For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints—and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of “The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching.” He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is “the magic number” for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of ‘stretching’

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it’s traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, “Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that.”

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

“You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing,” Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don’t do it if it hurts

After exercise, “light stretching is OK, as long as you don’t reach a point where you’re feeling pain,” Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increases range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

“If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons,” he said, “you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching.”

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it’s tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion?

Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn’t reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

“If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference,” said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.

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Daniela Hantuchová is a commentator and retired tennis player. While she might no longer be playing professionally, she’s still training hard. In May, Hantuchová hit the gym, and shared a video of herself there on Instagram. In it, she is seen doing deadlifts, lunge squats with a barbell, and leg lifts while on an exercise ball. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see TK ways Daniela Hantuchová stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

As you can see from her Instagram video, Hantuchová likes to lift weights to stay in shape. ACE Fitness states that lifting weights is a great workout. “Using maximal loads for compound (multi-joint) movements like the deadlift, squat-to-shoulder press, bent-over row or chest press can improve intermuscular coordination, which is the ability of many muscles to work together to generate and control high levels of force through multiple joints.”

Hantuchová is also seen doing lunge squats with a barbell in her Instagram video. ACE Fitness states that lunge exercises have a lot of benefits. “The lunge is one of the most effective exercises for targeting the lower body. It activates the quads, glutes and hamstrings, and helps improve lower-body strength, balance and stability. And if that isn’t enough to get you lunging, lunging activates the core muscles as well.”

Hantuchová likes to do Pilates to keep herself in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself doing exercises on a reformer. Hantuchová captioned the post, “As in life, focus on the balance in all you do.” The Cleveland Clinic states, “The benefits of Pilates are both therapeutic and preventive. The practice may help you recover from an existing injury or manage a chronic musculoskeletal issue. It may also help you establish a healthy baseline, so that when those injuries or issues arise, you’re able to bounce back faster.”

Hantuchová likes to set goals for herself each year. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram photo. “Setting up goals for next year starts with understanding that it is a continuous work through out the entire year🫶♻️. Think long term, taking small steps every day.”

Tennis is naturally one of the main ways Hantuchová keeps herself in shape. She shared this video of herself on the court on Instagram. Hantuchová talked about her love of tennis in the caption. “Once a passion, forever a passion.🎾 For me playing tennis is like playing piano,it is the art and the beauty of every shot that makes our sport so special and what I was attracted to every since being a little girl🥰. And it is still the same feeling today🫶. What is your passion?”

Maybe you’re just bored of sit-ups or they’re off the table from back pain, tight hips, or limited mobility. Great news — you don’t them to build a stronger core. Here’s one abs exercise you can do without sit-ups or weights.

In recent years, the tides have turned as instructors turn their backs on sit-ups in favor of the best abs exercises that are low impact for your back. That doesn’t mean a sit-up doesn’t have value — just that you don’t need the ab exercise to strengthen your core.