A bit more about... when to stretch

There are many views and studies on when to stretch – what follows here is the WRN line on stretching:

There are different types of stretching.

Static Stretching is what most of us think about when stretching – getting into a position to hold a stretch for 10 seconds plus. Muscles shorten when we exercise, so this form of stretching is best done after your run to help ease your muscles to lengthen. There is some evidence that performing static stretches before exercise can hinder endurance, strength output and explosive movement. Also be aware that stretching cold muscles is not recommended – it can cause injury – and this gives a timing problem. If you warm up & then pause to do static stretches, you heart rate will start to go down – so you may lose some of the warming up benefit.

Dynamic Stretching is a bit different – it’s where muscles are stretched during a dynamic movement. This type of stretch isn’t held and it uses momentum. We do have some of this stretching in the warm up – knee mobilisation, weaving (aka baseline/grape vine) and hacky sacks, skipping are all dynamic stretches. It’s designed to increase mobilisation, allowing more blood flow to your muscles and flexibility – all of which can help performance and help prevent injury. If running from home, btw, try going up & down stairs as part of your warm up as this can be a useful dynamic stretch. More about dynamic stretching - click here.

Include dynamic stretching in your warm up, leave static stretching until afterwards. If you’ve worked hard in your run, do make sure that you devote time to static stretching – and you can stretch safely all the time that your muscles are still warm. That includes after your post run shower or bath!