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Greatest AfricansAfricaEducationJoburgSouth AfricaGreatest AfricansThe latest trending, not just between athletes, but also the weekend warriors, is dynamic stretching. Everyone talks about it but what is dynamic stretching really? And how do you do it? And what happened to just holding that good old leg on a bench while leaning forward?
There are many different ways to stretch and the one cannot merely be described as better than the other. Each of these types of stretching has its own advantages and disadvantages. The right type for you is depending on the goal and purpose that you want to achieve.
Basically when you want to improve and enhance your range of motion (ROM) and flexibility during physical activity, and you perform your stretch with movement, you look at the term Dynamic Stretching. This movement can be either at a normal or rapid speed. Thus that favorite stretch position that you have been holding for an amount of time is referred to as static stretching – without movement.
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Traditional static stretching[/caption]
Dynamic stretching is very appropriate to use for sports that require rapid or explosive movements e.g. jumping, throwing, kicking or sprinting. In sport we refer to the term dynamic flexibility when we try to determine how far the individual can reach or turn by using velocity and momentum to achieve maximum ROM. Dynamic stretching prepares the body for sports that require high levels of explosive power and speed and it thus assist in injury prevention. As with any new activity, start with slow, progressive, easy dynamic stretches. Good body alignment is always high priority, especially when there is a chance of pushing the stretches too much and out of control.
Dynamic stretching on its own cannot form the entire warm up. It is only a part of the warming up process. A warm up consists of many different key aspects and dynamic stretching falls under one of these. Together it all forms a part of the process to prepare the athlete in the most efficient way with less chance of injury. All components in a warm up are like the programming of the “hard drive” of the machine (human) - the body can only perform in the way that it has been prepared. It calls up the stored info. During dynamic stretching a controlled bounce or swing gets used to move a particular body part to the limit of its ROM. These movements should never become jerky or uncontrolled. Thus extra time and effort goes into the design and preparation of a warm up routine.
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Dynamic Stretching[/caption]
Dynamic Stretching is done with a controlled lifting, swinging, light movement, unlike ballistic stretching where the movements force a body part past its normal range of movement and the stretch reflex or myotatic reflex can be repeatedly triggered .
All of this does not mean that there is no place for static stretching - even at the beginning of the task as we all know that static stretching takes its rightful place at the end. It takes a skillful coach who knows the athletes and the task goal at hand, to design a dynamic warm up where both dynamic and static stretching have its place.
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Without change there is no movement.
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