Stretching - More Important Before Workout Or After?

I don't do any stretching on cold muscles anymore. I've had more than one bad experience and have just abandoned the practice completely now. Additionally, I've never really felt the need to stretch before or after swimming. A good warmup before doing anything strenuous has worked pretty well for me. I do find that cycling will leave me with tight hamstrings from time to time and I will stretch those, but not cold.

Ballistic stretching before exercise, static stretching post exercise. Really? The ballistic part sounds like an injury waiting to happen.

Hell, my dogs stretch every time they get up. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. More seriously, I feel like I move better when I stretch. My warm up feels better if I've stretched a bit beforehand, and the rest of the workout feels better if I stretch after the warmup (and whenever else I can sneak in a quick stretch). As for stretching afterwards, it's a great way to cool down and work on flexibility, though I can't say I always do it.

And yoga, which includes stretching, is likewise beneficial: www.livestrong.com/.../ I started taking a Vinyasa yoga class more regularly this fall, and did about 4-5 sun salutations after a slow swim warm-up each morning of my most recent meet. I think it helped my performance, I felt loose and calm behind the blocks. On each iteration, I felt like I was a little more open than that one before, and it got me moving in a way that's different than swimming motions. Here's a good example: YouTube - YOGA FOR BEGINNERS -Sun Salutation I used to stretch more after swimming, but I don't really bother anymore, and I haven't noticed a big difference.

Maybe something like yoga or pilates where the stretching is the exercise is a different scenario. It seems to me that you are stretching while you swim and as long as you don't just dive in and start swimming all out you'll be fine. After reading Geek's post above I'm inclined to agree: most people stretch because they think they are supposed to stretch. Then again my flexibility is terrible and maybe never stretching has something to do with it. I understand this POV with the conflicting evidence. But don't most elite swimmers stretch? I seem to recall in Salo's Complete Conditioning book, that there was a section on stretching and that he also stressed the importance of balance exercises. Do you think Salo, a coach who has deviated from conventional thinking in his training methods, is having his swimmers stretch "because he's supposed to"? Not me. And if swimming is a sport where flexibility is essential, why would one want to remain inflexible? I mean, if you're not flexible, how can you even get into a proper tight streamline position? Many masters can't. Also, we lose flexibility as we age if nothing is done. Maybe this is part of the age-related slow down? I see people hobbling stiffly all the time, and I don't want to be that person. I'd rather be nimble and flexible. I also have the sense that being flexible could prevent injury and help remove lactic acid. I certainly feel much better after today's sweaty yoga class than I did this am. Though I did not wear "hemp clothing." But I could be full o' s.

I think this makes sense, but if it's the case than maybe stretching should be thought of as entirely separate from swimming, not merely something that should be done before/during/after a swimming workout.

I think this makes sense, but if it's the case than maybe stretching should be thought of as entirely separate from swimming, not merely something that should be done before/during/after a swimming workout. That's how I view it. I usually stretch after drylands or do yoga as a separate workout (sometimes after a swim). Very occasionally, I will stretch at night, but I do dynamic stretching first. I never stretch before or during a swim workout.

you may get more responses with straight forward options like that but the answer is far too involved for any of those to do justice to the topic. * what is one trying to stretch - what area, what type of structure in the body? * what is defined as "stretching" and how to know if it is positive or possibly other? * what is the objective? * what is the state of the body when "stretching" - healthy? tender? injured? room temp? warm? * is the athlete extra mobile or does the athlete have limited movement? you want a short, possibly unpopular view point - we want limber, supple, strong but not tight or tense bodies. more is not always better and often counter productive; move, wake up, use gentle resistance to wake up, stabilize and strengthen and shy away from anything that suggests stretching of the front portion of the shoulder girdle or that puts the shoulder into hyper-extension. shy away from over head triceps "stretches" my short answer: limber, move, massage, foam roll if you like and use medium to light stretch cord resistance actions to engage and stabilize and use very minimal "stretching" have a great, safe, fun, fit day.

Maybe something like yoga or pilates where the stretching is the exercise is a different scenario. It seems to me that you are stretching while you swim and as long as you don't just dive in and start swimming all out you'll be fine. After reading Geek's post above I'm inclined to agree: most people stretch because they think they are supposed to stretch. Then again my flexibility is terrible and maybe never stretching has something to do with it. My flexibility is great, especially in swimmy areas like the shoulders and spine. Perhaps swimming did it! I also improved flexibility from lifting weights, most noticeably hamstrings from deadlifts.

For swimming I usually just stretch "during", except for ankle stretches which I sometimes do during the day. I guess you could consider that before or after. I never do any stretching without warming up first, unless the whole point of the session is stretching (a truly rare occurence). In that case I start out with some very light dynamic stretching to get warmed up. I've found that stretching after a workout is absolutely essential for running. Stretching and ice baths are what keep me injury-free in that sport. If I could choose only one post-run stretch it would be the one where you touch your toes from a standing position with one ankle crossed over the other. That one is great for the IT bands. Calf stretches are important too, but there's really not much stretching can do for my calves. I need to use The Stick. I stretch after cycling and weightlifting sessions too, but the focus is mostly on lower back and hips. Sometimes swimming makes me want to stretch those areas too, but usually only when I swim a lot of fly. In general, swimming is an activity that leaves me feeling loose, like I have already stretched.