Should I Stretch Before and After My Workouts?

Flexibility

Included in your Strength and Conditioning PDF there are some recommendations for your post-workout flexibility routine. Here are some ideas for how to increase this:

Pre-Workout

Pre-workout you can include a little mobility work according to the session. Such as leg swings, knee raises, hip circles, arm swings and more, these should be dynamic as opposed to static to prepare you for the movement the workout will require. It is also OK to simply start off with the warm-up section of the workout. For the speed workouts, you will find included some short fast dynamic work before the main set of intervals. This helps to prepare your body for the work to come.

Post-Workout

Post-workout (after the cool-down) is the time to include stretches. We believe that stretching is very individual, in the booklet is a guide and these are the key muscle groups that should be targeted. You may have different stretches that are more effective for you, we are all different so do what works best for your body.

Foam Rolling

Foam rolling is also beneficial. It releases the fascia (the thin connective tissue that connects muscles) enabling it to better glide over your muscles. Fascia can get knotted and feel stiff for a variety of reasons including injury, inflammation, inactivity and overuse to name a few. Rolling over problem areas can help release tension in your fascia and re-establish optimal performance of your muscle tissue. Highly repetitive movements such as running, swimming, or biking can cause overuse of some muscles which can then get tight. Foam rolling improves symmetrical muscle function by smoothing imbalances.

Foam rolling post-workout also promotes recovery, you can focus on the major muscles you used in your workout and focus on areas that feel problematic. Stimulating blood flow in these areas increases oxygen delivery to your sore muscle fibres and reduces recovery time.

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