Myth: You should stretch before you workout.
Fact: Research suggests that static stretching before exercise makes your muscles weaker, slower, and DOES NOT reduce the risk of injury.
When most people think of “stretching” they are generally referring to “static stretching” or holding a specific position for a certain amount of time. Think of the sit and reach hamstring stretch.
Your pre-exercise routine should consist of a warmup plus some dynamic movement. The purpose of the warmup is to increase heart rate, blood flow, and increase body temperature- that’s why it’s called a warm up! At One Life we do a 10-minute warmup everyday that consists of some easy cardio like jogging, biking, rowing, or jumping jacks and some bodyweight movements such as squats, lunges, and what we call yoga pushups (think down dog into an up dog).