The Importance of Stretching as Part of Your Exercise Program

While treadmill or weight room time might be the main aspect of your workout routine, stretches are incredibly important to add to any fitness program. The question arises: What stretches and warm ups should you do before and after your exercise program?

Both dynamic and static stretching exercises have benefits, and you've probably already heard that certain stretches can aid your workout, while others can be detrimental or even dangerous. We want to help you understand the differences between these stretches, and when to optimally use each one to enhance your workout.

Dynamic Stretching: A Great Warm Up

Dynamic stretches involve putting the body into motion, effectively making them a light exercise of their own. One of the key benefits of dynamic stretching is enhanced lubrication of the joint areas that occur as your body works through a full range of motion under continuous movement. This helps protect against joint damage by warming up the joint areas ahead of work with heavy lifting, a strenuous workout, or miles of running.

If you're new to dynamic stretch techniques, try jogging in place. Not only does this activate the entire body's musculature, but the familiar movement pattern will be intuitive to perform for anyone and is great for your lower body. If upper body focused dynamic stretches are also desired, trying rotating your arms in large circular patterns. 

Static Stretching: Best at the End

Your body is like a machine filled with supports made of bone, and muscles that act like force-producing rubber bands. You want to avoid stretching your muscles prior to cardio or weightlifting. Not only are you putting your muscles at risk of hyperextension or tears, but also your supporting ligaments and tendons are at risk when they become overstretched during static stretching movements.

Static stretching is, however, an excellent way to stretch the muscles and improve range of motion. Muscle and Fitness magazine reports that static stretching can help improve blood flow and nutrient absorption to your muscles following an intense workout session. This is one of the main reasons why you should incorporate static stretches at the end of a workout program.

Easy Way to Get Started:

Don't underestimate the extreme effectiveness of a 5 - 10 minute walk on a treadmill. A slow walk will help elevate your heart rate and increase blood flow across the entire body. A simple yoga class is also a great way to get started because instructors can help you find the best stretching exercises based on your body type. 

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