I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve watched people walk into the gym, go straight to their first exercise station, do a quick toe touch with a five-second hold and a chest stretch, load up some weight, and get to it.
As you’ve mostly likely gathered… there are a couple issues with this, the first is the lack of work-up sets. However, I want to focus on the second issue, the static stretching.

So what’s a static stretch? It’s holding a stretch at length without moving for more than a second; and it does have its place. It's just not before you lift, run, or do any kind of high-output work. The reason is, holding a muscle in a lengthened position right before you’re about to use it can actually reduce power output for a bit afterward. Which I’m sure you know is not ideal for most training sessions.

This is why we have dynamic warm-ups. Instead of holding a stretch, you're moving through a single range or multiple ranges of motion (ROM) repeatedly, and aiming to gradually increase speed and range as you go. Not only does this open up your ROM, it’s also raising your body temperature, getting your synovial fluid moving through the joints, and prepping your nervous system to do some work.

If you’ve been reading The Weekly Standard for a while, you know that I’m a big advocate for keeping things simple. And that goes for a dynamic warm-up as well. Complicating your warm-up or your lift makes it difficult to follow and maintain long-term, which is the opposite of what we want.
Leg swings, hammy sweeps, inchworms, band pull-aparts and pass throughs, heck even arm circles… it’s really anything that moves a joint through a range that’s similar to what you're about to train.
Meaning if your session's heavy on squats or deadlifts, it would be wise to prioritize hip and ankle mobility. If you're benching or pressing of any kind, spend more time on shoulders and thoracic mobility. Though, setting up a quick routine that covers all bases isn’t a terrible idea.

You can take it a step further and layer in some movement prep that’s specific to your session. Doing cleans that day? Work in some front squats and muscle cleans. Doing bench? A few push-ups and band pull-aparts to get the shoulders primed. Doing a full body with a lot of barbell and free weights? Go through a few rounds of barbell thrusters.
This is where dynamic warm-ups and skill rehearsal begin to overlap. It pays off to prep yourself.

The majority of your static stretching should be saved for the end. Once your session's over and your muscles are warm, that's the time to hold a stretch and work on your flexibility and help wind down from your training.

Dynamic to start, static to finish.
It’s simple, it’ll make a difference in how your session goes, and even how you feel afterward.

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