Do you stretch before warming up?

Most walkers and runners believe that it is important to stretch after warming up. The hypothesis supporting this is that the extra blood flow to warmed-up muscles helps to protect you from injury during stretching.

But Marc Rosenberg, D.C., recommends that you stretch before warming up.

His argument: If you stretch COLD, your gains in stretch will be more permanent.

His personal proof:

In 1997, I decided not to stretch for two (2!) years, to see what would happen. In 1999, when I sat on the floor to stretch, I found that all of my flexibility was there!! It didn’t feel that great the first time, but I could get into the split and lotus and everything else.

His warning: Go SLOWLY, and pay careful attention to what hurts.

Do you stretch COLD? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!

Important Update on 30 December 2013: Stretch because it feels pleasant. According to Paul Ingraham, a Registered Massage Therapist and editor of ScienceBasedMedicine.org, in his myth-busting “Quite a Stretch” article, “Stretching research clearly shows that a stretching habit isn’t good for much of anything that people think it is.”