1....2....3....STREETCHH!!!!!

When you walk into a gym, what is the first thing you do? After you put your stuff in a locker, your probably jump on a piece of cardio for 5 minutes or so and then hit the weights. Then a week later you come crying to me that you pulled a hamstring. Well, the reason, improper warm-up.

I see very few people properly warm-up before they began to exercise. Hell, some people walk right in and throw themselves underneath and bench and start pressing plates. That is when injury happens.

There are many different types of stretching including, PNF, passive, active, isometric, static, and dynamic. What 99% of the population does is static stretch. Static stretch is when you stretch a muscles and hold it for 20-30 seconds then release, for example, the common touch your toes and hold. The problem is, people do that at the wrong time. Static stretching should be done AFTER exercise, not before. My famous example goes something like this. You have a rubber band, that represents you muscle. You tie it in a knot. So, now you have a tight and cold muscle. What happens when you pull it tighter and hold that. Yes, it gets tighter and tighter. That is what you are doing to your muscles if you are stretching a cold muscle. Instead static stretching must be done when the muscle has just finished being worked and is warm and loose.

Dynamic stretching is what should be done before exercising. This will loosen up your muscles and undo those knots. Also, if possible, before the dynamic stretching, complete a short session of foam rolling(another topic for another day). The dynamic stretching should be just that, dynamic. You should be on your feet moving your body in a way to get in properly warmed up for exercise to prevent injury.

An example of a good dynamic stretching routine is as follows. Each exercise being completed for a total of 10 reps.

Prisoner Squats
Jumper Jacks
Forward Skips
Side Shuffle
Crossovers
Backwards run
Forward Lunge
Hip Bridges
Straight leg raises
Side Leg Raises
Glute Raises
Scapula Retraction
Rotators Cuff Swing outs
T-Spine Mobility
Spider man Crawl

That is a full dynamic warm-up that should take about 10-15 minutes and will break a sweat. It will get you properly warmed up for exercise in the weight room.

Walking into the weight room and throwing around dumbbells before properly warming up is simply asking for trouble. So make sure you take the time to properly warm-up before you begin your weight training session.

If you have any questions about the different types of stretching, when to do what type, or have questions about the above exercises feel free to e-mail me.

Best,

Doug Spurling
DJS1232@comcast.net