It’s inevitable – go to any starting line, fitness class or gym and you’ll find people in various stages of stretching. Almost always, people are stretching before their exercise. It’s what we were all taught by our elementary P.E. teachers, right? You gotta warm up those muscles so you don’t pull something!
While my elementary school teachers taught me many important and useful things (one particular lesson that has stood the test of time in my memory was Mr. B telling us 5th graders to always run the water in the sink for a good 10 seconds after running the garbage disposal. “Save you a ton on plumbing costs!” he promised. I don’t know if he’s right – any plumbers out there? – but to this day I still do it!) it turns out they were wrong about stretching.
My first real experience with stretching beyond the rudimentary toe touches and arm swings we did before standing in line to bat once in an hour was in gymnastics. Stretching, in that sport, is more of a commandment than a suggestion. The first thing our coaches would tell us when we popped out on the floor was, “Go stretch out.” In fact, we were encouraged to get to the gym early so we could devote more time to holding our various splits and backbends before joining in the coach-led stretch outs that often involved – no joke – them standing on our backs or pushing us to deepen the stretch. Even if you were injured or sick, you stretched. I became so indoctrinated in the art stretching out that I’d sit in the middle splits while doing homework or balance a leg on a stair to hyperextend a split while talking on the phone to my friends (which I did for approximately 28 hours a day).
I was reminded of this when Reader Janet e-mailed me:
“I had a question I wanted to throw at you.. I started running about a month ago with the Couch to 5k program. I joined a community forum with others involved in the program. Recently there has been a lot of back and forth about the merits of stretching before running and there is a clear divide on opinion. Yesterday someone even provided research on why it’s bad. Although this goes against everything I was taught in school about working out. I thought you should always stretch. What’s your thought?”
Take a gander at any running board and you’ll see Janet’s not the only one who is confused. We were all taught growing up to stretch first, then workout. Even today all of my fitness classes start out with some basic stretches. Research has proven that this is not only unnecessary but actually harmful.
The NY Times ran an article in 2008 that summarizes the latest research about stretching. If you want the short version: Don’t do it or you’ll diiiiieeeee! I exaggerate. But really, they don’t want you do it. Stretching after your workout? Knock yourself out. Before? Don’t.
The first problem with stretching before your workout is that it decreases muscle strength. A study out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says, “athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all.” About 30% less, apparently. And the effect lasts: “The straining muscle becomes less responsive and stays weakened for up to 30 minutes after stretching, which is not how an athlete wants to begin a workout.” In addition, stretching pre-sweat can lead to a great incidence of injury.
The confusion seems to come from the need to warm up. Our bodies do do better if you warm up your muscles – defined as working out at about 40% of your max heart rate for 5 to 10 minutes. A good warm up can help you lift heavier, increase endurance and run faster. It also reduces your risk of injury.
A good warm-up is anything that slowly elevates your heart rate. The number one mistake people make, according to researchers, is warming up too intensely or too quickly. It doesn’t work to shock your body by running at just under pace for 1 minute before hitting your workout. I have no research to back this up but I have noticed for myself that when I warm up too quickly or skip it I get side stitches. So jog – slowly! – a few laps, jump on the elliptical for 10 minutes or take a leisurely bike ride before plunging into your planned sweat fest.
And whatever you do, don’t stretch! Save your stretching for after your workout, preferably immediately after while your muscles are still limber. There are lots of benefits to stretching out. Not only does it increase your range of motion and loosen up tight muscles (although, sadly, research says it does not help prevent soreness) but it just feels good! Nothing like a good Up Dog after doing ab work!
So now that you know when to stretch, what’s the best way to stretch? As far as positions, I think you should just do a range of stretches that hit most of your major muscle groups (i.e. legs, arms, back, core). It’s more important how you stretch than which exact stretches you use. While there are as many methods of stretching as there are athletes (and scientists), here a few points to keep in mind:
– Don’t use stretching aids (even other people). I don’t use any aids except my own body weight to facilitate the stretch. The days of having someone stand on my back were over once I realized that being able to pop my right hip in and out of joint at will is actually not a skill but a problem. You are the only person who knows when a stretch goes from feeling good to tearing pain so it doesn’t make sense to have someone else pull or push you. There are a lot of people who will disagree with me on this point – there is a whole type of exercise called “resisted stretching” that is based on the principle of having someone else stretch you while you push back – and I’d be totally willing to try it with a trained professional. This is not one of those things I think the Gym Buddies and I should Experiment with on each other, as amusing as it would undoubtedly be to the other gym patrons.
– Go slowly. Especially right after an intense workout, you’ll feel very loose and limber but be careful before dropping down into those splits. It’ll feel good… until you can’t get back up and then you’ll be paying for it for days later. And not just with your pride. You may think you only use your groin for one purpose but you’ll soon find out how wrong you are!
– Hold the stretch. Don’t bounce – your ligaments are not rubberbands. The longer you can hold the stretch (I aim for at least 3-5 slow breaths in each position) the more effective it will be. Don’t hold it at the point of pain though, just hold it deep enough to get a good stretch.
What did I miss? What’s your favorite stretching exercise? What’s your stretching philosophy?
I’m really bad – I don’t stretch at all. I have a low boredom tolerance 🙂
I love your tutu and I didn’t know they had an upside-down and right-way-up either
Stretching is how I first got my chronic hip injury. More specifically it was doing the pigeon position while pregnant. Apparently my hips were just waiting for me to stretch to cause this problem. Stretching is now the absolute most dangerous thing I can do. I’ve lost a lot of my range of motion and often will do a position that feels good at the time, but is not. I wish I’d read this research sooner and I might have avoided some chronic pain (though not necessarily since my hip problem would have probably come from having my son anyway).
When I was pregnant I went to a lot of prenatal yoga classes, and our instructor warned us about over-stretching the hips during pregnancy, as they become more pliant in order to make room for the baby. I was surprised, but it made sense. I wish more women were made aware of this!
Hope you are feeling OK!
I’ve never stretched before a run (well… except for one occasion)
I used to run half marathons and never would stretch… I got into the bad habit when I was in the military and we’d do random stuff before running… and then I joined the 5k circuit (literally one or two a weekend) and the only race I didn’t place in for over a year was one where I chose TO stretch… worst time ever… instead of pegging it to stiffer competition or the hilly course… I left it to the stretching…
I only ever stretch after running… it makes me feel better. I’ve always attributed it to my ability to run the day after a race (mainly a half marathon)
I’m with Terri–I don’t stretch either, aside from the token stretches at the end of all of my fitness classes. I know I should do more, but it’s boring! I had actually learned when training to become a fitness instructor not to stretch during the warm up because it actually cools you down (adding to the danger).
Love the tutu! It’s still cute even if it’s upside down. 🙂
Exception that proves the rule: the ballistic stretching is good if you’re in martial arts (since it snaps your muscle back, not just elongating it…good for punches/kicks).
I love stretching. That’s when the endorphins from exercising start to kick in, I become super hyper, and generally not good company (friend to me: uhhhh, didn’t you JUST complete that killer exercise class? How can you have the energy to be that bouncy? Me: endorphins! bouncy bouncy bouncy).
I’m annoyed when there’s static stretching after the dynamic one in the beach body videos, makes me want to smack something. But so long as you re-elevate your heart rate gradually after the static stretching (which should be done after the dynamic stretch), then it should be OK (but it’ll unnecessarily prolong your warm-up).
Favorite stretch? I don’t do it after my routine, but I’ll randomly do a shoulder stand to a plow. Been doing it since I was 4, and it’s really fun to do. Learned the hard way: don’t do it on your bed. Fell off. Hardwood floors. Ow.
I’ve never been a fan of stretching! When I was on the cross-country team, I would just fake stretch. Dynamic warmups and mobility drills before the workout and foam rolling afterwards is much more fun and comfortable for me. I know you and the gym buddies hated the dynamic warmup in Rachel Cosgrove’s book, but when I take the time to do a thorough warmup, the workout is much smoother.
Confession – I never warm up, and only stretch after exercise if something feels particularly ‘tight’. Should probably change that, huh?
No stretching for me either. I just start out a bit slower than normal (jogging). Haven’t stretched afterward either, unless something is super tight.. but then not much.
I’m not a big fan of static stretching before exercise, but have become a fan of joint mobility drills like they do before kettlebell workouts – those do help my shoulders, back and hips get the appropriate working range of motion when I actually pick up the weights. I also do a bit of light cardio to get the core temp warmed up a bit before I do the joint mobility drills.
Hate stretching, love mobility drills, which have a more limited range of motion but get those creaky old joints warmed up.
One of the first posts I ever wrote on my blog was about it being crucial to do a cardio warmup *before* stretching. Stretching is an intense kind of exercise–meaning something much more intense than regular activities of daily living. So it makes logical sense to start with less intense exercise and gradually work up to more intense exercise.
Everyday, I *always* start with a cardio warmup of at least 5 minutes–the first minute is warming up to 4 more minutes of intense cardio to get the muscles, ligaments, and tendons really warm and stretchy.
Then for yoga, I start with the less intense poses and gradually move up to more intense poses. Each pose is a warm up stretch for the next post. If one pose feels too tight, then I don’t do the next more intense pose. We are tighter or more flexible on different days. I just go onto something else if I’m too tight.
Then on weightlifting days, I start with a warm up set with light weights and gradually move up to heavy weights. Each set is a warm up for the next heavier set. If one set gets difficult, then I don’t do the next set. We are stronger or weaker on different days. I just go onto something else if I’m not doing as well as I wanted.
This is my recipe for remaining injury-free for a very long time. I do a lot of fun things in yoga and lift heavy weights and have never hurt myself doing either.
🙂 Marion
Back in the day I used to stretch like crazy! I always pulled something! Now I do it as you and that study suggest and so far, so good 🙂
I always stretch after my workout when I am – well warmed up but sweaty beyond sweaty! Have always done this. If I tried to stretch cold, I would pop & pull something bad & the older I get, the more the chance of doing that if I tried to stretch cold. I so a full range of stretches but with age, certain areas are tighter so I may do more for them.
I like to do dynamic stretches before working out. Its something my brother taught me last year – you do things like walking lunges, squats, leg swings, toe touches, etc. with just your bodyweight. Then static stretches after. But, I confess that I sometimes skip the after part, because I just want to be done and out of the gym! But then on other days, I’ll stretch for 10 minutes. It just depends how I am feeling.
Too funny about running the water after using the garbage disposal. I was always taught to do so and still do to this day!
As for stretching, I never do it before a workout and will just walk fast for 5 minutes before a run to warm up. However, I LOVE stretching after a good workout and will spend up to 20 minutes on it. Contrary to research, it does prevent soreness for me (at least I’m going to keep telling myself it does). My favorite stretching routine is the one that comes with the Slim in 6 program; it’s 15 minutes of heaven. I hate the rest of the program, but kept it because of the stretching video!
This isn’t the 1st time I’ve heard to stretch after a work out and it makes complete sense to me. My real question lies in workouts that are primarily about or contain a lot of stretching, like fitness yoga or BodyFlow; should I be warming up before class and then stretching and counter stretching on my own afterwards or do these classes typically cover everything I need to be doing so I don’t end up with an injury?
I’m no expert but for myself I like to warm up a bit with some cardio ( so my muscles are looser) before I go into a class like yoga or bodyflow but since they’re all stretching I don’t see any need to do more. You could ask your instructor though and see what they say.
I love the tutu, too! Upside-down or not. (I learned that tutus have a top and bottom the hard way, during a dress rehearsal for a dance recital when I was 6. Luckily it wasn’t during the actual recital, or I wouldn’t have lived it down until I was, oh, 7!)
I generally start my Pilates classes with some shoulder rolls and deep breathing, but no stretching until we’ve gotten the heart rate up a bit. And I prefer to stretch alone as well, with no one yanking or pulling on me. Youch!
I do dynamic stretches before a run- basically range of motion things to get me warmed up. Static stretching AFTER running.
So far, doing it this way, I haven’t had as many aches and pains.
I was always told to do “cardio stretching” beforehand, like stretching with movement…thn you do the regular stretching after…personally, I’m one of those people that will go out for a 10 mile jog and my warmup consists of walking from my car to the jogging path…haha ummm….I’ve started to stretch more each year that I get older, since I know when I hit my 40’s I’m going to need it more!
PS: I want that tutu…I mean, seriously, where do you get them??? LOVE IT!
Yep I stretch after a workout too. I do a “dynamic warm up” in the beginning and hold off on the stretching until later. I also try to foam roll after my workouts too!
Love that picture of you and had no idea tutus had a right-side-up! You are too adorable!!!
I never stretch before working out. I do afterwards though, somtimes. I guess I’m doing things right, I didn’t even know! Thanks for the streching tips.
We ran for 5-10 mins around the floor before we stretched in gymnastics. We were totally ahead of our time! I always thought it was dumb (because I hated running, go figure…)
I never stretch before, and while I try to remember to stretch after, I tend to be running right from uh… running to shower to work lately. I try to tell myself that soaks in the hot tub loosen me up, but really, I need to be better (there’s at least 2 mins while my water warms up :P).
So jealous of those splits!
🙂
I *had* great front-to-back splits,
but alas! Car accident(s).
I totally agree about being able to work out harder if I’ve had a gentle warm-up first–
it makes a surprising difference!
And your tutu is cute.
Even if it is upside down.
Whow!!! If I get into that stretching position [the first image], I want someone to take an image of me too.
For me stretching is essential on a daily basis–from the moment I open my eyes I start stretching in bed, then slow add more stretches as I move closer to the sink to brush my teeth. I also find that yoga is the best way for me to keep up with my stretching, flexibility and strength training too.
I never was a fan of stretching.I do try to do it though as my body ages. I do water aerobics twice a week and my favorite stretch is taking long steps across the pool about midway through our workout.
I love a good few minutes of stretching after a hard workout. And I love yoga as a workout.
And love the tutu. I need one of those to workout in. I would probably put mine on upside down, too. 😉
I think I read that article a couple years back (or something similar) and assumed it was fairly widespread knowledge these days that stretching before exercise wasn’t a good idea. I just do a light warmup and then have a good stretch at the end of a session (cos it feels so GOOD!). Actually this reminds me of the one issue I have with the Rachel Cosgrove book – the fact that in her warmup she has a hamstring stretch. I find this odd, considering the general perceived wisdom that you shouldn’t stretch, particularly before a strength workout.
Can anybody recommend a good youtube stretching video or an article with a list of stretches and good illustrations? Have always disliked stretching and am very inflexible, but trying to do more of it since I am running more and more…. thanks! And I am definietly in the stretch after exercise camp… with the exception of ther occasional morning just got out of bed stretches 🙂
i think everyone that loves you should wear a tutu when they exercise! Where can I get one? I think it’ll make me think happier thoughts when I’m working out.
This tutu I got at Hot Topic:) But there are tons of places to get them (thrift stores often have a nice variety) and they’re really easy to make too – no sewing machine needed! I totally think you should get one!
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So … I’ve been doing Insanity, and it has a 10 minute warm up followed by a stretch (then the main work out and more stretching). Do you think this is a problem too? My muscles are a little warmed up from the first 10 minutes, and I like the stretch … but I don’t want to get hurt!
You know, I’ve done both P90X and Insanity and his warm-ups are more active-type warm-ups with jumping and minimal static stretching so I think you’re fine:)