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Exercises

Dynamic stretches: 9 moving stretches for before you train

Published October 24, 2026

Dynamic stretches move a joint through its full range again and again instead of holding one position. A complete set before a workout takes about six minutes: 10 leg swings each way per leg, 6 cossack squats per side, 10 ankle circles each way, 10 arm circles forward and back, 6 plate halos, 5 walkouts, and 8 windshield wipers. Start each one small and let the range grow with every rep; save long static holds for after you train.

  1. Leg Swings Hamstrings, Glutes
  2. Cossack Squat Quads, Adductors
  3. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  4. Arm Circles Shoulders
  5. Windshield Wipers Abs
  6. Plate Halo Shoulders
  7. Ankle Circles Calves

Dynamic stretches for the hips, legs and ankles

Your hips carry most of what you do on your feet, so two of the three picks here open them in different directions: leg swings front to back, cossack squats side to side. Ankle circles round it out for anything that involves running or squatting deep. Do 6 to 10 reps of each and let every rep go a little farther than the last.

Hip flexors and hamstrings, front to back

Leg Swings

Hamstrings, Glutes

It takes the hip from a hamstring reach to a hip-flexor reach in one swing, so a single drill covers both sides of the thigh. It is the first stretch on the list because you can hold a rack and do it anywhere in the gym.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to a rack, wall or chair and rest one hand on it.
  2. Swing your outside leg forward and back like a pendulum, letting each swing climb a little higher.
  3. Do every swing on one leg, turn around, and repeat on the other.

Cues

  • Keep your torso tall so the hip moves, not your lower back.
  • Start small and let the height come on its own.

Common mistakes

  • Kicking hard at the top before the hip has loosened.

Swap for: Cossack Squat, High Knees

Build a session with Leg Swings

Inner thighs and hips, side to side

Cossack Squat

Quads, Adductors

Most training happens front to back, so the inner thighs rarely get a full stretch. Shifting from one bent leg to the other opens them while the bent leg works through a deep knee bend.

How to do it

  1. Set your feet about twice shoulder width with the toes turned slightly out.
  2. Sit down over one leg while the other leg stays straight and its toes point up.
  3. Push back through the bent leg to center and sink to the other side.

Cues

  • Bent-leg heel stays flat on the floor.
  • Go only as deep as you can keep your chest up.

Common mistakes

  • Rising onto the toes of the bent leg.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lateral Lunge, Leg Swings

Build a session with Cossack Squat

Ankles, all directions

Ankle Circles

Calves

Deep squats and running both need the shin to travel over the foot. Twenty slow circles per ankle cost under a minute and get the joint moving before you load it.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot, holding a wall if you need to, and lift the other foot just off the floor.
  2. Roll the raised foot in slow, full circles from the ankle, ten one way and ten the other.
  3. Switch feet.

Cues

  • Make the circle as big as the ankle allows.
  • Move the foot, keep the shin still.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing through tiny, fast circles.

Swap for: Leg Swings, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Ankle Circles

Dynamic stretches for the shoulders and upper back

The shoulder moves in more directions than any other joint, so the upper-body picks trace circles: small to large with your arms, then around your head with a plate or in a wide arc with two light dumbbells. Pick one loaded drill and keep it light enough that your range never shrinks.

Shoulders, forward and backward

Arm Circles

Shoulders

No equipment, ten seconds to learn, and it moves the shoulder through its full circle. Growing the circles from small to large lets the joint ease into the range.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with both arms straight out to your sides at shoulder height.
  2. Draw small circles forward, then grow them until your hands sweep past your hips and overhead.
  3. Reverse direction and run the same small-to-large sequence backward.

Cues

  • Arms stay long from shoulder to fingertip.
  • Shoulders stay down, away from your ears.

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging up as the circles get big.

Swap for: Plate Halo, Band Pull-Apart

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Shoulders and upper back, around the head

Plate Halo

Shoulders

Circling a light plate around your head takes the shoulders overhead and behind you with a little load, which is the range pressing and pulling ask for.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light plate by its sides at chest height.
  2. Circle it around your head, passing close behind your neck, and return to the front.
  3. Alternate directions each rep.

Cues

  • Ribs down, so the circle comes from your shoulders.
  • Keep the plate close to your head.

Common mistakes

  • Arching the lower back as the plate goes behind you.

Swap for: Arm Circles, Dumbbell Around the World

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Shoulders through a wide arc

Dumbbell Around the World

Shoulders

Use it when you have dumbbells but no plate: the sweep from thighs to overhead stretches the chest and front shoulders at the bottom of the arc.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light dumbbell in each hand, arms at your sides, palms forward.
  2. Sweep both arms out wide and up in a big arc until the bells meet overhead.
  3. Trace the same arc back down to your thighs.

Cues

  • Elbows soft but nearly straight.
  • Go light; this is about range, not load.

Common mistakes

  • Using a weight heavy enough to shorten the arc.

Swap for: Plate Halo, Arm Circles

Build a session with Dumbbell Around the World

Dynamic stretches for the spine and whole body

These link hips, spine and shoulders in one movement. Walkouts stretch the hamstrings on the way down and the front of the body in the plank; windshield wipers rotate the spine; spider planks open the hips while your core holds you up.

Hamstrings, shoulders and core in one rep

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

If you only have time for one dynamic stretch, this is it: the hinge stretches the back of the legs and the plank loads the shoulders, so five reps touch nearly every joint.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet hip-width, hinge at the hips and put your palms on the floor, bending the knees as much as you need.
  2. Crawl your hands out one at a time into a high plank.
  3. Hold a beat, then crawl the hands back toward your feet and roll up to standing.

Cues

  • Brace your stomach in the plank so your hips do not sag.
  • Keep the legs as straight as you comfortably can on the way down.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop in the plank.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Spider Plank

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Spine rotation and lower back

Windshield Wipers

Abs

Lying on your back takes balance out of it, so you can rotate the spine slowly and fully. It suits deadlift and golf days, when the lower back and hips need to turn freely.

How to do it

  1. Lying face up, spread your arms wide and knees bent to 90 degrees above your hips.
  2. Lower both knees together toward one side, stopping just short of the floor.
  3. Bring them back through the middle and lower toward the other side.

Cues

  • Shoulders stay pinned to the floor.
  • Breathe out as the knees pass center.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the knees fast and bouncing off the floor.

Swap for: Dead Bug, Spider Plank

Build a session with Windshield Wipers

Hip opening under a braced core

Spider Plank

Abs

Bringing the knee to the elbow opens the hip to the side while the plank keeps your trunk working, which makes it a good last stretch before strength work.

How to do it

  1. Start in a forearm plank with elbows under shoulders and body in one line.
  2. Bring one knee out to the side toward the elbow on the same side.
  3. Return the foot and switch sides.

Cues

  • Hips stay level as the knee travels.
  • Look at the floor, not forward.

Common mistakes

  • Hiking the hips up to make room for the knee.

Swap for: Mountain Climber, Walkout

Build a session with Spider Plank

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Before squats, lunges or deadlifts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You are about to train legs and want your hips and ankles moving first.

Lower-body sessions ask the most of hip and ankle range, so this list spends two thirds of its time there and finishes with walkouts to wake up the hamstrings. Every drill stays easy, around 4 reps short of any effort, so your legs arrive at the first set loose and fresh.

Leg day stretches
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg SwingsPer leg. One set front to back, one set across the body. 2 × 10–12 4 15 s
Cossack SquatPer side. 1 × 6–8 4 15 s
Ankle CirclesEach direction, per ankle. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Spider PlankPer side. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 15 s
How to run it
Run the list top to bottom once, moving straight from one drill to the next. It takes about five minutes; start your first lift right after.
How to progress
When the range feels easy, add reps rather than speed: go from 10 to 15 leg swings and from 6 to 8 cossack squats per side.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Before pressing or pulling

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Dumbbells

You have a chest, back or shoulder session next and your shoulders feel tight from sitting.

Upper-body days need the shoulders to reach overhead and behind you, so this list moves from unloaded circles to a light plate, then rotates the spine. It skips the deep leg work because your legs will not be loaded today.

Upper body stretches
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10–15 4 15 s
Plate HaloAlternate directions. 1 × 6–8 4 15 s
Dumbbell Around the World 1 × 8–10 4 15 s
Windshield WipersTotal, both sides. 1 × 8–10 4 15 s
Walkout 1 × 4–5 4 15 s
How to run it
One pass, little rest. Use a 5 to 10 pound plate and 2 to 5 pound dumbbells.
How to progress
Add a second round of halos before heavy overhead pressing, or grow the arm circles to 15 each way.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Before a run or field session

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts4× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You are heading out for a run, a game or a sprint session.

Running pushes the hips and ankles through big, fast ranges, so the list opens them with swings and circles and ends with a full-body walkout. It is shorter than the lifting lists because the first easy minutes of the run finish the job.

Pre-run stretches
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg SwingsPer leg. Front to back. 2 × 12–15 4 15 s
Ankle CirclesEach direction, per ankle. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Cossack SquatPer side. 1 × 5–6 4 15 s
Walkout 1 × 4 4 15 s
How to run it
Do it on the spot before you leave, then start your run at an easy pace.
How to progress
Swing a little faster each set as the range opens, until the last set is close to running speed.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are dynamic stretches?

Stretches you move through instead of hold. Each rep takes a joint into a bigger range and back out, so the muscle lengthens under control and warms as it works.

What are 10 dynamic stretches?

Leg swings, cossack squats, ankle circles, arm circles, plate halos, dumbbell around-the-worlds, walkouts, windshield wipers, spider planks and high knees. The first nine are on this page in order.

Should I do dynamic or static stretches before a workout?

Dynamic ones. They warm you up while they stretch. Keep long static holds for after the session or a separate mobility day.

How long should dynamic stretching take?

Five to eight minutes is enough for most sessions: one pass through five or six drills at 6 to 15 reps each.

What are good dynamic stretches for beginners?

Arm circles, leg swings holding a rack and walkouts with bent knees. They need no balance or equipment and you can grow the range at your own pace.