Do any of these lines sound familiar?

• You have to hold a stretch to get the benefit.
• Don’t bounce during the stretch: you will tear the muscle.
• If you don’t stretch before exercising, you will hurt yourself.

Well, they are all wrong. But first, there is a more important question to answer.

It’s a good idea, says the American College of Sports Medicine. The ACSM recommends extension each of the major muscle groups at least twice a week for 60 seconds per exercise.

Staying flexible as you age is a good idea. Helps you move better.

For example, regular extension It can help keep your hips and hamstrings flexible later in life, says Lynn Millar, PhD. She is a physical therapist and professor at Winston-Salem State University.

If your posture or activities are a problem, get into the habit of stretching those muscles regularly. if you have Back pain After sitting at a desk all day, stretches that reverse that posture might help.

Simple back stretch

Exercise physiologist Mike Bracko recommends doing the “cat-camel stand” as a work-related back stretch. That is how:

• stand on your feet shoulder-separation width and knees slightly bent.
• Lean forward, placing your hands just above your knees.
• Round your back so that your chest is closed and your shoulders are curved forward.
• Then arch your back so that your chest opens and your shoulders roll back.
• Repeat several times.

If your job keeps you in the same position all day, Bracko suggests taking 2-minute stretch breaks to reverse that posture at least every hour.

Not necessarily.

Stretching a muscle to its maximum capacity and holding it for 15 to 30 seconds is called static stretching, and there is nothing wrong with stretching that way as long as you don’t stretch it until it hurts.

But studies suggest that dynamic stretching is just as effective and sometimes better, especially before training.

A dynamic stretch, like the standing cat-camel, moves a muscle group fluidly through an entire range of motion.

Here is a static version of the Cat-Camel:

• Interlace your fingers and turn your palms outwards, facing you.
• Stretch your arms as far as you can, curving your back and shoulders forward.
• Hold for about 10 seconds.
• Now release your fingers and grab your wrists or fingers behind your back.
• Raise your arms as high as you can behind your back without releasing your hands so that your chest opens and your shoulders roll back.

With any stretch, static or dynamic, you should feel a stretch, but you should not feel pain. Therefore, there is no need to stretch beyond the range of motion you normally need.

Not necessarily. It is not proven to help prevent injuries, control muscle soreness after exercise, or improve performance.

According to studies, static stretching before exercise can weaken performance, such as sprint speed. The most likely reason is that maintaining the stretch tires your muscles.

This is a good time to stretch.

“Everyone is more flexible after exercise, because it increases circulation to those muscles and joints and moves them,” says Millar.

If you do static stretching, you’ll get the most benefit now.

“After you go for a run or do some weight training, you walk a bit to cool down. Then you do some stretching. It’s a good way to finish a workout,” Bracko says.

Yes. It is not mandatory to stretch before or after your regular workout. It is simply important that you stretch at some point.

This can be when you wake up, before going to bed, or during breaks at work.

“Stretching or flexibility should be part of a regular program,” says Millar.