Warming up vs Stretching.

Warming up and Stretching... There is quite a bit of confusion between the two. Often people tend to blend the two together when really they are two different components of physical activity. How many of you warm up and stretch? How do you know when to do which? I'll explain the difference today.

I often hear people say that they never warm up before they work out and I'd like to explain the importance of warming up. Contrary to what commoners believe, warming up does NOT mean stretching. When we think of stretching we usually think of static stretches (sit and reach, touching the toes, etc..) although there are other forms. Warming up is what we do to activate the muscles and prepare them for physical activity and exercise. 

Warming Up

During your warm up, your main goal is to prepare your muscles and body for exercise. You should focus on increasing your body temperature and blood flow to the muscles that will be involved. If you are going to be doing cardio, you should begin with a lighter pace and then progress through your activity of choice (walking, increasing the pace, and finally jogging). 

With resistance exercise, it is a good idea to warm up while doing the same activity that you will be doing. For example: If you are going to bench press, a good warm up would be to simply do the motions of the bench press focusing on movement and form to open up the chest. Next you would move to a very light weight so that you can again focus on activating your muscles and on preparing them for a heavier load. Increase the weight about 2 or 3 more times until you feel warmed up, and then begin your working sets (actual workout).

So we see here that the main focus of warming up is to increase blood flow and activate the muscles and joints for activity.

Stretching

While we are stretching, our main focus is on increasing range of motion and flexibility of our joints and muscles. We often see people sitting and reach or holding a stretch in place (static stretching), when they feel that a muscle is tight. There are other forms of stretching, but the most common is static.

The reason why stretching is not as good as warming up before exercise, is that although stretching increases the range of motion, it does nothing for muscular activation and preparation. Yes it increases the elasticity, but this can often hinder power and strength output because it simply increases the range that the joint moves, not necessarily the ability to recruit motor units. 

Stretching is great for post exercise because it helps reduce the inflammation and tightness that we have just created and can possibly reduce the risk of soreness, although studies have not necessarily proven this to be true. If tightness remains after warm up, some stretching may be necessary.

Key Points 

• Warm up before exercise because it increases blood flow and activates the muscles in preparation for exercise.
• Stretching should be associated with the cool down and so should be done after exercise to reduce inflammation, the risk of soreness, and increase range of motion. 
• Some stretching may be done after the warm up if an area remains tight. 
• Warming up should be done for 5-10 minutes.
• Stretching should be done for 10 minutes after cool down (and after warm up if necessary).