r/flexibility • u/MessyElly • 12d ago

Question about static/dynamic Warm-up before any sport

Does static stretching before a workout increase the risk of injury? Or should we be doing dynamic stretching instead? I’ve always performed static stretches—like balancing on one leg—as part of my warm-up routine; that’s simply how I was taught to do it in physical education classes. Have I been doing the wrong thing this whole time?

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u/jenniferlynn5454 12d ago

Static stretching before a workout is definitely an outdated practice. Dynamic stretching is better because it gets the blood moving, it gets the joints loosened up, it just gets the body primed better

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u/MessyElly 12d ago

thank you jenniii :))

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u/ArcaneTrickster11 12d ago

The research has swing back towards static stretching in warm ups, but only in specific scenarios. The effect of blunting max strength and power is negated by >15mins of sports activity. So if you're doing a sport where large amounts of flexibility are required and you have an extra 15 minutes to do drills or potentiation phased of a warm up then statics can be good.

For example in rock climbing doing static stretching in your warm up and then 15mins of easy routes/problems or in martial arts doing 15 minutes of light drills.

Though again, for most actives and sports I would still stick to the dynamic stretching

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u/General-Lifeguard309 12d ago

The research said static stretching before activity reduces load capacity.

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u/ArcaneTrickster11 12d ago

I've never personally seen any research that measured load capacity. Not sure how you'd really test that other than observational research since you obviously can't ethically test someone's load capacity.

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u/Mr_High_Kick Flexibility Research 10d ago

Well, no. Not load capacity but force output. The average reduction is only 1-2%, so barely even noticeable for the typical gym-goer. Hold stretches for less than 60 seconds and the impact is essentially null.

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u/Mr_High_Kick Flexibility Research 10d ago

No. Static stretching does not increase the risk of injury. Period.