This one gets me in trouble, but it needs saying: stretching to “stay loose” is one of the most overrated injury-prevention strategies out there. If touching your toes prevented injuries, gymnasts and dancers would never get hurt. They do.

Flexibility—how far a joint can passively move—matters far less than what you can control. A big range of motion you can’t stabilize isn’t an asset; it’s exposure. What protects you is mobility (range you own actively) paired with the strength to control the ends of that range.

What to do instead. Swap the pre-workout static stretching for a dynamic warm-up that raises tissue temperature and rehearses the movements you’re about to do. Spend your prevention time building strength through full range, not chasing extra inches you can’t use. If a specific restriction is genuinely limiting your movement, address it—but as a targeted fix, not a religion.

None of this means never stretch. It means stop treating flexibility as the centerpiece. It’s a supporting actor, not the lead.