Why Is Dynamic Stretching Important?

Stretching is important for many reasons. Injury prevention being the number one. Having better mobility and total range of motion is not only important for injury prevention but also creating full contractions in our muscles during each exercise. This not only is going to allow you to increase full activation of your muscles that are being trained but allow you to maximize your strength, power, and endurance during each workout. Who doesn’t want that?

It is important that we understand which type of stretching we are performing and where to place it inside of our training and recovery process.

Dynamic Stretching Explained…

Dynamic stretching is where we are moving through the entirety of our joints. You want to think of dynamic stretching as a fluid movement versus static stretching where you would hold a single movement for 30 seconds to a minute. An example of dynamic stretching would be arm circles or hip circles. Where an example of static stretching would be holding a straddle with a forward reach or holding a static lunge.

Dynamic stretching allows us to essentially warm up and increase blood flow to certain joints and muscle groups. This is why it is great to prioritize dynamic stretching intra workout. Think of this as movement based stretching.

You don’t need to spend 30 minutes pre workout doing dynamic stretching, a simple 5-10 min dynamic stretching warm up can do the job. Aim for 20 reps of each stretching exercise for that particular muscle group you are working on that day.

If you would like a little pocket reminder, check out the reel below where I break down dynamic stretching and its benefits. Be sure to save for your next workout!