Acute effects of dynamic stretching, static stretching, and light aerobic activity on muscular performance in women

The purpose of this study was to compare three warm-up protocols--static stretching, dynamic stretching, and light aerobic activity--on selected measures of range of motion and power in untrained females and to investigate the sustained effects at 5 and 30 minutes after warm-up. A total of 24 healthy females (ages 23-29 years) attended one familiarization session and three test sessions on nonconsecutive days within 2 weeks. A within-subject design protocol with the testing investigators blinded to the subjects' warm-up was followed. Each session started with 5 minutes of light aerobic cycling followed by pretest baseline measures. Another 5 minutes of light aerobic cycling was completed and followed by one of the three randomly selected warm-up interventions (static stretching, dynamic stretching, or light aerobic activity). The following posttest outcome measures were collected 5 and 30 minutes following the intervention: modified Thomas test, countermovement jump, and isometric time to peak force knee extension measured by dynamometer. Analysis of the data revealed significant time effects on range of motion and countermovement jump changes. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found between the warm-up conditions on any of the variables. The variation in responses to warm-up conditions emphasizes the unique nature of individual reactions to different warm-ups; however, there was a tendency for warm-ups with an active component to have beneficial effects. The data suggests dynamic stretching has greater applicability to enhance performance on power outcomes compared to static stretching.