I have put together this post with some of my top stretching tips and stretching exercises to hopefully help you out in your exercise journey. Stretching is often one of those things that is overlooked when it comes to forming an exercise plan.  

Top Stretching Tips and Stretching Exercises

There are two types of stretching – static and dynamic. Static stretching is associated with a cool down whereas dynamic stretching is associated with your warm up.  It may sound confusing so don’t let the terms fool you.

Static stretching (cool down) is stretching where there isn’t a lot of movement in the muscles, you hold a position for a set number of seconds and then move on to another stretch.  Dynamic stretching (warm up) is stretching where you are moving the muscles and working them. You try to get some movement in the muscles during your warm up as you are priming the muscles for the movement it is about to undertake.  Conversely the cool down is allowing your muscles to return to resting length safely. 

If this still sounds confusing please stick with me and I’ll try my best to walk you through it 😉

Top Stretching Tips

Warm Ups

1. Make sure you warm up before undertaking your workout. 
2. Warm up using movements and stretches that use the same muscles as the ones you are going to be working out. 
3. Keep some movement in your stretches, don’t just hold a stretch in one place. 

Cool Downs

1. Always cool down after undertaking your workout. 
2. Cool down using movements and stretches that use the same muscles as the ones you worked out. 
3. Hold your stretches in one place, don’t move about. 

You may have noticed that my #1 & #2 tips for both the warm up and cool downs are the same! Stretching isn’t rocket science and doesn’t need to be confusing. If you only remember a few things just remember the following:

• You SHOULD be doing a Warm Up AND Cool Down
• Stretch the muscles you are going to be using. 
• Movement stretches for Warm Ups and Hold your stretches for Cool Downs.  

Stretching Exercises

For Warm Up’s I generally suggest doing the same movement you will be doing in your workout:

• If you’re going for a run, warm up by walking slowly, then briskly for a few minutes and then work up to a jog for a minute or two before you move up to full pace. 
• If you’re going to be doing a workout at the gym, start out by using lighter weights than you would use for the full workout. Perform 1-2 sets at a light weight (or with no weight) before you move on to your working set. 

The above points can really be tailored for any type of exercise! Just start out with light weights or a walk before you run (this moves over into other sports like netball, soccer and hockey for example as well). Other suggestions for Warm Up’s are:

• Leg Swings – Hold on to something (or someone) and swing your leg backwards and forwards to get some movement in them. 
• Lunges – walking lunges are great for any exercise that will use your lower body, perform a few on each side without any added weight. 
• Arm Circles – hold your arms out to the side and rotate your arms in a clockwise motion for 10-20 seconds then alternate and rotate them anti-clockwise. 
• If you’re going to be working out your back for example doing dead lifts then do a set or two of back extensions or dead lifts with just the bar as a warm up. 

For Cool Down’s I generally recommend the exercises that most people think of when they think of stretching. 

In the images in this article you can see two basic stretches which most people will be familiar with. Both of these are static stretches as you are holding yourself in one position which is effectively putting a slight pressure on the muscles. The top image is great for after a run or any workout that uses your legs and the second image is good for a run as well (as you swing your arms when you run) or any workouts that use your arms and the top of your back. 

Cool Down’s are one of those things that I often find myself guilty of skipping as once you’ve done your workout you just want to get home and eat (okay I always want to eat – you may not ;)). These are an important part of the workout as they help to return your muscles to resting length safely after they have been stretched with your workout. In addition to the two in the pictures above some suggested cool downs are:

• Bring your left arm across the front of your body and hold it with the right arm, you should feel the stretch in the back of your arm.
• Stand on one foot, bringing the other foot up to touch your bum (or as far up as you can get it) and hold with one of your hands – use something or someone to balance yourself on if need be. 
• Find something (anything) about chest height or a bit lower and hold on to it with both hands (or lean against it if you can’t wrap your hands around whatever object you’ve found), look down and take a few steps back from the object and lean over with your head down. You should feel like stretch in your back and shoulder blades. You can step back a bit further or closer in to see where you feel the stretch.  (See the below image). 

You can also look at doing some foam rolling to help roll out your body and break down the soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue. Another great tool to help with stretching and flexibility is to do some band work.

Both of those are topics for future blog posts – if you want to be kept up to date with future blog posts please do enter your e-mail address in the subscribe box on the right hand side near the top of the page. 

Moral: Warm up with movement based stretches, Cool down by holding your stretch in one place. Do stretches that use the muscles you will be using and mimic the exercise you will be performing. 

 What stretches or warm up’s do you usually do? – Please do comment below, just scroll on down and leave your comment 🙂