Okay don’t worry, THAT ^ is not the stretching I’m talking about 🙂

When it comes to exercise, you’re supposed to stretch right? Did you know that there are proper forms of stretching and right times to do them?

Dynamic Vs. Static Stretching – or Warm up Vs. Cool down

Dynamic:

adj. (of a process or system) characterized by constant change, activity, or progress.

Static:

adj. lacking in movement, action, or change

Think of dynamic as constantly moving and static as not moving at all. Perform a dynamic warm up, like the one seen in the video below is beneficial to warm up your muscles while also lengthening them. Performing static stretches before exercise puts your muscles at risk for injury. It is a lot harder, and a lot less safe to stretch a cool muscle. Muscles stretch best when they are warm, allowing them to lengthen to their maximum ability, and also allow them to recover after the stretch.

For your next workout, try these basic dynamic (warm up) and static (cool down) stretches!