The short answer: you should warm up before exercise, but long static stretches aren’t needed. A 5-minute dynamic warm-up, with moves like leg swings and arm circles, prepares your body better. Reviews found that short static stretches under 60 seconds barely change performance, and stretching alone doesn’t prevent injuries. Save longer held stretches for after your workout.
Most of us learned to stretch before sport by holding a pose and counting. That habit isn’t dangerous, but it isn’t the best use of your warm-up either. If you’re still building a routine, start with our guide to the best workout routine, then come back here for the warm-up.
Should you stretch before exercise?
You should warm up before exercise, and dynamic stretching is the better kind to include. A 2016 review in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism recommends stretching as part of a warm-up that also includes active, dynamic movement afterward. Done that way, stretching improves your range of motion and has little effect on how well you perform.
What you can skip is a long static stretching session as your only warm-up. A 2013 meta-analysis of 104 studies concluded that static stretching on its own as a warm-up should generally be avoided.
What is the difference between static and dynamic stretching?
Static stretching means holding a muscle in a lengthened position. Dynamic stretching means moving your joints and muscles through their normal range of motion, over and over. Harvard Health puts it simply: think of dynamic stretching as warming up and static stretching as recovery.
| Static stretching | Dynamic stretching | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hold one position that lengthens a muscle | Move through a full range of motion, again and again |
| Examples | Calf stretch at a wall, hamstring stretch, kneeling hip flexor stretch | Leg swings, arm circles, knee lifts, torso rotations |
| How long | 10 to 30 seconds per hold for most adults (ACSM) | About 20 to 30 seconds per move, or 10 to 20 reps |
| Effect just before exercise | About 3.7% lower performance on average, about 1.1% with holds under 60 seconds | About 1.3% better performance on average |
| Best time | After exercise, or as its own session | As a warm-up, or a morning routine |
The performance figures come from the 2016 review, which pooled studies that tested people a few minutes after stretching. The examples come from Harvard Health and Cedars-Sinai.
Is static stretching before a workout bad?
Static stretching before a workout isn’t bad, but long holds can make you slightly weaker for a short time. In the 2016 review, static stretches totaling 60 seconds or more per muscle group cut performance by about 4.6%, while less than 60 seconds cut it by about 1.1%. The 104-study meta-analysis found the smallest effects with holds of 45 seconds or less.
Two details make this less worrying than it sounds. The losses were small to moderate, and when people did dynamic activity after stretching, the 2016 review found no clear effect on performance. The same review found static stretching gave a moderate benefit of about 2.2% for movements done at longer muscle lengths.
So a short static stretch for a tight spot, followed by dynamic moves, is fine. A long static routine right before you lift, sprint or jump is the one to drop.
Does stretching before exercise prevent injury?
Stretching before exercise on its own doesn’t appear to prevent injury. A 2014 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine pooled 25 trials with 26,610 people. Stretching showed no clear benefit for preventing sports injuries. Strength training cut injuries to less than a third, and balance training also helped.
| What people did | Injury risk compared with no program |
|---|---|
| Stretching | About the same (risk ratio 0.96) |
| Balance training | About 45% lower (0.55) |
| Strength training | About 69% lower (0.32) |
| Programs mixing several types | About 35% lower (0.66) |
The 2016 review agreed that static stretching had no clear effect on injuries, and found no data on dynamic stretching. The ACSM’s 2011 position stand also says a link between flexibility and fewer muscle and joint injuries hasn’t been shown. If preventing injury is your goal, strength work is the better bet. Our beginner dumbbell workout is an easy place to start.
Stretching doesn’t do much for next-day soreness either. A Cochrane review of 12 studies found that stretching before or after exercise reduced soreness the next day by about half a point to one point on a 100-point scale. Even a large trial of stretching both before and after found only a 4-point drop, which the authors called very small.
What is a good dynamic warm-up before exercise?
A good dynamic warm-up loosens the joints you’re about to use and raises your blood flow, and it takes about 5 minutes. Cedars-Sinai suggests a total warm-up of at least five minutes. This routine uses the four moves a Harvard-affiliated physical therapist recommends, done as two rounds:
| Move | How to do it | Per round |
|---|---|---|
| Leg swings | Stand tall, one hand on a chair back. Swing one straight leg forward and back like a pendulum, under control. | 10 to 20 swings each leg (about 1 minute) |
| Arm circles | Arms out to the sides. Make forward circles, small to large, then backward circles. | 30 seconds each way (about 1 minute) |
| Knee lifts | Feet together. Lift one knee as if marching and touch both hands to it. Switch legs and pick up the pace. | 10 to 20 reps (about 20 seconds) |
| Torso rotations | Feet hip-width apart. Shift onto your left foot, twist left, swing your right arm across and tap your right foot out to the side. Switch. | 10 to 20 reps (about 20 seconds) |
Two rounds take about 5 minutes. Then do a light set of the first exercise in your workout. If you’d like a gentler, marching-style warm-up, the NHS routine in our best workout routine guide takes about 6 minutes.
Stop if anything hurts. The NHS says to stop exercising right away if you feel pain or become unwell, and to talk to a doctor first if you have a health problem or injury, have had a recent heart attack or operation, or are pregnant or have just had a baby.
When is static stretching best?
Static stretching is best after exercise or as a session of its own, when your muscles are warm. Harvard Health says static stretching should be done after muscles have warmed up, and Cedars-Sinai suggests holding each cool-down stretch for at least 30 seconds. Harvard’s "Big Three" after a workout are the hamstrings, hip flexors and calves.
Static stretching also earns its place when range of motion is the goal. The 2016 review found every type of stretching improved range of motion, though the short-term effect usually faded within 30 minutes. Lasting flexibility comes from doing it regularly. Evenings work well too, and our guide to stretching before bed has a 10-minute routine.
How often should you stretch to improve flexibility?
To improve flexibility, stretch your major muscle groups at least 2 to 3 days a week, the ACSM says, with greater gains if you stretch daily. Here is its full guidance from the 2011 position stand:
| What | ACSM guidance |
|---|---|
| How often | At least 2 to 3 days a week; daily brings greater gains |
| How hard | To a feeling of tightness or slight discomfort |
| How long to hold | 10 to 30 seconds for most adults; 30 to 60 seconds for older adults |
| Repeats | 2 to 4 of each stretch |
| Total | 60 seconds per muscle group |
Harvard Health adds that flexibility takes weeks to months to build and has to be kept up. Don’t bounce, and back off if a stretch turns painful.
Your next step
Before your next workout, swap the toe touch for the 5-minute dynamic warm-up above, and save your held stretches for afterward. If your back gets tight after workouts or long days sitting, the Back Pain Reset adds a short daily plan for it.
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Quick questions
Is stretching before exercise necessary?
Stretching before exercise isn’t strictly necessary, but warming up is. A dynamic warm-up of about 5 minutes, such as leg swings, arm circles and knee lifts, prepares your joints and muscles. Reviews found static stretching alone doesn’t prevent injuries, so you can skip long holds before exercise and save them for afterward.
Does stretching before exercise prevent injury?
Stretching before exercise doesn’t appear to prevent injury on its own. A 2014 meta-analysis of 25 trials with 26,610 people found no clear benefit from stretching programs. Strength training cut sports injuries to less than a third, and balance training also helped. A full warm-up and regular strength work are better bets.
Does stretching before exercise prevent soreness?
Stretching before exercise doesn’t meaningfully prevent soreness. A Cochrane review of 12 studies found that stretching before or after exercise reduced next-day soreness by only about half a point to one point on a 100-point scale. The reviewers concluded stretching doesn’t produce clinically important reductions in soreness.
Is static stretching bad before a workout?
Static stretching isn’t bad before a workout, but long holds can briefly reduce strength and power. A 2016 review found holds totaling under 60 seconds per muscle lowered performance by only about 1.1%, and dynamic movement afterward removed any clear effect. Keep holds short and follow them with dynamic moves.
Should you stretch before or after a workout?
Do dynamic stretching before a workout and static stretching after it. Harvard Health describes dynamic stretching as a warm-up and static stretching as recovery, done once muscles are warm. Cedars-Sinai suggests holding each cool-down stretch for at least 30 seconds. Either way, stretch to mild tension and never bounce.
How long should you warm up before a workout?
Warm up for at least 5 minutes before a workout, Cedars-Sinai suggests. The NHS warm-up routine takes at least 6 minutes and says to go longer if you feel the need. A good warm-up uses moving, dynamic stretches for the muscles you’re about to work, then a light set of your first exercise.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have an injury, joint or heart problem, are pregnant or have recently given birth, or have had a recent operation, check with your doctor or a physiotherapist before starting a new exercise routine. Stop any exercise that causes pain.
Sources
- Behm DG, et al. Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 2016
- Simic L, et al. Does pre-exercise static stretching inhibit maximal muscular performance? A meta-analytical review. Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2013
- Lauersen JB, et al. The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med, 2014
- Herbert RD, et al. Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2011
- Garber CE, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: quantity and quality of exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2011
- Kravitz L. From 1998 to 2011: ACSM publishes updated exercise guidelines (summary of the ACSM position stand, Garber et al. 2011)
- Harvard Health. Take time to stretch
- Harvard Health. The importance of stretching
- Cedars-Sinai. The Best Stretches to Do Before and After Exercise
- NHS. How to warm up before exercising