Do I stretch before or after working out?

Well, as much as we hate stretching sometimes (after all, it CAN be the most boring part of your workout) we think it is an important part of any workout routine. We believe that stiff, unstretchable muscles and ligaments can shrink and then potententially, subtly pull your posture out of alignment, resulting in various ailments. One of our writers was the victim of a nasty case of “pseudo-sciatica” (most likely caused by excessive sitting at the computer) and once they got back into a regular exercise routine, filled with adequate amounts of stretching combined with certain types of exercises (e.g. lunges, deadlifts) the pain went away and didn't return (unless of course they got lazy and didn't stretch/exercise regularly).

But for the most part, we think it really depends on the type of workout as well as your fitness level. Many people believe that your muscles require significant warm up before they are stretched, so they recommend stretching after a warm up period consisting of at least 5-10 mins of light cardio/walking/etc. Some people we know don't stretch at all until after their workout. Also, some weightlifters we know don't stretch at all before workouts, believing that after warm up, eccentric movements performed while exercising the muscle groups in question provides enough stretching of the muscle and associated ligaments.

We're somewhere in between. We all believe in stretching a bit before each workout, especially long bouts of cardio. Most of us usually perform 5 mins of warm up on an elliptical trainer or exercise bike, then perform a light, full body stretching routine before commencing my workout. When strength training a few of our writers do compromise a bit and just do their warm up and a very light warm up set consisting of eccentric movements of each exercise before commencing their “real” workout, and then perform light stretching in between sets.

However, like most things, the best answers can be provided by “the experts” and if you have a condition you think is the result of an injury, or tight muscle group, you should definitely consult a physiotherapist or sports injury specialist. They can provide you with a stretching routine customized to your individual needs, and can supply you with the advice to help prevent future injury, or to speed recovery of an existing one.

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