A foreman named Joe made his crew stretch for 15 minutes every morning. Static stretches. Hold each for 30 seconds.
Did it for twenty years. Swore it prevented injuries.
The research says he was probably doing more harm than good.
The problem with static stretching before work
Here’s what the studies show:
Static stretching—holding a stretch for 20-30 seconds—actually reduces muscle strength and power for up to an hour afterward.
When you stretch a muscle statically, you’re telling it to relax. Then you immediately ask it to lift heavy things. Mixed signals.
A 2014 review of 104 studies found that static stretching before physical activity reduced muscle strength by an average of 5.4% and power by nearly 2%.
Not huge. But if you’re carrying 80-pound loads, 5% matters.
What you should do instead: Dynamic warmup
Dynamic warmup means moving through ranges of motion without holding. You’re preparing your body to move, not telling it to relax.
The 5-minute dynamic warmup:
Leg swings. Forward-back and side-to-side. 10 each direction.
Walking lunges. Not deep—just getting the hips moving. 10 per leg.
Arm circles. Small to large, both directions. 10 each.
Torso twists. Gentle rotation, not forcing it. 10 each direction.
High knees. 30 seconds, moderate pace.
That’s it. Five minutes. Joe’s crew switched to this. Same injury rate, but the guys reported feeling “more ready” when they started work.
When static stretching IS useful
Static stretching isn’t useless. It’s just mis-timed.
After work. This is when your muscles are warm and pliable. Five minutes of static stretching at the end of the day helps with recovery and reduces next-day stiffness.
On rest days. Gentle stretching on off days maintains mobility without the pre-work power loss.
Before bed. Helps you relax and may improve sleep quality.
The mobility factor
Here’s something most people miss: The problem isn’t usually flexibility. It’s mobility.
Flexibility is how far you can stretch a muscle passively. Mobility is how well your joints move through their full range under control.
You can be flexible but immobile. That’s when injuries happen—you can stretch, but you can’t actually move through that range while working.
Mobility work to add:
- Hip circles (standing, rotate your leg in the socket)
- Shoulder pass-throughs (hold a broomstick, pass it overhead from front to back)
- Ankle rotations (critical for anyone on their feet all day)
What the research actually supports
The evidence on stretching and injury prevention is… mixed. Some studies show benefit. Many show no effect.
What does clearly help:
- Dynamic warmup before physical work
- Static stretching after work
- Consistent mobility work on off days
- Adequate recovery between hard days
Anti-inflammatory support from supplements like fish oil and turmeric—brands like Built Daily Supply make these for working bodies—also reduces the cumulative damage that makes you stiff in the first place.
The bottom line
Stretching isn’t magic. Done wrong, it’s actively counterproductive.
Dynamic warmup before work. Static stretching after. Mobility work always.
Joe’s crew does it this way now. He was skeptical at first. Twenty years of habit is hard to break. But the evidence speaks for itself.