What Dynamic or Static Stretches do you do?

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Apr 11, 2009
2
0
Hello,
I'm a former softball player, but now I am working on my plan for my Master's thesis at Baylor University. I would like to directly compare the effects of dynamic and static stretches on upper body power since most of the current research focuses on the effects on lower body power/performance.

I am posting here because I want to know what is currently being done in the "real world" instead of just finding random stretches that people don't really use.

What stretches are you and/or your team currently doing? How do you do these? How long do you hold static stretches? How many repetitions?

Thank you for any information!

Megan
 
Jan 15, 2009
689
18
Midwest
For our 10U team, we use dynamic stretches and have been since the fall.
We start on the foul line behind first and proceed to an imaginary line behind second base.

1. Fast walk, moving arms (speed walk)
2. Nice slow job (back to foul line)
3. Leg lunges
4. High knees
5. Butt kicks
6. Fast walk-swimming with arms
7. Walk backwards-backstroke with arms
8. Karoke down
9. Karoke back (facing same way)
10. Skiers
11. Fast jog
12. Sprint with rocker start

Depending on how they are "warming up, or how early it is" we might add bear crawls, basketball slide, or more sprints.

Then we go into wrist snaps from the knees and then to thumb-to-thigh throws from the knees and then quarterback throws from the knees, all nice and easy, usually in sets of "10"

I have moved to this routine after using static stretches last year. I found that at 10U, most kids are not stretching properly with that technique.

Hope this helps.:)
 
Mar 2, 2009
311
16
Suffolk, VA
had worked with a 14U a couple years ago, moved and now work with a different 16U team, takes approx 14 minutes:
Running (Ankles) (Arms Pumping!)
Hurdle Ups (Left, Then Right) (get leg parrellel to ground as if crossing over a hurdle)
High Knee Walk ½ distance, then High Knees Run (Arms Pumping!) last ½ disatnce
High LEFT Knee, Right Leg Back
High RIGHT Knee, Left Leg Back
Heel Up (Grab One foot Behind and Raise on Opposite Toe)
Butt Kicks WALKING ½ / RUNNING ½ (Arms PUMPING)
Lung & Thrust
Front Crab / Backwards Crab
POWER Skipping (High Knees, High Arm Raises)
Backwards Skipping
Frankensteins
Left Foot Lateral Step Left far, SINK Trunk, Right Foot to Left foot
Right Foot Lateral Step Right far, SINK Trunk, Left Foot to Right foot
Lateral High Knees Run (Left, then Right)
Lateral Slide w/ Floor Touch BOTH Hands (Finger Tips)
Carioca 2/3 distance, then turn and run 1/3 distance (Left, Then Right)
Skip (Across Line - 45 degree Right, 45 degree left) (( Ladder style))
Single Leg Skip Left / Right
Straight Leg Run
Alternating Run (3 Steps 45 degree Right, 3 steps 45 degree left, alternating to end)
50% Sprint
100 % Sprint
 
May 13, 2008
831
16
Taken right out of my last practice plan:

1) Cocky walk w/ hug the world
2) Heel to butt grab
3) High knee grab
4) Figure 4 walk
5) Lunge, Lean back & twist
6) Straight leg march
7) Backwards open skip
8) High knees
9) Butt kicks
10) Lateral shuffles (down and back)
11) Carioca (down and back)
12) Build up runs (50%, 70%, 80%, 100%)
 
Apr 11, 2009
2
0
Does anyone use dynamic stretching to prepare shoulders/arms for throwing? Or is static stretching still the primary stretch in that category?

Thank you for the replies!!!

Megan Smart ATC, LAT
 
May 13, 2008
831
16
Nothing specific here. We do build up to it though:

1) Snap throws
2) One knee throws
3) Check throws
4) Rock & Fires
5) Full motion
6) Front step
 

FastpitchFan

Softball fan
Feb 28, 2008
465
0
Montreal, Canada
Hi Megan,

Nice to see someone doing research on softball!

As a softball peak performance coach and someone who has done a lot of academic work on softball at the graduate level, I am always glad to meet people like you.

First of all, I have written extensively on the topic of dynamic warm-ups for softball on my blog over the past year. You can find all my past articles on that page:

Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball Blog Posts

To answer your quesion, you don't want to really do any static stretches especially with the younger kids. They don't need it. Things like arm circles, arms swings, self-hugs, external rotations, etc. is what you want to do.

Now, here is one mistake many coaches do: they do a great job warming up the lower body with dynamic stretches found all over the place but in softball, we need to really focus on the trunk and the upper body. This is where more dynamic warm-up are deficient in softball.

To read more about that specific point and my arguments for dynamic warm-up, you follow this link (information page for my Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball System but it has a lot of good "why" info on it).

Dynamic Warm-up for Softball

Hope that helps.

Marc
 
Apr 7, 2013
8
0
Some throws till everyone shows up.
Home Runs - run the bases
I start with Leg kicks - forward/back/side/side
Lunge - elbow inside kneed, other hand to the ground, to the sky.
Eagles - walk backwards, arm circles small to large, stop, on the toes Hands to the sky thumbs together (clap). up again thumb/clap.
Alligators - walk forward, arm cirlces small to large, stop, squat down head up, butt up, come up/down again.
SuperGirls - arms up to the right (like batting), turn hips, act as if your going to fly off behind left.
Heel walk - out 20 feet.
Frankensteins - back 20 feet
Shuffles - turn sideways and shuffle out not crossing legs.
butt kickers - back
SuperGirl - this time do it once and then have them pretend to have the bat to show why the supergirls are done.
will add some above i hadn't seen.
 
Last edited:
Nov 2, 2015
192
16

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