Do you really need to warm up before stretching? Isn’t stretching usually a “warm up” for other workouts?

This really depends on the type of training you plan on working on. The goal of “warming up” is to prepare your body - your muscles, your joints, your cardiovascular and nervous systems, etc. - for your upcoming workout. For some hobbies, like martial arts or pole dancing, that often means including stretches as part of the warm up to be able to use that flexibility in their skill work.

But what about for flexibility training as a “work out?” This is where it really depends on the intensity of the stretching you’ll be doing.

Do you ever feel like you make some good progress during a stretching session, only to have your flexibility revert back to it’s previous less-bendy state the next day? Or maybe you notice you’re able to stretch deeper after a heavy workout like weightlifting than trying to stretch randomly in the middle of the day? Do you have long-term goals to be able to touch your toes or drop into the splits without doing any kind of warm up? All of these are related to the difference between our warm vs. our cold flexibility.

Last week I posted about some of my favorite InstagramLast week I posted about some of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow for flexibility education - to keep that same theme going, I also want to share some of my favorite YouTube channels. Like I mentioned in my last post, I’ve never taken an actual anatomy class, so all of my anatomy training has been through taking workshops, and teaching myself with whatever content I can find. Luckily there are some fabulous content creators on YouTube that make this SO easy (and fascinating!) for folks who want to learn more about their anatomy, and how to start applying this knowledge to flexibility training.

‘Tis the season to be thankful - and I’m kicking off this Thanksgiving week (albeit belatedly, since it’s already Tuesday…) with a roundup of some of the Instagram content producers I am most thankful for. We are lucky to live in an age where there are SO many smart instructors, movers, and educators that are passionate about sharing their knowledge of flexibility training with others for free - here is a list of my “Top 5” (and then a whoooooole lot of “honorable mentions”) that are absolutely worth following to help you on your flexy journey.

Passive stretching has gotten a bad rap y’all.

While there has been a lot of research to support that just passive stretching isn’t a great way to increase your flexibility, and most people make more, faster, progress by including drills that focus on their active flexibility - that doesn’t mean you should stop doing passive stretches!