partner and/or props to improve the quality of the stretch


EDIT August 2012: Check out more information on stretching on my new post Stretching Do's and Don'ts 2.0