Most people warm up with static stretches (holding a stretch) — the exact opposite of what the research recommends before a workout. Getting the timing of dynamic vs static stretching right improves your performance and recovery. The guide: why timing matters, which to do when and how to warm up and cool down properly.

The Timing-Matters Case

Why most people get it backwards: the the-most-do-it-backwards (the most-people warming-up-with static-stretches (backwards) from the how-to-warm-up-properly chapter — the the-backwards; the the-common-mistake; the the-wrong-timing), the the-static-before-isnt-ideal (the static-stretching-before-a-workout being less-ideal from the how-to-warm-up-properly chapter — the the-static-before; the the-not-ideal; the the-can-reduce-performance), the the-dynamic-before-static-after (the dynamic-before, static-after (the-right-way) — the the-dynamic-before; the the-static-after; the the-the-fix), the the-timing-affects-performance-and-recovery (the timing affecting performance-and-recovery — the the-performance; the the-recovery; the the-matters), the the-easy-fix (the an-easy-fix (just-reorder) — the the-easy-fix; the the-reorder), and the reframe (the dynamic-vs-static as a get-the-timing-right (dynamic-before, static-after) issue — the fix-the-timing; the the-most-get-it-backwards).

The Dynamic-vs-Static-and-When Breakdown

Which to do when: the the-dynamic-stretching (the dynamic-stretching = moving-through-range (leg-swings, etc) from the how-to-warm-up-properly chapter — the the-dynamic; the the-moving; the the-what-it-is), the the-dynamic-before-workouts (the dynamic BEFORE (warm-up, prepares-the-body) from the how-to-warm-up-properly chapter — the the-dynamic-before; the the-warm-up; the the-prepares), the the-static-stretching (the static-stretching = holding-a-stretch — the the-static; the the-holding; the the-what-it-is), the the-static-after-workouts (the static AFTER (cool-down, when-warm) from the cooldown-truth chapter — the the-static-after; the the-cool-down; the the-when-warm), the the-static-before-can-hinder (the static-before-can-temporarily-reduce power/performance — the the-static-before-hinders; the the-reduces-power; the the-why-not-before), the the-warm-up-by-workout-type (the warm-up matched-to-workout-type from the warmup-by-workout-type chapter — the the-by-type; the the-match), the the-both-have-a-place (the both-being-useful at-the-right-time — the the-both; the the-right-time), and the the-morning-longer-warm-up (the longer-warm-up when-cold/morning from the morning-workout-warmup-longer chapter — the the-morning; the the-longer-warm-up).

The How-to-Warm-Up-and-Cool-Down Notes

Warming up and cooling down properly: the the-dynamic-warm-up (the a-dynamic warm-up before (movement-prep) from the how-to-warm-up-properly chapter — the the-dynamic-warm-up; the the-before; the the-prep), the the-raise-the-temperature-first (the raise-the-body-temperature (light-cardio) first — the the-raise-temp; the the-light-cardio; the the-get-warm), the the-workout-specific-warm-up (the warm-up-specific-to-the-workout from the warmup-by-workout-type chapter — the the-specific; the the-match-the-workout), the the-static-stretch-after (the static-stretch-after (cool-down, when-warm) from the cooldown-truth chapter — the the-static-after; the the-cool-down), the the-cool-down-matters (the cool-down mattering (recovery) from the cooldown-truth chapter — the the-cool-down; the the-recovery), the the-target-tight-areas-after (the stretch tight-areas after — the the-target; the the-tight-areas), the the-consistency (the consistent warm-up-and-cool-down — the the-consistency; the the-both-ends), and the frame (dynamic vs static through the timing-matters-case, the dynamic-vs-static-and-when and how-to-warm-up-and-cool-down — the dynamic-before-and-static-after fix that most-get-backwards; the stretching, timed-right). Most people warm up with STATIC stretches (holding a stretch) — the exact opposite of what the research recommends before a workout, since static stretching cold can temporarily reduce power. Get it right: do DYNAMIC stretching before (moving through range — leg swings, dynamic lunges — to warm up and prepare the body), and STATIC stretching after (holding stretches when you’re warm, as a cool-down). Both are useful at the right time. Raise your temperature first, match the warm-up to your workout, and don’t skip the cool-down. Most people get it backwards — just reorder it.

Most people warm up with STATIC stretches (holding a stretch) — the exact opposite of what the research recommends before a workout, since static stretching cold can temporarily reduce power. Get it right: do DYNAMIC stretching before (moving through range — leg swings, dynamic lunges — to warm up and prepare the body), and STATIC stretching after (holding stretches when you’re warm, as a cool-down). Both are useful at the right time. Raise your body temperature first with light cardio, match the warm-up to your workout, and don’t skip the cool-down. Most people get it backwards — just reorder it and your performance and recovery improve.