By Rafael Vinicius

You close the laptop, move a chair and make room to exercise. Then comes another decision: should you stretch first, follow a warm-up video or simply begin?

It helps to separate two purposes that often get bundled together. Working on flexibility over time is one goal. Preparing for the activity you are about to do is another. They can overlap, but they do not have to become one long checklist.

A Gentle Start to an At-Home Workout Isn’t the Same as a Stretching Session

Start with the next activity

Before choosing a preparation routine, name what comes next. Is it a walk, a familiar bodyweight exercise or something you are learning for the first time? That question gives the discussion a direction without requiring another piece of equipment or a perfect morning routine.

Mayo Clinic’s guidance distinguishes stretching from warming up. It describes a dynamic warm-up as lower-intensity movement related to the activity that follows, with a gradual increase in intensity. This is general educational guidance, not a personalised prescription. [1]

The useful idea is to connect preparation to a purpose. Copying a whole sequence because it looks impressive does not explain why each movement belongs in your session.

Give flexibility its own purpose

Flexibility can be a worthwhile training goal without becoming a test you must pass before every workout.

In a 2014 randomised trial, Andreas Konrad and Markus Tilp studied a six-week static-stretching programme. The intervention group improved ankle range of motion, without corresponding changes in the measured muscle and tendon structural properties. [2]

That result concerns a specific intervention and body region. It does not tell every beginner how to warm up. It does illustrate why a change developed across several weeks should be distinguished from preparing for today’s exercise.

You can therefore ask two separate questions: “Am I working on flexibility?” and “Am I preparing for the movement I intend to practise?” Neither question requires describing stretching as universally good or bad.

Keep the example small and recognisable

Imagine an adult beginner whose planned session includes a familiar squat variation. A conversation with their exercise professional might distinguish moving gently at the start, considering any relevant movement limitation and practising the planned task at a manageable level.

This is a hypothetical illustration, not a tested sequence or an instruction to perform a particular depth, number of repetitions or duration. Someone planning a different exercise would have a different task to discuss. Someone with an injury may need an individual assessment rather than a generic example.

The point is to understand the role of each part. More preparation is not automatically a clearer plan, and a complicated list is not the only way to take exercise seriously.

Avoid turning one research result into a rule for everyone

Anthony Blazevich and colleagues tested short static-stretching, dynamic-stretching and no-stretch conditions within a complete preparation routine in 20 male team-sport athletes. Their 2018 crossover study found no effect of stretching condition on the sprint, jump and change-of-direction tests. [3]

This small experiment was not a trial in adult beginners exercising at home. It cannot identify the ideal warm-up for that population. It does show why the words “stretching before exercise” leave out important details about the protocol and surrounding activities.

Three questions to make the start clearer

For readers comfortable with Portuguese, the Maxterius guide to stretching before training offers complementary discussion of these distinctions. It is educational further reading, separate from the scientific sources below.

A gentle start should not mean pushing into pain. Mayo Clinic advises against aiming for pain during stretching and recommends discussing appropriate adaptations with a doctor or physical therapist when an injury or health concern is involved. It also cautions that stretching does not make injury impossible. [1]

You do not need to prove your commitment by completing an elaborate ritual. A more useful first step is knowing what the preparation is intended to do, what activity follows and when an individual question deserves individual help.

Sources

1. Mayo Clinic Staff. Stretching: Focus on flexibility. 18 November 2023. Institutional patient education, not a primary trial. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20047931
2. Konrad A, Tilp M. 2014. Increased range of motion after static stretching is not due to changes in muscle and tendon structures. Clinical Biomechanics 29(6):636–642. Randomised controlled trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24856792/
3. Blazevich AJ et al. 2018. No Effect of Muscle Stretching within a Full, Dynamic Warm-up on Athletic Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 50(6):1258–1266. Small randomised crossover trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29300214/

Author biography

Rafael Vinicius is studying for a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in Brazil and edits Maxterius, a Portuguese-language exercise-education website. He brings two decades of personal strength-training experience to his interest in clear, evidence-informed exercise education.

This article provides general education, not an individual exercise prescription or medical assessment.