Seeking sound advice for stretching

Happyoceangirl

I guess I could google this also and see what I learn....

Just trying to get a better understanding of the importance of stretching, how much, what kinds, and when to do it.
I've noticed that Jillian Michaes' DVDs have very minimal stretching at the end....

She talks about dynamic stretches and static stretches - so dynamic would be ones that incorporate movement, while static ones don't....

Is it dangerous to do static stretches without some kind of warmup first?

I'd love to hear opinions and what works best for you all. Thanks!

EKarma

you should warm up before stretching. I have a stretching video that I do. I remember the first time I did it I was sweating! The video is called Mind, Body and Soul Fitness "long and lean".. It really gives you a good stretch throughout your whole body, and she does do a lil warm up in the beginning. I'm satisfied with the video. and I think it's about a 30 minutes. Good luck!

Iceprincessk25

You want to do static stretching. The stretch needs to be held gently for 30 secs to a minute each. Go as far as you can without stretching.

Dynamic stretching (which is bouncing while you stretch) is a NO-NO. You create micro-tears in your muscles which up the chance for injury.

As far as when you should stretch is up for debate. Some people say before you workout and some say after. I say if you have time to do both go for it. If you don't, then after your workout would be best because your muscles are warmed up and will respond better.

tabbydog

I always warm up, do my workout, and stretch afterwards. At least once a week I try to have a day when I focus on stretching more, but after each workout I stretch for at least 10 minutes. On a weekend I might spend 20-30 minutes stretching after the work out. I have always been told NOT to stretch before, but make sure you are warmed up before the actual workout.

muth3rluvx2

When I was in dance, we did full body stretches for 30-40 minutes before going into the studio, starting with the ankles and working our way up through the neck. You want to get your muscles more elastic before you put them through their paces - like another poster with teh bouncing/tearing - imagine going at it cold?

Think of a piece of steak. If you take it out of a freezer (w/o being totally frozen), is it going to be pliable or stiff? If you put it under some warm water (stretches) for 5-10 minutes, then it becomes much more flexible and elastic. That's what meat is - it's muscle and fat. Hopefully this visual will help address the importance of warm up stretching!