Dynamic and Static Stretching
I always stress the importance of stretching. It’s something everyone needs to do more of, especially dudes who weight train since we're naturally less flexible than women. But this blog isn’t to convince you to stretch. Instead, we’ll do a quick overview of two different types of stretching so you can better incorporate them into your routine.
Not Stretching is Hurting Your Progress. Learn Why
There are many different forms of stretching. Today we're going to focus on dynamic and static. These two popular forms are effective but with unique uses and benefits. Let's cover the basics of what they are, what they do, and the best times to perform them.
Static Stretching: A common form that most people do incorrectly and at the wrong time.
Benefits:
The main benefit of static stretching is increasing flexibility and range of motion. But it also has many other health benefits like supporting muscle repair by reducing stiffness and increasing blood flow, better balance, relaxation, and reducing inflammation.
When to static stretch:
While static stretching can be effective and helpful, there is also a risk of injury if you don’t do it correctly. Never stretch cold. During static stretching, you're elongating and extending your muscles for a length of time. To do this safely, your body needs to be in a warm, malleable state so your muscles can stretch without tearing or causing more strain.
We recommend static stretching post-workout and during rest days (after a proper warm-up) Add this into your routine 3-4 days a week to see improvement in mobility and flexibility.
How to perform a static stretch:
Move slowly and with control to elongate your muscle as far you can (without injuring yourself) and hold for anywhere between 15-30 seconds before releasing. Repeat the same stretch 3-4 times, focusing on stretching a little further each time.
Popular static stretches include Toe Touch, Standing Quad stretch, and, Shoulder Cross-over stretch.
Dynamic Stretching: The active form of stretching that uses movement to boost performance.
Benefits:
Dynamic Stretches improve your range of motion by allowing your muscles and joints to become warm enough to perform their specific functions at their best. Because of this, it improves your overall performance and helps you reduce the risk of injury.
When to dynamic stretch:
These are your go-to moves for pre-workout warmups. The active movements increase blood flow and prepare your muscles, tendons, and joints for the activity ahead. Focus on dynamic stretches that activate the specific muscle group you're training that day. For example, body squats are a great dynamic stretch before deadlifts.
How to dynamic stretch:
Since each dynamic stretch is based on functionality, it's best to perform them in a controlled flow of movement. You don't want to tax your muscles before your actual workout, so moving at a slower pace helps avoid fatigue from pushing your body too quickly and ultimately risking injury.
Perform each move for 15-20 seconds, rotating between a set of dynamic stretching in a circuit. This helps you warm up while also giving a rest between each move.
Popular dynamic stretches include Arm Swings, High Kicks, Leg Circles, and Walking Lunges.
Both dynamic and static stretching are important for your fitness routine. Perform dynamic stretches before every workout and static stretching post-workout 3-4 times a week.
To help make incorporating a stretch routine easier, we created the Stretch List. This e-book includes static and dynamic stretches for the major muscle groups and is designed for easy reference during your workouts.
