What is the first thing many people do before they go for a run or begin a workout? Stretch! This has been drilled into our thinking. If there were deadly sins of running, not stretching would be on the top of the list. It is common to see runners standing, holding one foot behind them, stretching their quads, or sitting on the ground doing a hamstring stretch. We have been told to hold the stretch for 15-90 seconds, and not to bounce. These kind of stretches are known as static stretches, and they are what we have been taught to do. As a runner, I have never been very disciplined about stretching, and so I was interested in what many coaches and trainers are now saying is a better kind of pre-workout warm up. Some people call it dynamic stretching, and if you show up at a track meet or a basketball game these days, you will likely see athletes continuously moving rather than staying in one place stretching before competition. [Read more…]