Post by jonathan on Feb 3, 2005 12:47:46 GMT -5
Conventional wisdom says you should stretch before exercise. Don't listen to conventional wisdom.
Here's the lowdown. Static stretching (as in holding a position for some time) before exercise loosens the muscles and leaves the joints stiff. Your muscles are what holds you together. Stiff joints impair your flexibility. Loose muscles plus stiff joints, a good combination for setting yourself up for an injury.
When should you perform static stretching then? After your exercise session. Why? Your muscles are probably all tensed up and they need to be loosened for faster recovery and to prevent cramps. Your joints have already warmed up after all that exercise so there's no need to worry about them.
So what should you do before exercise? That's really up to you. If you want to start straight away, that's perfectly fine. So many people have some weird notion that something will happen to them if you don't do something else first. If you're feeling great, just get into it!
However, if your joints are feeling stiff, it's a good idea to warm up. Joint mobilty drills are perfect. Basically it's about rotations of the head, shoulders, hips, wrists and knees, spinal waves, bodyweight squats, push-ups and cossack stretches. The idea here is to perform active motions that mobilizes the joints and stretches the muscles dynamically as opposed to statically.
To sum it up, before exercise, warm up. After exercise, stretch.
Here's the lowdown. Static stretching (as in holding a position for some time) before exercise loosens the muscles and leaves the joints stiff. Your muscles are what holds you together. Stiff joints impair your flexibility. Loose muscles plus stiff joints, a good combination for setting yourself up for an injury.
When should you perform static stretching then? After your exercise session. Why? Your muscles are probably all tensed up and they need to be loosened for faster recovery and to prevent cramps. Your joints have already warmed up after all that exercise so there's no need to worry about them.
So what should you do before exercise? That's really up to you. If you want to start straight away, that's perfectly fine. So many people have some weird notion that something will happen to them if you don't do something else first. If you're feeling great, just get into it!
However, if your joints are feeling stiff, it's a good idea to warm up. Joint mobilty drills are perfect. Basically it's about rotations of the head, shoulders, hips, wrists and knees, spinal waves, bodyweight squats, push-ups and cossack stretches. The idea here is to perform active motions that mobilizes the joints and stretches the muscles dynamically as opposed to statically.
To sum it up, before exercise, warm up. After exercise, stretch.
