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We all know that flexibility is an essential component of exercise, physical fitness and sports performance. But many people are confused about when they should perform their stretching exercises.

At O.P.T.I. Sports & Fitness Clinic, we take the following approach to flexibility training:

Flexibility work is best performed following some sort of general warm-up activity, such as a light jog, a series of dynamic calisthenics or even easy cycling.

Your warm-up choice should mimic the movement patterns and ranges of motion that your exercise activity requires. Simply begin with a somewhat smaller amplitude of movement and at a slower speed than normal and gradually progress in terms of range of motion and speed of execution.



Such activity should be performed until you have elevated your core body temperature. A light sweat is often a good indicator that your body temperature has been elevated.

At O.P.T.I., we have our clients and patients perform this type of warm-up before any stretching is performed. When they complete the dynamic warm-up procedure, we then engage in some PNF spiral-diagonal ROM activity.

With our athletes, we find that PNF-type activity seems to work better to stretch out their muscles, without overly relaxing them. For many athletes as well as fitness enthusiasts, we recommend a heightened or aroused CNS state, especially if the following exercises and/or conditioning drills involve dynamic, explosive activity such as olympic lifting, jumping, sprinting, or throwing.



Following the practice or workout, we follow with a light cool-down and perform active assisted ROM work and finally static flexibility stretches.



A note of caution--flexibility work, like other forms of training and activity, can be overdone. Not everyone needs to be as flexible as a world-class gymnast or a yogi master.

Determine what amount of flexibility allows you to perform the actions and movements of your sport or activity while retaining maximum joint and connective tissue stability. Excessive flexibility at the cost of stability can cause injury just as quickly as too little flexibility.

Richard C. Lansky, CSCS
Clinic Director