Stretching: If you should, and when you should

Some good advice on stretching from trainer Shin Otake of Max Workouts.com

Have you ever gotten a pesky injury from either a workout, playing sports, or some other activity?  Ugh, it just seems to nag and nag.  Sometimes it even goes in waves...  Like you're fine for a while and then, *BAM*, it's back again.  I know, it totally sucks. 

Then you start thinking back about what you could have done differently that could have prevented it in the first place -- and then it finally comes to mind... "Darn it, I knew I should have warmed up more."

Well, yes and no.

First of all, injuries can be pretty complicated and your lack of warming up may not totally be to blame, but one thing is for sure:  Warming up WILL help you reduce your risk of injury.  You need to get yourself moving and get that blood flowing to your muscles to properly prepare your body before you get all crazy with the dumbbells. 

Problem is, most people have been taught that stretching is part of warming-up.  After all, isn't that what they tell you to do when you take a fitness class at the gym?!  Lemme tell ya, that couldn't be further from the truth and it'll land you straight in the doctors office if you keep that up.

I even had a client a couple years ago who kept pulling his hamstring.  I asked him to stop stretching before working out and he wouldn't.  He just could couldn't buy into that idea - it didn't make sense to him because he didn't understand how the body works.  His old ways were too ingrained.  Well, he finally got fed up with the recurring (and painful!) injury and took my advice (it took some convincing).  And whaddaya know?  No more hamstring pulls.  Not a one since then.

Here's why:
#1 Stretching before your workout can increase your risk of injury:
There's a common misconception that stretching reduces your risk of injury by "loosening" up your muscles.  Well, it's not all wrong...static stretching can help elongate and relax your muscles, tendons, and ligaments.  But here's the catch: static stretching reduces your muscles' ability to contract. 

And since your muscles need to be ready to contract (concentrically and eccentrically) at vigorous rates as soon as you start exercising, you want them to be ready for action -- NOT in a long and relaxed state. You're much more likely to pull a muscle when you suddenly try and exert force (like lifting weights) from a relaxed state.  This is why static stretching is not the activity of choice prior to working out.#2 Stretching is NOT warming-up:
Your warm-up should be a lighter version of what your actual workout is going to be (I call it a "Dynamic Warm-Up".  For example, if one of the exercises you plan on doing is lunges with dumbbells, then make lunges without weight part of your warm-up.  You should do all the low-intensity versions of the exercises you'll be doing in your workout to properly prepare your muscles, ligaments and joints.  This is why it makes all the difference to plan what you're going to do before you go the gym ;-)

The whole point of warming up is to get your heart rate up, get your blood flowing and pump more oxygen to your muscles so you can prepare to dive into your workout.  If you stretch during your warm-up, you're going to let your heart rate back down and allow your muscles to relax...and "undo" what you were trying to accomplish in the first place!

When should you stretch?

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a hater...stretching is really important (I stretch everyday), but my point is you shouldn't do it until AFTER your workout.  I want you to have good flexibility because that helps reduce risk of injury too, but it's crucial that you don't work on it until after your workout when you're cooling down - that's the right time to lengthen and relax your muscles.