The Warm Up stretch routine consists of dynamic stretches (moving stretches) through the full range of motion, as these are the best stretches to increase blood flow to the muscles and pre-stretch muscles prior to exercise to reduce the chance of injury. The advantage of Dynamic stretches over static stretches (held stretches) prior to exercise is the reason we do this routine. Static stretches decrease explosive muscle power, increase the chance of injury due to a decrease in the sensitivity of pain receptors in muscles. The danger of this is that when a muscle is over-stretched during rigorous training/competition, the muscle's defence system (pain receptors) are less sensitive, resulting in more muscle pulls and strains.
The Cool Down Stretch Routine is used at the end of a session as a warm down and static stretch (held stretch). This is the best time to improve flexibility and this routine covers some of the most import muscle groups to improve range of motion with. Hold each stretch for 20secs, and work on developing flexibility without discomfort or over stretching.
