Q: Is it best to stretch before or after?????
A: After!!!!
It's best to do a nice warm-up to get blood flowing to those muscles before the workout, run, weights, etc. In this case, dynamic stretching can be good to mix into the warm-up, but not static stretching!
Brisk walking with arm swing....
is a great way to get bloodflow before shifting to more strenuous motions and positions. Be it walking outside, treadmill, or elliptical, at least 5 minutes should help prevent strain during a workout!
Dynamic stretching can be incorporated into warm-up...
Because dynamic stretching incorporates movement while it momentarily lengthens the muscle, it can bring bloodflow while avoiding strain. Here are some examples!
Static stretching are what we are used to referring to...
Cooling down for a few minutes after the workout and then going into static stretches is helpful to keep symmetry as well as functional muscle length to avoid unfavorable compensation patterns where we start to cheat the motions! 10 minutes isn't too much to ask, is it?
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