Stretching: Different Ways for Different Times!
By Brianna Delaney
We’ve all been told to stretch before and after exercise or to help relieve stress and tension but are you picking the right types of stretches for you? Dynamic and Static are the two main types of stretching that help us prepare and recover from movement.
Dynamic stretches help prepare our body's tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons) for movement and activity by repeatedly taking our joints through their full range of motion. This helps to reduce the stiffness in muscles and increase the muscle temperature to perform better. Typically, dynamic stretches make up a large part of our warm-up routine by improving mobility in the required movements, but under lower loads and speeds. For example, soccer players will use side steps, leg swings and step jumps as dynamic stretches, as these are common movements they make while playing. However, you can also take an everyday static stretch and turn it into a dynamic one, by moving in and out of the stretch rather than holding it. In Dynamic stretching you should only hold the position for up to 5 seconds before resetting and repeating a few times.
Static stretching on the other hand helps us to improve our flexibility, by moving to the end of our range and holding that position for a number of seconds. A great option for cooling down, static stretches help prevent injury, reduce tension and aid in recovery. These are better saved for post-activity as they require our body to move slower and don’t prepare us for fast movements. Static stretches are also a great way to help manage stress and tension, by helping us break up the work day and tune into our body. Consider taking 5 minutes once or twice in your work day to run through some simple stretches, this may help you transition better between work and activity across the week. These stretches are typically held for 20-30seconds and performed only once or twice on each side of the body.
Finding the right warm up and cool down tools for you can really change how you feel during and after your exercise. It even helps us to reap more of the benefits of doing the activities we love! Coming up with your own warm up and cool down routine doesn’t have to be difficult. Pick a few key movements from your exercise, and do them slower, but repeatedly as you engage with the full range you have available, such as arm rotations for throwing sports, leg swings for running or threading the needle to help trunk rotation.
Cool downs are as simple as identifying the major muscle groups you’ve worked and picking a stretch or two for each. Child's pose is great for the lower back, the Figure 4 stretch targets the glutes and can be done seated or standing, whereas the World's Greatest Stretch targets a number of areas all at once! There are many ways to help a single muscle from different positions, no matter your flexibility level, thus making it easy to find a comfortable cool down routine for you. Don’t forget you can find some great videos and materials in the Resources section of our website to help get you started.
