The Best Time to Stretch

Most people agree that stretching is good for your muscles. But should you do it before or after exercise? When are you likely to reap the most benefits?

Fitness guru Tina Vindum provides a good rule of thumb in her book, Outdoor Fitness. "If something feels tight during your warm up, stretch it. Outside of that, you should stretch after workouts when muscles are warm," Vindum writes.

Stretch Safely
Stretching after a workout is "the most productive and safest time because the muscles are warm and pliable," says Vindum. She believes in stretching major muscle groups only after they've warmed up. And preferably while your heart rate is still elevated from exercise. Need a warm-up idea? Check out these 10 reasons to act like a kid by jumping rope.

Here are three other tips from Vindum on maximizing your stretching power:

• Never stretch a cold muscle. Always warm up for at least 5 to 10 minutes before stretching. Try these easy do-at-your-desk yoga stretches.
• Hold a stretch for 5 seconds, release for 5 seconds, and then execute the stretch again. Stretch and strengthen with this chair-based workout video.
• Inhale to prepare for a stretch, and exhale slowly while lengthening the muscle. You can stretch yourself to sleep, too. Here's how.

Tina Vindum's Outdoor Fitness: Step Out of the Gym into the BEST Shape of Your Life. Vindum, T., Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2009.