I’ve noticed my hips and ankles are feeling really tight lately ( I’m gonna guess from squatting ), which is weird for me as I’ve always been very flexible.
What I’m wondering is:
When should I do dynamic stretches throughout the day?
When should I do Static stretches throughout the day?
I read not to do static stretching before weight training as it makes you weaker, and that dynamic stretching should be done prior to weight training…
But for me ( being a martial artist ) I want to be as strong AND flexible as possible… Are these two things contradictory? Thats kind of what I’ve been reading…
Do your foam rolling, static stretch then move on to activation work…
The key is to do them everyday when you have the time…
Dynamic stretches are usually done if you really have no time before a work out…
being strong and being flexible ties in together, they’re not mutuall exclusive…
Infact flexibility and mobility are the fundamental elements everyone should have first before loading their body with extra weights.
Being strong and being flexible are not mutually exclusive but consider training flexibilty as you would strength - with a plan and purpose. I believe that with static stretching, you get no increase in flexibility doing more than one session every 48 hours for a body part.
I agree with you that doing static stretching before your strength sessions is not ideal so try to separate them as much as possible (I feel the same way about foam rolling, deep tissue and ART).
Second the Magnificent Mobility comment. Read the Cressey/Robertson stuff.
Dynamic stretching before WOD, focus on hip mobility, shoulder ROM - I also do a hip flexor/warrior lunge stretch thing pre WOD.
Static stretching at night, and not just any static stretches…static stretching the wrong stuff can put you at risk for injury.
Define flexibility and mobility correctly. Being “as flexible as possible” is not always a good thing… being mobile is.
[quote]dfreezy wrote:
weib wrote:
erm static stretches don’t make you weaker.
There have been numerous studies that suggest static stretching decreases athletic performance, particularly in lower body movements.[/quote]
Haha This is what pisses me off… There’s always someone saying the exact opposite…
I’ve read that static stretching PRE-workout weakens the muscles. Which makes sense I suppose… Are you referring to that? or are you saying it makes you weaker altogether.
Yeah sorry for not clarifying. Your statement is correct…static stretching preworkout has been shown to decrease athletic performance in several studies.
What I’ve been told from coaches (and more recently a physiology researcher) is to utilize dynamic stretching preworkout and static stretching postworkout. At least in my experience for oly lifting, this has helped a great deal for flexibility and performance.
When I strained my hip flexor, I went to Physical Therepy and they had me do static stretching 3 times a day, 5 reps for each stretch. Morning, Afternoon, and night. This got me pretty flexible it seems. I can touch my closed fist to the floor now without bending my knees. I also can do ATG squats after a light warmup with no problem. Static stretching in the morning is fine, just don’t do it within an hour or so before your workout.