From elementary school P.E. class to the health club, most people have probably heard at least once that they should stretch before working out.
However, new evidence suggests this common bit of exercise wisdom may be false. Now, experts think stretching before exercising could even result in injuries.
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“Recent expert opinion has moved away from static stretching before a sport or activity and more toward gradual warming,” explained Michael Daignault, an emergency physician in Los Angeles and chief medical adviser for Reliant Health Services quoted by USA Today. “Furthermore, stretching a cold tight muscle could lead to injury itself.”
The Mayo Clinic agrees.
“Don't consider stretching a warmup,” said the clinic. “You may hurt yourself if you stretch cold muscles.”
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“Cold” muscles are muscles that have been inactive for some time before a physical activity begins. For muscles in this state, static stretching, or stretching with positions are held for a period of time, may be especially harmful.
"If you do a static stretch on a cold body, you can hurt yourself. You can tear a muscle," said Morit Summers, a personal trainer and founder of Form Fitness Brooklyn.
It is still important to warm up cold muscles, but Summers recommends warmups that consist of dynamic stretching, or stretches done during light movement.
"It can still feel like a stretch, but you're moving through space as opposed to just holding positions,” she explained. This way, blood starts flowing throughout the body.
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An example of dynamic stretching would be starting of a run with walking and moving into a light jog before going full-speed, said Daignault.
He said exercisers should tailor their dynamic stretches to the workout they are about to do.
“If you're a weight lifter, you wouldn't go stretch your shoulder muscles or pecs before doing (a) bench press – you would do the bench press but at significantly lower weight than usual,” he said.
If you have been doing static stretches before your workouts for years, don’t stress. There is a time and place for them.
Stretching routines can have benefits such as easing sedentary people back into activity, alleviating pain points, releasing tension and helping with sleep, according to Tony Zaccario, CEO at assisted stretching center Stretch Zone. Summers said stretching is usually fool-proof but should be considered a five to 10-minute activity separate from workout routines.
“Just starting a general stretching routine or mobilizing routine and then kind of figuring out what works best for your body is the best way to go about it,” she said.
According to the Mayo Clinic, static stretching may actually be best right after a workout, when muscles are already warm.
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