Dynamic vs. Static Stretching
It’s funny when you go to tournaments and you see how different teams warm up for their games. On one field you’ve got the team that takes a lap, forms a circle, and starts doing static stretching. Static stretching is where they stretch a specific muscle at the end range of motion and hold it for a period of time. On the other field, you seea team lining up and instantly getting into dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching is where the athletes go through a number of controlled movements and hold a stretch for up to two seconds. The goal is to warm up the muscles, ligaments, and soft tissue for activity. On the last field, you have an old school coach who doesn’t believe in stretching— “I never had to stretch when I was growing up and I barely had any injuries.” Needless to say, times have changed and I think we all know that a good warm up is key. The question is, which style of stretching is best?
Both dynamic and static stretching are very good in their own right, but it is always going to depend on the reasoning behind the stretching. More and more research has shown that when warming up for any activity, dynamic stretching is the way to go. Dynamic stretching prior to activity has shown positive benefits in speed, power, and agility. More importantly, dynamic stretching has been proven to actually decrease risk of injury in both recreational and elite athletes. The idea is that we are preparing the body for the upcoming activity. We want to warm up the muscles and start to put them through the entire range of motion that they will go through when playing or lifting. This will make the muscles more pliable and in turn, will protect the joints from injury that could occur when doing static stretches.
Static stretching is on it’s way out of warm ups because it will temporarily, but significantly, decrease the ability of a muscle to produce force. This decreased muscular strength places an athlete’s joints at risk of injury by decreasing the body’s ability to stabilize and control motion. This can lead to both tears and sprains of ligaments, and also strains of the muscles. The purpose of stretching is to decrease the chances of these potential injuries, not increase them. With that said, static stretching isn’t all bad. Research has also shown that doing static stretches away from times of activity and when the body is warm, can help aid recovery and increase power in the long run. We have all sat in a car or at a desk for a long time and when you stand up, you instantly realize you NEED a good stretch. We’re not going to do dynamic stretches in this scenario. We typically lean way back and stretch out those tight hip flexors and then bend down and touch our toes to stretch out the hamstrings and back. After letting muscles get tight from activity, or just sitting for too long, we need to open up those fibers and let fresh blood put some life to the muscles. Also, stretching the muscles at the end range of motion during a yoga or mobility type session will help increase the overall range of motion, increasing performance and reducing risk of injury in the long run.
Bottom line is you have to take into account why you are stretching.. If you are about to run, lift, or play a sport, you want to prepare your muscles for activity. You want to put them through the full range of motions they will go through during that activity but in a controlled manner. If you are just finishing an activity or you’re just stretching to increase mobility or feel better, then static stretching is the way to go.
At ISC we practice both types of stretching all dependent upon the day and the clients personal needs. In previous blogs or in the gym, I constantly talk about the importance of having good mobility and being able to go through a full range of motion for a squat or other exercises. If you are lacking in a range of motion, then you can expect that we will spend more time doing static stretches for a specific body part. As the warm up goes on, however, we will start to make the stretches more dynamic to prepare the body for the workout ahead. Just remember, I don’t care what your grand-daddy did back when he played football with leather helmets, a good warm up and stretch is the most important thing you can do before a game!
- Coach Tom