Just completed personal training course

Very interesting course. one thing that really surprised alot of the students was the teachers are not to into stretching. minimal if any before training. At first we thought they were crazy but when they got into it more it made sense. just wanted to know how you guys and gals feel about stretching.
 
Stretching should be done once a day; when doesn't really matter; however, you should never ever stretch right before a workout as it increases risk of injury.
 
I don't static stretch before. A dynamic stretching routine pre workout can be good though. I static stretch problem areas after training.
 
i was taught to stretch only as much as the range of motion you will be using. so if your going for a run theres no need to put twist like a pretzel to stretch if your not doing those motions. also why would you want your muscles to be that loose before training they help keep our bones together so i wouldent want them that loose
 
When to stretch

As a certified personal trainer, I think it is important and I always require my clients to do a warm up exercise before we commence training. This might consist of five minutes of cardio on a treadmill or bicycle if we are training in a gym and have access to equipment or a non strenuous exercise like Ball Pass if I’m training in a studio or in someone’s home.

I do recommend that my clients stretch after our workouts. I usually informed them what exercises to do and how to do them based on what muscle I think might aggravate them as a result of our training session. I sometimes assist them with their stretches after our sessions. However, I usually try to use and optimize the time that we are together doing exercises that will help them meet their fitness goals.

However, some great points are being made on this topic and one of them is that the importance of stretching is to a degree relative to the type of exercising you are doing. I train my clients using lightweights and resistance bands with high repetitions. My programs are created to assist with weight loss, cardio conditioning, strength building and body toning.

You can learn more about my fitness programs at L.A. Online Fitness (laonlinefitness.com or pftconsultant.com)
 
Has anyone just done it online and if so how was it? I am looking into becoming a PT and went to the ACE and NASM website and saw you buy material for $600 and study for a few months and take the test...if anyone has done it this way please let me know how it was (hard/easy)
 
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