Static Stretching Vs. Dynamic Warm-Up: Why you may be warming up for exercise the WRONG way, and how to do it RIGHT

“Stretch before exercise” has been common advice for people for many years. When most people hear this, they envision reaching down to touch their toes, and other stretches with long holds of 30 seconds or more. This is also known as static stretching.

Although static stretching may feel good and possibly increase range of motion, recent research shows that it may not be optimal for exercise performance or injury prevention. Static stretching has been shown to impair explosive performance in movements like running, sprinting, jumping, and heavy lifting (1) (2).

This is where the dynamic warm-up comes in.

A dynamic warm-up is an active, movement-based way to prime the body for exercise. It involves continuously moving through stretches. Examples of a dynamic warm-up includes walking lunges, high leg kicks, and glute kicks.

The dynamic warm-up works to increase heart rate and blood flow to muscles prior to exercise, while actively moving joints through their normal range of motion.

A dynamic warm up is clearly the better option prior to exercise if you are looking to improve performance and prevent injury.

A good dynamic warm up begins with a short, 3-10 minutes of cardio (run, bike, etc) to get the blood flowing, followed by specific movements which actively moves joints through their full range of motion.

Here is a video of my dynamic warm-up which I use prior to exercise. (For days when I perform upper body movements, I typically add other movements to warm up the shoulders, chest, and back). This is basic warm-up routine which aims to loosen up the joints while priming the muscles for activity.

When Static Stretching is Useful:

Static stretching should not be completely removed from your exercise routine as it offers some valuable benefits. Static stretching is best done on it’s own to improve flexibility, or after a workout to potentially improve symptoms of muscle damage.