Study: Pre-Run Static Stretching Bad Idea

From Runner's World online...

Study: Pre-Run Static Stretching Bad Idea
March 8, 2012 7:06 am
By Scott Douglas

You're better off heading out the door to run immediately after waking than if you first do static stretching, according to a review of research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.

Researchers did what's known as a meta-review of studies on pre-workout static stretching, meaning that they gathered the results from 104 studies to look for common threads. The upshot: Pre-workout static stretching (holding a stretch for a long time) was repeatedly shown to clearly reduce muscular strength, power and explosive performance, regardless of the subjects' age, gender and fitness levels. The negative effects were greater the longer that pre-workout static stretches were held.

Sorry, but this doesn't mean a Superman-like change into your running gear and then dashing out the door is the best pre-run routine. Dynamic stretching--warming up muscles by gradually moving them through an increasingly wide range of motion--has been shown to produce the performance enhancements many people seek from pre-workout static stretching.

This video demonstrates a good pre-run dynamic stretching routine. Save the static stretching for after your runs, when your muscles are already warm and you needn't worry about temporary decreases in power and strength.

Read it here. Video below.