STATIC OR DYNAMIC STRETCHES?
Whether you are heading out the door for some easy miles or completing a race, warming up is a key contributor to your performance. A warm-up generally consists of doing an easy submaximal jog, followed by stretches and sport-specific movements (our running drills). However, there has been a debate for many years as to what to do when you get to the stretches component of the warm-up. Should you do static stretches? If so for how long? Or should you avoid static stretches and go for more dynamic stretches? All of these are great and valid questions that I will answer in this article. But, before I do that, I must highlight that whatever you decide to do, please do some sort of stretching before. Both types of stretching have been found to significantly improve performance and rate of perceived exertion (RPE), compared to not doing any type of stretching at all.
Dynamic stretching is movement-based stretching and differs from static stretching in the fact that it doesn’t hold the stretch for a long period of time. On the other hand, static stretches are usually held at the point of the stretch for 30-45 seconds.
Numerous studies have shown that dynamic stretching has an improvement on performance across areas such as power, agility, endurance, single-leg power and speed. Despite this seemingly overwhelming result in favour of dynamic stretching, static stretching should not be eliminated entirely. It is recommended if the athlete feels the need to static stretch that they should do it for a maximum of 30 seconds. After 30 seconds we see a significant drop in performance across strength, speed and power (See image below).
The relationship between stretch duration and the reduction in performance across strength, speed and power measures.
*Adapted from Kay and Blazevich 2012
When it comes to the warm-down portion of your training session or event, static stretching is the most favoured out of the two as it helps kick-start the recovery process. However, there are additional ways to help aid the recovery process post-session/race which I will cover in future blogs.
In conclusion, it is recommended that you conduct a proper warm-up prior to commencing any exercise program. For best results, this warm-up will include dynamic stretches as well as sport-specific drills. If you must static stretch limit the time under tension to 30 seconds to ensure performance isn’t hampered.
I hope this helps. If you’re looking to take your own running to the next level, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today and see how I can help!
Take Care and Happy Running :)
