Turn Your Workout Upside Down

Forget everything you thought you knew about the proper order for a workout.  Forget mindless jogging to warm up.  Forget static stretching at the beginning of a workout.  Before you accuse me of writing off stretching as bad - it is GOOD - keep in mind that I said static stretching.  That's the kind that everyone is familiar with: you touch your toes or whatever you're doing, hold, and count to ten.  That's the kind that puts your muscles to sleep.

That's right.  Static stretching is great for building flexibility, but it puts your muscles to sleep, so to speak, which is the last thing you want before a workout or competition.  What you should be doing before a workout is dynamic stretching, such as joint rotations and moving each part of your body through its range of motion.  After a workout is the optimal time for static stretching, as your muscles are already warm, which will allow you to stretch farther and without the pain that you feel when stretching cold muscles.  the relaxation that comes from it "putting your muscles to sleep" is perfect for post-workout recovery and cool-down.

Last weekend I visited my alma mater, RPI, and joined in their practice on Friday.  They now stretch at the end of practice for this very reason.  They include a dynamic warmup at the start of the workout which could be anything from playing team handball to doing gymnastics movements on the mat.  If you are going to run before your dynamic workout, work in some somersaults, bear crawls, or duck walks instead of just jogging in circles.  To prevent your workout from getting stale and to keep everyone from getting bored, make the warmup a little different every day.  The possibilities are endless; see USA Wrestling's Coaches Curriculum for an extensive list of drills, activities, and games.

Wake your muscles up,
Jeff