Full Body Stretch Routine for Athletes and Workout

If you have followed Sports Rehab Expert for any time now, you have probably heard us bash on static stretching a decent amount.

But that doesn't mean that we feel stretching isn't useful.

We use it personally and give it to our clients for rehab, warmups, or simply just to get someone to change positions more frequently.

The biggest problem we at Sports Rehab Expert have with stretching is people forcing through extreme range of motion or thinking that stretching will magically cure "tension" in the muscles.

I recorded the video below a couple months back explaining WHY your muscles feel tight in the first place.

We believe that motion should not be forced, but it should also not be feared!

When we look at stretching through the lens of "What positions can you achieve?" and "Is the amount of motion ORDINARY and NECESSARY?". Then we can make better decisions on if the stretch will be useful and worth your time and attention. If you learned anything from the above video...Hopefully you understand just pulling and tugging on muscles is an exercise of futility.

Where I feel stretching does yield benefits is:

Changing positions / Postural Reversal
Get someone to MOVE and not be stagnant
Feel good temporarily or ease muscle soreness from altering the SENSATION of stretch
Provide some expansion to chronically compressed regions
Graded exposure to various joint positions

For these purposes we program stretching for 10" - 20" and spend minimal time overall (~5 minutes to 10 minutes tops) on stretching as an intervention or a warm up. At times we may encourage it on a more frequent basis (daily) if we feel the person just needs to move more!

But if you are looking for long lasting changes you need to consider loaded weight training that requires coordination and the various forms of muscle contraction that are concentric, eccentric, and isometric.

Below is a favorite full body stretch routine that we do on a regular basis with athletes and individuals before workouts:

When we discuss dynamic warm ups for athletes and active individuals, I like it to accomplish 4 things:

1) Take the body through a full range of motion

2) Develop coordination

3) Increase blood flow

4) Stimulate the nervous system at a high level which will prime the body for any workout or competition

When you do these 4 things on a consistent basis (before every workout, practice, or game). You start putting small deposits in the bank everyday which will lead to improved athleticism for some athletes and longevity of athleticism for your seasoned athletes!

In today's video, I take you through my favorite dynamic warm up which only takes about 5-10 minutes depending on how much time you would like to allocate to it.