Good Article on Warming Up vs Static Stretching

[Trooper 8]

Since I get so much resistance when I run my dynamic warm-ups on and off the ice, I'm always on the lookout for good articles. Here's a good summary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/p...amp;oref=slogin

Hope the link works, NYT can be funny.

[interpathway 9]

Very good find. I guess sitting in a circle at center ice isn't the best way to stretch after all.

[Trooper 8]

Very good find. I guess sitting in a circle at center ice isn't the best way to stretch after all.

It's just that that type of stretching actually impedes performance and hasn't been shown to reduce injury. The muscles need to be warmed up and have blood flow increased.

Static stretching has a place if an athlete needs to improve range of motion, it's just not a good way to get ready to perform and is actually detrimental to performance.

[mgoblue 0]

Dynamic before, static after.

Warm up, cool down.

Pretty intuitive :P

Very good find. I guess sitting in a circle at center ice isn't the best way to stretch after all.

It's just that that type of stretching actually impedes performance and hasn't been shown to reduce injury. The muscles need to be warmed up and have blood flow increased.

Static stretching has a place if an athlete needs to improve range of motion, it's just not a good way to get ready to perform and is actually detrimental to performance.

Really, static stretching isn't even that effective with regards to mobility enhancement.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1778726&cr=

[DarkStar50 679]

Thanks, also. I felt a tweak at the top of my thigh last time on ice. I asked the guys in our gym what it was. They said a hip flexor. He showed me a few exercises including the leg swing to loosen up the hips before skating. Now I am just copying all the exercises I see the elite figure skaters do before skating here to warm up/loosen their hips.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

its amazing how proper warmups and stretching can extend the life of a body.

[mgoblue 0]

Thanks, also. I felt a tweak at the top of my thigh last time on ice. I asked the guys in our gym what it was. They said a hip flexor. He showed me a few exercises including the leg swing to loosen up the hips before skating. Now I am just copying all the exercises I see the elite figure skaters do before skating here to warm up/loosen their hips.

Something I like to do to listen up my hips (before squatting in the weightroom) is to get into a squatting position, hold onto something in front of me for stability, and (while still squatting) rock back and forth (knees alternating extension and flexion), and then lean back in the squat as far as I can (which almost always nicely pops my hip joints, and really puts a nice stretch on the muscles).

I did my best to keep that from sounding oddly erotic. I failed. Hopefully you get the idea.

[Trooper 8]

Dynamic before, static after.

Warm up, cool down.

Pretty intuitive :P

Really, static stretching isn't even that effective with regards to mobility enhancement.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1778726&cr=

Intuitive? You would think, but many athletes have grown up coached by dads and people who just do what they were shown 20, 30 years ago and haven't kept up on training at all.

Yeah, Boyle is good. Mobility and flexibility aren't the same thing. Mobility has to do with joints and flexibility has to do with muscles. For example, a goalie needs both flexibility in his groin, hips, and hamstrings, and also mobility in his hip joint. They are related but different. Static stretching is used to enhance flexibility.

[mgoblue 0]

Intuitive? You would think, but many athletes have grown up coached by dads and people who just do what they were shown 20, 30 years ago and haven't kept up on training at all.

Yup.

I literally cringe when I see people bouncing when stretching their hammys; that's an absolute catastrophe waiting to happen.

[Jarick 5]

So what "dynamic" warmups do you do on the ice?

I remember reading an NHL'er talk about how doing stretches can cause more injuries than it prevents because the body isn't literally warmed up, and the best thing to do for the body is just to skate around for 5-10 minutes to literally warm up the body and get blood going.

I don't ever really stretch and don't ever really have problems, but if something can improve my performance, I'm all ears.

BTW, my #1 limiting factor is being out of breath and having low energy, not really muscle fatigue...so I don't know if that impacts anything.

[mgoblue 0]

Stretching dynamically before you hit the ice is your best bet.

[Trooper 8]

So what "dynamic" warmups do you do on the ice?

I remember reading an NHL'er talk about how doing stretches can cause more injuries than it prevents because the body isn't literally warmed up, and the best thing to do for the body is just to skate around for 5-10 minutes to literally warm up the body and get blood going.

I don't ever really stretch and don't ever really have problems, but if something can improve my performance, I'm all ears.

BTW, my #1 limiting factor is being out of breath and having low energy, not really muscle fatigue...so I don't know if that impacts anything.

Here's what I came up with. We've been doing it for 4 years and it's worked out pretty well. Because of ice time limitations, it's nice to get some warm-ups done off the ice and then do these on the ice as they are hockey-specific movements.

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/warm-up.pdf

[Jarick 5]

Found this:

San Jose Sharks Dynamic Stretching Routing Video

[flyerman 0]

I've been following this debate for sometime about static vs. dynamic stretching, and read past threads here on this topic. In my case, I am definitely old school. I still do about an hour of static stretching/yoga before I even go to the rink. I do try to warm up beforehand, but it is very minimal. In fact, sometimes it just consists of some stairs and a very hot shower. My back is so screwed up right now that I can't even skate if I don't stretch it out for long periods of time beforehand. And if I don't thoroughly stretch out my hams, quads and groin I just feel terrible when I hit the ice.

Psychologically, I fear injury if I don't go through my usual streching regime, which I have done since I was a kid playing competitive soccer and hockey, and so I am definitely resistant to change now. I actually don't think it has to be all or nothing. Warming up well is definitely important. Dynamic stretching is excellent. And I think some static stretching/yoga before playing is not necessarily a bad thing depending upon the athlete, esp. if you're really tight. But I might be completely wrong here and I am willing to at least add more dynamic stretching to my overall routine and try some light skates without the hour-long static stretching I do before playing.

Thanks for the article, trooper. I'll pass it around to my team.

[Patrick67 1]

That SJ video is awesome, I'll definantly start doing dynamic stretches the next time I'm playing a game.

[Trooper 8]

I've been following this debate for sometime about static vs. dynamic stretching, and read past threads here on this topic. In my case, I am definitely old school. I still do about an hour of static stretching/yoga before I even go to the rink. I do try to warm up beforehand, but it is very minimal. In fact, sometimes it just consists of some stairs and a very hot shower. My back is so screwed up right now that I can't even skate if I don't stretch it out for long periods of time beforehand. And if I don't thoroughly stretch out my hams, quads and groin I just feel terrible when I hit the ice.

Psychologically, I fear injury if I don't go through my usual streching regime, which I have done since I was a kid playing competitive soccer and hockey, and so I am definitely resistant to change now. I actually don't think it has to be all or nothing. Warming up well is definitely important. Dynamic stretching is excellent. And I think some static stretching/yoga before playing is not necessarily a bad thing depending upon the athlete, esp. if you're really tight. But I might be completely wrong here and I am willing to at least add more dynamic stretching to my overall routine and try some light skates without the hour-long static stretching I do before playing.

Thanks for the article, trooper. I'll pass it around to my team.

Having an injury or bad back or whatever is a special situation. The conclusion is not that static stretching is bad, but that it in general does not prepare you for competition and in fact impedes performance in the nominal case. Injuries and special cases are outside of the nominal.

[15yearsofhistory 0]

I've been doing it right than haha. Every coach I've had since bantams tells me to get a good pre-game skate in and don't really worry about stretching out your muscles too much because just the skating and warm-up shooting will get that done.

[legiahockey 3]

ive never liked stretching and am not very flexible. i always went on the ice cold and did fine. but playin pro in poland we'd have like a 15 min warmup and it made a world of difference. was warm and loosened up just right before the ice. we'd start out with a slow 5 min jog. then get in lines of two and do things like kareoke. high knees. shuffling feet. and other stuff finished by a quick sprint. best thing ever for my game.

[Trooper 8]

Found this:

San Jose Sharks Dynamic Stretching Routing Video

Good video. If you guys are interested, Parisi Speed School has a dynamic warm-up video/DVD. It's very comprehensive and good if you are a coach or even if you are a player looking to come up with a pre-workout routine. I use a subset of their routine with my players before every dryland and game and do my on-ice routine before every practice.

[biff44 0]

There is nothing at all wrong with static stretching. 100% of the problem is when you try to do them without warming up first. Going out, skating around for 1 minute, and then static stretching is a good way to hear a good "pop" sound! If, however, you used a stationary bike for 10 minutes or some other means, then did a minute of skating, the stretching would be fine.

[mgoblue 0]

Of course static stretching isn't counter-productive (unless it's in lieu of a warm-up), it's just not nearly as effective with regards to hockey.

[Trooper 8]

There is nothing at all wrong with static stretching. 100% of the problem is when you try to do them without warming up first. Going out, skating around for 1 minute, and then static stretching is a good way to hear a good "pop" sound! If, however, you used a stationary bike for 10 minutes or some other means, then did a minute of skating, the stretching would be fine.

Nobody said there was something wrong with it, it is just essentially useless before performing. It actually puts the muscles in a state of rest and decreases their performance.

It's great for increasing flexibility if that is necessary to increase range of motion for a particular sport movement.

[Law Goalie 147]

Two words.

Tudor Bompa.

[Trooper 8]

Two words.

Tudor Bompa.

It's actually one name :) TB has a good book on S&C for hockey, Strength, Conditioning, and Injury Prevention for Hockey.