Ever since we were little kids, we were taught to static stretch.  That’s stretching in a still position, touching the toes, hurdle stretching, groin stretching, etc.  The truth is static stretching has been found to relax the muscles and should not be done before heavy exercise.  More and more professional athletes and coaches are moving towards dynamic stretching at the beginning of practice and static stretching at the end.  Dynamic Stretching is stretching with some kind of movement to let your body know, “hey we’re about to work”!  So here are a couple of Dynamic Stretches:

Lying Carioca: This exercise is done lying on your back, hands stretched out wide swinging your left leg to your right hand and your right leg to your left hand, keeping you shoulders against the ground as flat as possible.

Leg Swings: To do this exercise you must brace yourself on an object or a partner.  You must swing your leg forward and back getting as much height forward and back as possible for a maximum stretch.

Crossover Leg Swings: The Crossover Leg Swings are similar to the regular Leg Swing.  You also need to brace yourself on an object or a partner.  Cross swinging your leg left to right, staying on the ball of your foot, getting as much height as you can for the maximum stretch.