005 Don’t stretch before lifting weights, especially if your goal is maximum strength or power.

Most people believe that stretching is an important, even vital part of a proper warm-up. Some people even
advocate warming up for exercise by stretching. However, studies published in the Journal of Strength and
Conditioning Research have shown that performing stretches prior to lifting weights decreased maximal power generation by 2-5%. In addition, a more recent study published in the journal “Running Research News” found that pre-activity stretching actually increased risk of sustaining injury! We now know that general stretching is neither a necessary nor desirable component of one’s warm-up. Merely increasing the core temperature (via a 2-5 minute active warm-up) is sufficient warm-up for general exercise (more thorough, activity-specific warm-ups are required for athletic competition, however).

Helpful Hints . . .

What does a proper warm-up for weight training look like?

Some examples of a good warm-up:

• 2-5 minutes of low to moderate intensity rowing on a stationary rower
• A preparatory set of your first exercise using a light weight (aka warm-up set)
• Callesthenics circuit, e.g., 20 bodyweight squats followed by 10 pushups followed by 30 crunches

The bottom line in an active warm-up is working up the beginnings of a light sweat.

Download the PDF version