Dynamic Stretching

Seven Effective Dynamic Stretches

As the owner of Speed Boosters, as an assistant football and baseball coach at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis, Missouri and working with the Gateway Grizzlies, I have noticed that many young and even collegiate and professional athletes do not prepare themselves properly prior to training sessions or even competition. This is a major mistake that ultimately affects the athletes training sessions as well as on field performance. In order for athletes to reach peak performance a proper warm up and flexibility routine must be established. Below you will find information on dynamic flexibility stretches that will get you on the path to peak athletic performance.

Often times we mistake stretching as part of the warm up when in fact they are two totally different parts of pre training or pre competition preparation. The goal of a warm-up is to get the blood flowing and to raise the temperature of the deep muscles and connective tissues prior to athletic competition and training sessions. It's essential to have the athlete's muscles, ligaments, and joints experience the functional range of motion required of the sport or activity during the warm-up. For the athlete a general 3-5 minute warm up that includes jogging, shuffles, backpedals, skips, and arm circles is an excellent way to increase body temperature.

Once body temperature has been increased we want to move on to addressing flexibility. Flexibility is defined as the range of motion available around a joint. So what type of stretching should athletes perform prior to training or competition to increase flexibility? Dynamic Stretching! Dynamic Stretching consists of slow controlled sport specific body movements that are performed to increase range of motion, balance, coordination, agility, and can even promote muscle strength. Recent research has shown that this is the most effective way to prepare athletes for training or competition.

Dynamic stretching is quite different than the static stretching that many coaches and athletes have been performing for years. The latest research shows that athletes should not perform prolonged static stretching (stretching with no motion) prior to the big game or a key practice session because this slows muscle activation for nearly an hour afterwards and decreases muscle strength and power.

There is a place for static stretching. Static stretching is very important in building flexibility and should be performed regularly, just not immediately before a game or training session. Static stretches are more appropriate and beneficial when used after competition or training during the “cool down” phase. When used after training sessions or competition static stretching provide an excellent way to reduce soreness, increase muscle length, and speed up the healing process.

Now that you understand the importance of the warm up and flexibility routine prior to training and competition over the course of the next seven days we will look at "7Effective Dynamic Stretches" that will help you reach your peak performance and give you a SPARQ prior to training or taking the field.