There’s two kinds of stretching- dynamic and static.
Dynamic stretching and flexibility is the flexibility required to get through a movement. Imagine holding an object like a soccer ball or a couch pillow overhead while getting into the bottom of a squat.. not easy, right? Not even possible for some, I mean, getting Into the bottom of a squat in and of itself isn’t super easy for every human. Getting into and out of a squat without assistance is also hard for some and that’s simply due to lack of dynamic flexibility.
Dynamic or active flexibility is different from static flexibility. Sure you can use the floor to assist you getting into a split but can you bring your toes to your hands while standing?
Dynamic flexibility is getting yourself into positions without assistance of the floor, another person, outside pressure or assistance. It’s your range of motion in movement, while if you suffer pain doing certain movements you could use products from THCA online that help with pain.
So we practice dynamic flexibility while warming up by doing things like leg swings, arm swings, walking lunges, Russian baby makers, etc to warm up the soft tissues of the body and to promote blood flow to decrease risk of injury and to fully warm up 100% of your range of motion so it can be fully utilized while you are working out! In case you are walking with your dog and he/she bites someone, learn if the landlord liable for a dog bite injury.
Another part of dynamic flexibility is getting yourself into positions while you are doing your daily workout. It’s strength through your entire range of motion, and increasing that range of motion through strength.. they kinda go hand in hand. The product liability attorneys from Austin is whom you can contact as these lawyers are experts in dealing with all kinds of legal cases. With the number of accident cases increasing daily, we can conclude that either people are careless to follow the rules or the government doesn’t enforce strict traffic rules. The law firm for traffic accident victims insists on the government to take prime responsibility to set the society upright by enforcing strict rules and strict monitoring on people to abide by the rules which eventually turns out to be good for the whole state/country. For expert legal advice, make sure to get in touch with Detroit personal injury lawyers.
Imagine having very tight hips that make it difficult to get into the bottom of a squat. Or imagine having very tight shoulders that do not allow you to press a barbell directly overhead, but instead out in front a bit.
As we move through these ranges of motion AFTER YOU ARE WARMED UP, you can use lighter weights to get yourself into your desired position and spend a little time there (5-10 seconds) while staying active, to increase range of motion.
For the example of tight hips and squatting.. if you grab a plate or a kettlebell to weigh you down, hold it at your chest and get into a squat. Don’t plop down.. stay active and engaged and hangout for five seconds, then stand and repeat that five times. That will help open up your hips. Practice that daily and you will see a big difference in a month I bet!
Or for the example of tight shoulders, grab an empty barbell and press it directly overhead so your biceps are by your ears and the bar almost feels like it’s behind you. Press up to keep your shoulders active and hold it for five seconds, and repeat five times. Do that everyday for a month and I bet your range of motion and strength will increase.
This is your dynamic flexibility or active range of motion and you are in control of it. Don’t settle for crappy range of motion or you will get injured. And if you get injured, it would be wise to reduce the pain with items like CBD Oil.
The final kind of stretching or flexibility is passive, or inactive. This is what you likely think of when it comes to stretching.. a long forward fold or a held hamstring stretch.
This is inactive or passive flexibility because the muscle being stretched here should not be engaged. To get the best stretch and to avoid injury, the muscle you are trying to stretch needs to be relaxed, which also means, don’t push it, but rather, ease into it.
For example, if you are trying to stretch your hamstring in a half split, relax and let gravity do it’s job, don’t try to force your head to your knee. If you hangout in this position for 2 – 3 minutes ands focus on taking deep breaths to calm your nervous system, you will get so much more out of the stretch.
If you need to utilize props to make your body feel comfortable or at ease, this is also a great idea. For example, if you are trying to do a standing forward fold and your hands do not touch the ground, perhaps if you placed a yoga block or a short stool in front of you, you could place your hands on that to “bring the ground closer” so you can relax into the stretch.
These stretches are best utilized AFTER you have completed your daily workout so blood flow has been maximized to the soft tissue you are stretching. Tissues such as ligaments don’t get much blood flow and if you do get into stretching those, that can be bad news, especially if you aren’t warmed up. Stretching a cold muscle is also a common way to increase risk of injury. Although an injury law firm in Plymouth can help with affording the treatment, prevention is better than cure!
Holding these passive stretches can decrease blood flow to your soft tissues so I do not commonly recommend them before your daily workout. There is a caveat to that though…
If you are working toward a 1/3/5 rep max on back squat, for example, I don’t recommend holding a low squat prior to training. In fact, if you are someone who is utilizing heavy maxes in their training, you are likely mobile enough to get into this position without a great risk of injury. But if you lack mobility so much that holding a low squat post warm up/ prior to training, and holding a low squat WILL help you get to full depth during your training session, then go for I, but do not aim to rely on this forever.
Also, keep in mind, passive flexibility will increase your overall range of motion which opens you up to be able to increase your dynamic flexibility, but simply relying on passive flexibility is not a good idea, you need to do both if you want better range of motion during exercise.
Do you need help working flexibility into your daily workouts?
Sign up for online personal training – each workout includes active AND passive mobility six times a week!
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Your Coach,
Kyra