The general population should be performing slow, static stretches after exercising or for performing flexibility training. For these types of stretches, I would not recommend them to be performed “before” you workout or engage in physical activity as it may lead to injury and inadequate performance.

Flexibility is one of the most neglected aspects of fitness and should be practiced weekly. Two to three times would be a reasonable amount of sessions to solely concentrate on increasing the range of motion at all your joints. This will help you perform daily activities better, exercise and play sports better, decrease your chance of injury, relieve stress, and make you feel better. You should perform stretches on every muscle group (shoulders, chest, arms, stomach, back, lower back, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves) twice each muscle for thirty seconds. Always warm up for at least five minutes on the treadmill or walk a couple of blocks before performing flexibility training.

After you workout, the muscles that you have used for the particular activity are tight, tensed and shortened and need to be returned to their normal resting length. This will also decrease muscle fatigue and soreness. When performing activities like running, jogging, using the stairmaster, etc., you should not stop abruptly and start stretching. You should gradually lower your intensity and start to cool down. Stretches should be performed for all muscles involved in the particular exercise or activity for about twenty to thirty seconds while holding the stretch with tension but not pain. This should be performed for a minimum or one time per muscle. Twice would be great, but we are pressed for time in most cases.