Warming up also lubes the joints, readies the tendons and ligaments, and has quite a few mental benefits as well.

A good warm-up should last about 5-10 minutes making sure to get the heart rate elevated. When you get your heart rate up, it will start pumping more blood and oxygen throughout the body, including into the muscle tissue. The muscles will become pliable and more flexible allowing for better range of motion and exercise performance.

I've heard it time and time again that warming up is a waste of time and energy. The excuse is usually that a warm-up will take away from the energy needed for the actual workout, but that’s just not true. Actually it's a great way to get your heart pumping and get you in the right state for exercise.

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Stretching is just as important as warming up in most cases. Stretching should be done after the warm-up or you can do dynamic (active) stretching with the warm-up (before the workout).

Either way, it's a good idea to get it done for many reasons. As mentioned before, when the muscles are warm, they are more pliable and flexible. This will allow you to perform better in any activity.

However, we have to make an important distinction between static and dynamic stretching:​

What Is Dynamic Stretching?

Dynamic stretching is an active type of stretching where you do not hold the stretches but you would stretch with movement. A few examples of dynamic stretching movements would be jumping jacks, torso twists, and arm swings.

These types of stretches will allow your body not only to warm up, but it prepares your muscles and joints for the workout ahead.

What Is Static Stretching?

Static stretching is where you hold a certain stretch for up to 30 seconds per muscle group. Static stretching should always be done after your workout is complete as part of your cool down. A few examples of static stretching would be a stationary cobra pose, holding a side bend, or holding a standing quad stretch.

Again, what you DO NOT want to do is static stretching before a workout session. This is a big mistake for many reasons. Static stretching before weight lifting does not reduce soreness or DOMs, it doesn't warm up your muscles, and it doesn't put your body in the right state.

Is There Pain With Stretching?

Stretching is meant to help you gain flexibility slowly and progressively. Not everyone is flexible so there will be a little discomfort as you go into your stretching, but you should not be experiencing any pain. This would indicate that something may be wrong and it would be a good idea to speak with a doctor if you do feel pain with stretching.

A Few Things To Be Aware Of

As you are performing any type of stretch, be sure that you are in control of your breathing. You never want to hold your breath during your stretches as this can cause you to tense up and may inhibit your full stretching potential.

Also, as you are doing static stretches, these should be done with ease and grace. Go as gentle as possible, deeply inhale, and as you exhale you can try to relax further into your stretch.

You should never bounce or force a stretch. For instance if you are doing a static butterfly stretch (common groin stretch) you should not force the knees towards the floor with your hands, or bounce the knees up and down. This can cause overstretching and possible muscle tears.

101 Dynamic Stretches

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