Stretching: Before or After the Workout?

    Up until recently I have always believed stretching before and after a run was super dooper important. In fact, I remember hearing the importance of stretching drilled into my head in middle school gym class. Before and after class all of us pre-teens would line up and stretch before doing the dreaded pacer test or God knows what else.
     I'm not one to naturally question what I've been told without good reason, up until now. All things that have to do with stretching have been heavily debated within these past few years. I have no doubt that at least one time in your life you have seen a runner stretching on the side of the road or a marathon runner touching his toes before the big race. What those athletes probably didn't know is that recent studies have shown stretching before a race is not the way to go in order to be your best.
     There is no proving evidence that can say static stretching (all that stuff that goes on before your workout to lengthen your muscles and improve flexibility) can help prevent injury or that you will benefit from it in any way. However, there is evidence that shows stretching before a workout can actually harm you, which isn't something most middle school gym teachers would like to hear!
     Technically, you don't need to stretch before or after a workout. If you're comfortable, injury free, and feeling like a million bucks, you're welcome to skip the stretching all together. Personally, I don't recommend it, but I can't speak considering I've been injured for two years straight.
     If you do feel the need to static stretch, minimize in to only after workouts. Often I can't just bounce into a nice easy run, though, and if you're anything like me, you want to stretch both before and after the workout. You're in luck, I have a solution.
     Although you may not be able to static stretch before a run, you can dynamic stretch before a run without harming yourself or hindering your capabilities. Dynamic stretching gets your heart rate up and blow flowing, unlike static stretching. Moves such as butt kicks, high knees, kicking your feet up to your arms, and hopping around are all okay to do. Dynamic stretching improves your range of motion, which is much more important to a runner than flexibility.
     It's likely that once your workout is over you'll have at least one spot that feels like it could use a good stretch. It is not necessary to do, however. Make sure to be smart and know when too much stretching is done, and lay off if you feel a sharp pain.