Dynamic stretching is a great way of combining stretching with your warm-up.
Do you feel a tightness in your body when you wake up or experience stiffness with prolonged sitting? Dynamic stretching is then, your choice. Not only does it help with muscle stiffness but it also tops the competition coach’s agenda. This mobile form of stretching helps to loosen up and aims at building strength. One starts with specific movements and progressively increases the reach as well as the speed. It’s all about preparation before the final movement.
On the move
Circular arm movements, walking lunges, exaggerated kicking movements are some examples of dynamic stretching. The basic idea is to be on the move all the while you’re stretching. However, there are no bouncy or jerky movements. It is about achieving flexibility within your range through a step-by-step procedure.
Benefits of dynamic stretching:
- Dynamic stretching is a combination of warm-up and stretching. This way you save time by doing both together.
- If done vigorously, it gives you the benefits of an actual workout.
- One huge bonus is that the possibility of injury reduces.
- The nervous system is stimulated, muscles are elongated, muscle temperature as well as core temperatures are increased.
One drawback, however, is that dynamic stretching does result in the kind of flexibility that static stretching helps in. Which is why, combining both in your workout is a good idea.
Simple dynamic stretches
Here are some quick steps you can try:
- Ankle pops: Lightly bounce off both toes, knees slightly bent, while moving forward.
- High Knees: Run but with knees reaching your waistline, keeping the rest of the body forward. Move your feet as fast as you can
- Butt kicks: Kick straight up, ensuring your thighs are perpendicular to the ground and try and touch your butt with your heel. Attempt to be as fast as you can.
- Glute Walk: As you walk, put your left hand on left knee, right hand on left ankle and pull the leg up towards your chest. Repeat with the other leg as well.
Besides the above, there are many types of dynamic stretching exercises you could try, like the back pedal, knee hug, pointers, low lung, scorpion and more. It’s best to ask your instructor or coach to guide you, especially if you are a beginner.
How is dynamic different from regular stretching?
You may wonder, ‘Oh but I do my regular stretching. How different is this?’ Your regular stretching, also called ‘Static Stretching’ is done while you are in one place, while dynamic stretching is on the move.
In the former you hold your end position, while in later you move to push a bit more. You could mix it all up by doing dynamic stretches at the beginning as a warm up, moving on to the actual workout and then doing static stretching to cool you down.
