Have you ever watched an athlete bounce through a pre-event stretch series and then stop suddenly and reposition as if they had tweaked a nagging injury?
A client I had tonight reminded me that there are still some very pervasive and stubborn fitness myths circulating out there. One is that stretching and warming up are (or can be) considered the same thing. They aren't and they can't. Why? They are two entirely different processes, and they accomplish different things.
Stretching is meant to elongate and keep supple the muscle-tendon chain. Tendons attach muscles to bones and are more rigid than the tissue they anchor. They need more deliberate, controlled and consistent loads to become lengthened and more pliable (significantly diminishing their own, and the muscles' risk of injury.)
That's where warming up comes in - before the stretching.
Warming up is characterized by large, flowing movements, progressively increasing heart rate, deeper more rapid breathing, increasing body core temperature and more loose, fluid range of motion at the joints. It's basically an aerobic activity that starts out light and slowly moves to moderate intensity that can last a few to several minutes. That's the best way to prepare the body for more aggressive loads and motion coming up later.
The absolute best time to stretch is at the tail end of a workout, although stretching intermittently during the workout (or after each set with strength training) is great in addition to (but not as a substitute for) the end-of-the-workout stretch.
I'll post another time about the mechanics of different kinds of stretches, but for now, remember that the best way to warm up is to actually heat up your body with cardio. And the best way to stretch is when your muscles and connective tissue, like taffy at the boardwalk, are already warm.
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