title: Dynamic vs. static-stretching warm up: the effect on power and agility performance.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of a dynamic warm up (DWU) with a static-stretching warm up (SWU) on selected measures of power and agility. Thirty cadets at the United States Military Academy completed the study (14 women and 16 men, ages 18-24 years). On 3 consecutive days, subjects performed 1 of the 2 warm up routines (DWU or SWU) or performed no warm up (NWU). The 3 warm up protocols lasted 10 minutes each and were counterbalanced to avoid carryover effects. After 1-2 minutes of recovery, subjects performed 3 tests of power or agility. The order of the performance tests (T-shuttle run, underhand medicine ball throw for distance, and 5-step jump) also was counterbalanced. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed better performance scores after the DWU for all 3 performance tests (p < 0.01), relative to the SWU and NWU. There were no significant differences between the SWU and NWU for the medicine ball throw and the T-shuttle run, but the SWU was associated with better scores on the 5-step jump (p < 0.01). Because the results of this study indicate a relative performance enhancement with the DWU, the utility of warm up routines that use static stretching as a stand-alone activity should be reassessed.
authors.affiliation: United States Military Academy, West Point, USA. danny.mcmillian@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Danny J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: McMillian
authors.forename: Josef H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Brian S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hatler
authors.forename: Dean C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000379:methods*; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology