Stretching- First or last?

[Arhat of Fury]

Hello all, i was just reading "How do you start your class" and it appears some people warm up first then stretch and some stretch and then warm up. I have read several articles saying that you shouldnt stretch a cold muscle. At my new school we warm up, light stretch, train and then stretch again (which is how I have read you are supposed to do it) At my old school we would stretch first, then warm up then train then go home. At the new school I feel much better when i wake up the next morning, meaning no real soreness or joints hurting.

What do you guys think/prefer when it comes to this question?

AOF

[ShaolinTiger00]

Stretch moderately during warm up to avoid straining muscles.

Stretch heavily after you're very warm to increase flexability.

This is the advice of top sports medicine doctors. and from gymnastic instructors.

[yenhoi]

Your muscles probably arent cold when it comes time to train, so stretch a little before, and a lot after, try it yourself - do a heavy workout and try it all different ways and see how you feel after each. You will probably like the before and after approach.

:eek:

[Losttrak]

warm up, stretch vigorously, work out with light stretching interspersed, then cool down with light stretches....

[ShaolinTiger00]

The heavy stretching should come after your workout. (when you will be already loose, warm and relaxed)

moderate stretching is part of your warmup.

[eric_thomson]

The University of Ohio and the New Zealand Olympic Power Lifting team participated in a study regarding stretching a few years back. What they found was that stretching before, during rests between exercises/lifts, and after led to 25% strength gain in athletes that participated in the study versus the control group which only stretched before exercising i.e. during warm up. Now this is over the long term. In 2000, the Kinesiology Department at the University of Louisiana reported that Ballitistic (bouncing) or Static Stretching (slow non-bouncing) just prior to a strength activity created a 20% force decrement (loss in strength) for a 1 reptition max lift. Therefore, Stretching just prior to physical activity will result in measurable strength loss but even with that strength loss you will net at least a 5% gain in overall strength when performance is measured versus groups that don't stretch. This is my take on these two reports. These two reports differ in that one deals with longterm effect of stretching on strength and immediate effect of stretching on strength. In my opinion, one should stretch before, during and after exercise as this will result in an overall increase of performance and will help you aviod injury. More study or testing needs to be performed in order to ascertain the various mechanisms involved in stretching in general and Ballistic vs. Static stretching and interval thereof in relation to strength performance.

[IronFist]

Ok. Here's my opinion. You should "warm up" before class. This means stretch a bit, get loose, but don't go for any personal record stretches. Save that for afterward, or it's own day. But make sure you're loose enough that high kicking or whatever you do is possible and won't hurt.

Maybe you should stretch in the morning. If you get into a fight can you say "Excuse me while I stretch and warm up?"

If you're going to lift weights, don't stretch too much before hand.

When you're really trying to improve you range of motion or whatever, do that after the workout or on it's own day. Not before you work out.

IronFist

[SevenStar]

warm up first, stretch after

[ddh]

by doing hand/kidney rotations, hip circles, knees circles, upper back bends and side to side - first, lightly, then, standing (I personally do three treasures about 10 minutes.) After that, my joints have opened and stretching is a breeze. Every school has it's methods but it makes sense to start light (especially in the cold outside) and then get the body heated for anything more extensive.