Benefits of Stretching During Warm-Ups

Experts Debate Benefits of Stretching During Warm-Ups

Published by Human Kinetics 2008, this is an excerpt from ‘Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 3^rd Edition’ by Thomas Baechle.

During a warm-up, most teachers prefer to use the static stretch technique when it comes to stretching at the beginning section of class, we do this in hope of enhancing the dancer’s performance and reducing the risk of injuries. More recently there are more reviews of literature that question static stretching in this practice and there is very little evidence that stretching pre or post-participation can prevent injuries and even muscle soreness. Depending which sport you are warming up for, it can increase the range of motion for gymnastics or dancing but it can also compromise muscle performance. Teachers especially, need to analysis the benefits and risks when choosing weather or not to include static stretching as a section in the warm-up, it is more important to focus on strength and conditioning professional performance rather than risking static stretching.

Some studies have been shown that if you perform static stretching during a warm-up it can lead to a decrease in force production, power performance, running speed, reaction and movement time, and strength endurance, after reading this I could connect to this piece as I teach a stretch class on a Saturday afternoon and the students that stay for ballet afterwards lose a certain aspect of speed I normally put this down to being tired at the end of a long day but it could be an effect from the stretch class, I find their allegro and beats tend to have less control and they ‘throw’ themselves around rather than staying in control of their body. This article then goes on to say PNF stretching and ballistic stretching have also been shown to have a damaging effect to a dancer’s performance.

On the other hand dynamic stretching could be an alternative compared to static, PNF and ballistic stretching. Teachers and students need to question and look into the advantages and disadvantages of stretching during a warm-up. There is evidence that dynamic stretching can improve subsequent running performance so this could be an alternative option when performing stretches in a warm-up.

Obviously there are different amounts of stretching required for a warm up and this depends on what type of sports the body is preparing for. Dancing, gymnastics and diving need more stretching compared to jogging or cycling. Teachers need to design a warm-up based on what they are teaching and only choose certain exercises that are appropriate in their class.

A warm-up should start with a period of time performing constant slow activity for about 5-10 minutes. This section of the warm-up is to increase the body temperature, increase the heart rate, blood flow, deep muscles temperature, respiration rate and perspiration and to decrease viscosity of joint fluids. The second section is certain exercises in the style of the class you are teaching and 8-12 minutes of dynamic stretching focusing on the range of muscles you will be using during the class. A warm-up should progress gradually, the core temperature should rise but without your students feeling tired.

I think teachers should be aware of all studies and reading this article has made me more aware of many different opinions compared to other sources of literature I have read, I want to find more sources like this one; debates, discussions and arguing their opinions across.