Do you stretch before or after exercise?

hi mzz... well i would stretch both after and before doing exercise.. well i guess stretching after the work out is fine but i think warming up a little before exercising is more important.. just a warm up and mild stretch is ok, then stretch properly after working out... oh dear, i have become such a lazy person -_- earlier at least to go for early morning jogs and all i am doing now is going to walks at night...

what i know is that before an exercise you have to do warm up exercise and cool down exercise after to avoid any muscle cramps and such..

I never stretch before exercising. I know I should but I never make the time for it. I usually just go on to the exercise routine without it. I have to hurry just to fit in the exercises.

I don't exercise much due to my back and arthritis but I try to stretch every morning and several times during the day. If I don't, I get stiff and sore. But I've heard that you should stretch before exercise because it prepares your muscles to be used and increases blood supply to them so that they get the maximum benefits of whatever you're doing. This makes a lot of sense to me!

I do a bit of yoga every now and then but it is very important to do warm up exercises before hand. Just jumping into yoga could make pulling a muscle very easy. Loosing up is very important so the moves flow better and to relieve any tension beforehand.

Exercise out doors as far as possible. There are two advantages of doing whatever you are doing out side. One advantage is that it gives your body a chance to get a lot of the much needed fresh air and sunshine. The second advantage is that the surroundings keep you perked up and it is a break form remaining cooped up all day lon

Stretching is best be done before performing any physical exercises. This will allow your muscles to be ready for that heavy physical exhaustion, so it would be best if you will have stretching first. Calming down your body with the final strecthing is also done among practitioners so both after and before the exercise you must perform stretching.

Yes, it matters a great deal. You need to stretch before and after exercise. Im not speaking from personal experience, as I rarely exercise. My daughter is a competitive swimmer and her coach wholely emphasises warm ups before training and cool downs after training. The physio also emphasises before and after exerices. This applies to many sports and activities. The reason for warm ups is to prepare your muscles and tendons. If you suddenly start doing sudden and intense exerice, and havent warmed your musckes up, quite a lot of strain can occur and possible injury. Cool downs after exercise are important to prevent a build up of lactic acid. This is produced in your body whilst exercising. You need to do the cool down to prevent the lactic acid from causing stiffness and pain.

I think both before and after are ideal, but it is more important to streach after so that you get things moving and hopefully dont get sore later. When I am going to workout I warm up with easier exercises and then I streach and cool down at the end.

Hi mzz663, It is more like do I exercise in the first place LOL!!! Anyway, when I do exercise (such as running), I try to stretch before and after. If I am doing weights, then I normally skip all till I feel the pain haha... well sometimes I stretch after... depending on how lazy.

I think it does but I don't always do it either before or after. I used to work out at a local gym and when I first joined, I was taught to do a warm-up first and then a cool-down afterwards. I don't remember what the reasons were, though. The reason why I don't always do either one now is because it takes so much time and I have so many other things to do. I just know that I always feel better after I exercise. Kathy.