I'm not sure about you, but I’m a girl of the 80s. Do you remember Aerobics Oz Style?
It's now 2026, and we've moved on from leg warmers and leotards; but have we moved on from passive stretching? I grew up believing that passive stretching was essential to prevent injury and give me long, lean legs (I can tell you now, it certainly didn’t achieve that second goal).
What's the latest on stretching before exercise?
The most compelling evidence against passive stretching comes from the Australian Ballet Company. About 10 years ago, they stopped passive stretching of calf muscles. They removed all the wooden blocks the dancers would use to stretch out their calf muscles and switched to a focus on dynamic strength.
"Dynamic strength" is a fancy way of saying they focused on ensuring dancers had good strength and control throughout their full range of motion—sounds a lot like Pilates, huh?
What happened? Calf injuries were significantly reduced.
Read that again. Removing passive stretching from a dancer’s routine significantly reduced injury and lost performance time.
So if passive stretching is no longer recommended, what is?
Think of it this way: passive stretching asks a muscle to lengthen and switch off. Dynamic strength asks a muscle to lengthen and stay switched on. That second one is what your body actually needs when you're about to run, lift, dance, or chase a toddler around the lounge.
A warm-up should move. And this is where Pilates comes in: it trains your body to move with strength and control, so your muscles are ready for whatever you ask of them next.
And you can get started with Pilates at home today.
