There are studies that proves static stretching before a physical activity isn't good and can lead to injuries and is better to be used after physical activities instead. Experts recommend dynamic stretches instead. I believe Dr. Kyle brown has a lot of videos talking about this and shares exercises tailored to skateboarding

The structure, angles and editing of this one is on another level ... Way to go Ben!

I’ve always found your voice very soothing, you’re like the Bob Ross of skating 😂

The Hawaiian shirt keeps you young I think

At 35 I need all the tips I can get! Thanks Ben.

44 here I stretch after skating and only foam roll if im sore. I skate every morning before work 2hrs. Im going to definitely try your sitting split stretch! I tend to get tight same places you have mentioned

You rock Ben! Your enthusiasm for skating (including skating longevity) is one of the reasons I caught the skating bug and skate 3+ days a week. Thanks for another great vid!

Totally loved the new format of the video keep it up!

Watching all the way from 🇵🇭!!!! Much love

Love this channel man. Just getting back Into skating after 10 years. Stopped because I as well am also a workaholic doing manual labor. It worked out in the end but am finding I have to enjoy the better things in life. Love the message.

Amazing video and amazing work, so entertaining to watch. Keep up the amazing work Ben.

No lie, probably your best fit yet in these videos. That shirt is niceee.

Stretching "cold" is a really bad idea. I read a medical study long ago that cited decreased performance and increased injury associated with stretching before activity among professional athletes. I tested it on myself over the course of a year in my weekly pickup hockey game and my anecdotal results were dramatic, winning more races to the puck, sucking less wind, and reduced soreness after. I started to do yoga to improve my flexibility for the kind of aggressive multi-day sea kayaking I enjoy, where posture and form in rough conditions can mean the difference between getting home sore but safe and not getting home. I just picked up street skating as I push toward age 50 and I feel the landings in my glutes and lower back as my ollies gain height, but I believe that is overuse-from-enthusiasm and bad cushioning in my shoes. My takeaway: stretching is its own workout; find a daily stretching routine as you age and stick with it. Your videos are inspiring.

THANK YOU for this!!!! I really needed this and have the same injury you got. It’s been over a year and I am still dislocating my knee, the most recent being a couple weeks ago. I may have to consider surgery at this point, but anything I can do in the meantime is helpful.

As another commenter stated, this video is put together really well! I love the angles and the different spots used for transitions into other parts of the video. You really are finding your editing style! So glad to see you on the board Ben! Personally I stretch my ankles before every session. Just because I skate at 6-7am and my bodies not been up yet lol. And also I wrecked them both two summers ago haha. As far as warm up I do the same thing, bunch of riding around 180s 50s Ollie’s. should stretch more after my sessions for sure. Dude I’m learning new tricks at 36! I’ve never been more comfortable on a board, amazing feeling to unlock tricks that were previously unfathomable to me!!! Thanks to you and all the work you put in this channel. More than a few times you have inspired me and I’m sure many others! Especially all the OGs. Mad respect Ben. Cheers

Man, watching your videos is like meditation. 😁 You seem to be such a humble guy, you shred at skating and the editing of your videos makes me think you´ve been doing this your whole life. I love watching your content (and other skateboarders as well) and it inspired me to create my own channel just 2 months ago... (because there are so few of them on youtube) 😅 I suck at skateboarding and above all at video editing, but at least i have so much fun doing it and that´s what matters to me. I think i just wanna say THANK YOU Ben. ❤ And btw. great video, as usual

I got caught off-guard with the multicam set up! Love it!

hey Ben, did I miss the video that explains why you are skating/building a park on a tennis court? curiosity is killing me. any info is much appreciated. thanks Ben!

BEN! Your one of my skate mentors AND you taught me how to make good sheet rock corners! I actually saw you on that channel first! Lol

I’m 47. I use a massage gun fitness bands, jump rope and dynamic stretches before I step on my board. It’s takes about 10 - 15 minutes. It’s so exhausting lol. Then I skate for 90 minutes. Thanks Ben for all the inspiration. You kill.

Lol I legit thought that was soil at the beginning there. I love warming up on transition also, too bad there aren’t many mini ramps at the parks around here. Stretching after is probably the best for sure. But I’ve just been doing yoga every morning/before skating, it works for me right now. Great video Ben =)

real nice video ben keep it up!

My routine which involves 6 days on my feet at work and 3-5 days skating a week at 27 is full body stretch in the morning with alot of hips. Some dynamic mobility movement and light plyometrics before my session whenever that be (usually later before dark) and then a cool down stretch session with spine decompression after the session when I get home. Then foam roll before bed and unless I eat like crap and don't drink water and get enough sleep I always feel like I can skate the next day even after a long day in the restaurant. SKATE OR DIE love the video ben!

I love this little park you've converted from a tennis court. I always used to stretch my hips and back every morning, regardless if I was skating but I used to do it every day but got lazy. This has made me realise I need to start again.

I see you finally got your outfit figured out, you took notes ever since that long shirt, small jacket video 😆 nice color scheme tho looking forward to see more of these aside from the usual white shirt haha!

Great video! I have also tried to implement stretching. You are right though it is hard to not just skate right away!

My personal rule is warm up muscles before exercise. Stretch for increased flexibility at other times. I like your rational for stretching straight after the sesh though. In my opinion stretches immediately before exercise can temporarily weaken connective tissue, destabilise joints and increase the likelihood of injury.

Bro ur channels are so sick! Keep going man

Another sooper useful upload from ben the gem

Looking better man! Hope the progression with your knee keeps coming along. Love your videos !! Need more Slappy smith , slappy 5-0, feeble slap tips …. If you needed any ideas lol

turned 33 this year and im keep flippin and floopin! good to see u keep on keepin on at 40 !

Always love the videos ben thanks

Always good to see a video from ya man!!

Stretching the legs and the calfs before and after skateboarding to get enough workout training from skateboarding sessions! I am just subscribed to your channel 💯👍🔔🙏⭐💪🏆🐐

quality filming and editing ben! great video

Just seeing a new Ben Degros youtube vid made my day!! Letsgoooo

Best would be warming up , then stretching and then going serious . Keep the videos coming , no matter what content . I´m always enjoying it ;-)

Thanks for your tips Ben, i feel bit better when stretch a bit before and after skate, but barely i cant do it properly unfortunately cuz my time is very tight, now its time to find time to try more it!! Thanks!!!

For my warm-up, I do a bit of dynamic stretching (no static stuff), skate around doing low-impact stuff for a bit, then do a bit more dynamic stretching. I never do a cool-down stretch, but I may start doing it. I've been dealing with a weird tightness on one leg, lower hamstring/quad area. I generally do static stretches (sometimes foam rolling as well) before going to bed. Thanks for sharing what works for YOU, Ben.

Great Video!

Thanks Ben this is very helpful 👍

Your heelflips are goated

Just finished a skate and I’m gonna try some of these. It’s funny because I got recommended and watched one of your old videos about stretching before skating (thanks KZfaq algorithm).

Great vid!

32 years young and I have also noticed a great improvement to my skating since discovering knee over toes guy, essentially eliminating the knee pain i started noticing around 25-26 when I took up skating again after a couple year’s hiatus. In particular I would say the tibialis strengthening (sprung for a tib bar) and angle board squatting (body weight or very light dumbbells) have made the biggest impact on my quality of skating. It doesn’t take much, just a few sets a few times a week and the change immediate. As for the stretching debate my experience is that I will do what you do (15 minutes of pumping around the park and doing easy transition tricks to feel connected to my board before I even think about a flick), only I will do a tiny bit of stretching mid session before I start doing anything that requires a lot of jumping. Using a mellow bank to simulate the heel elevation of my angle board and doing some slow, deep squats helps keep my knees and ankles loose and pain free. Similarly, you can get a pretty good calf stretch up a bank. I also always do a standing forward fold, because a limber back is a necessity and keeping the legs straight will stretch the whole posterior chain at once. I like to skate a long time, like 3-5 hours if I can, so doing some periodic mid-sesh stretching while I hydrate and catch my breath keeps refreshing my body. Of course I’m almost always hobbling after 5 hours no matter how well I skate, but if I only skate an hour or two i barely feel like I did anything which is nice. Love the vid, glad you are recovering, ripping and keeping the dream alive for us old heads

I do the exact same stretches after my sessions and before I go to bed. I find that stretching my hip flexors tremendously helps with my skating and of course strengthening all the leg, hip, glute muscles

Been stretching at the spots/skatepark and looking like an absolute rusty old man every time since the age of 24 or smth (28 now) and also trying to go through a solid routine at home at least a couple times a week (thanks to Neen Williams for providing a solid knowledge about all that stuff!). Will probably also stretch after sessions now haha. Been having issues with my back from tons of steady sitting work since early twenties tho. Stretching before is super helpful if you have a stiff back problems, because slow skating build up is not enough to warm up and loosen the muscles, solid pre-skating stretching saved me from getting injured a several times

dynamic stretches and a warm up before the session, and dynamic + static stretches after

Loved the editing. Thank you for putting out such quality content. The colours were very vibrant on the video as well, did you put a filter or just raw out of the camera? Lovin' it.

Here is my STRETCH/WARM-UP routine. Passing this on to help other skaters. I do all of this before skating. Takes 1 hour (!). Tedious, but I always do it. Been consistently/full-on skating from grade7, til I’m 38 now. I'm a'little beat-up from skating hard all this time. But, I am able to STILL skate as-well as I ever have. It’s a struggle these days, but I can still manage it, just takes more work the older I get, to keep the skills @ teh same level. I feel doing all of the below is what has kept me this way. (Also a big factor is…I have always&still join a gym every Canadian winter, and work out hard & frequently, for 4ish months of the year). (positions/stretches are all held for 40 seconds /rep) -Cardio 5minutes. Walk normally, backwards, sideways, walking-normally work-up-to jogging by the end. Should be breathing heavily, little sweat starting, etc. -Standing, rotate/swing upper-body around gently, assess body’s current-state, circles to warm shoulders, downward dog, reverse downward dog -OK, this is a little silly hah, but I get naked and FOAM ROLL (a hard/firm foam roll. Just plain cylinder shaped (no bumps/nubs etc). Lying on back, on ground, with foam-roller under you. Lay with it under your butt/belt-line, 1rep. Roll butt cheeks thoroughly, higher also where butt meets back, and also butt-to-neck spin slowly 2 times. Foam roll back of knees-to-ankles, thoroughly. Spend ½ as much time on the front (knees-to-ankles). -Sit on the ground -V-shape leg-stretch. Stretch this as far as you comfortable/carefully can. 40 sec with just legs, 40 seconds with fingers holding toes. -TYPE THIS LATER (I do a whole other thing while sitting, on each leg. Hard to type/describe) -Standing thigh curl stretch. 1 light-intensity rep, 1 firm’er rep -DRIVE TO SKATEPARK -Ride/fly all around the park, skating fast on the transition-parts of the park for 10mins, to get body warm after driving. -Spin my ankles around thoroughly. Standing, small to bigger circles, spun2 directions per ankle. -Achilles tendon stretches, 1 light-intensity rep, 1 firm’er rep. ALL STRETCHING IS DONE!!tedious:P -Tictak-around360, each direction -Just rolling along on the ground, do all 4 ways you can manual. -6 FLIP TRICKS. Nolliefsshov, switchbsshove, kickflip, heelflip, fakieflip, fakieheelflip. -4 LEDGE TRICKS. 2 fs grinds/slides, 2 bs grinds/slides Either do 4 ledge tricks, or 4 (2fs,2bs) flatbar tricks. I don’t move on to the next-thing until I land each thing, but with a max/cap of 3-4tries. I don’t land it in 3-4 tries, I move on to the next thing, to keep the session moving even if the skills are lacking that day. ALL PLANNED STRETCHES, and WARM-UP SKATING IS DONE. Improvise the rest of the skating I do that day. The warm-up skating, before I get to the improvising portion, takes 25% of the @least 2hrs I usually skate for. I don’t do any stretching after. I have ice-pack leg-WRAPS, just above knees to toes, ice legs once for 20 mins after skating. docs.google.com/document/d/1CyFD12yzk9A21tQzV76q0oGc78JV6ZlWmLevySTioBU/edit?usp=sharing

yeah ! cool video

awesome video ben one thing i gotta say is when i was in gym class they said to try to avoid "bouncing" in your stretches, because it can cause injury. i was a bit surprised at the time cause thats what i'd always done and i see you bounce a bit as well.

I do dynamic stretching before skating and static stretching after. Works pretty good. 😊

I randomly heard you say something about your skate channel while watching your Vancouver carpenter videos. I was stoked to find out you skated. I watched your Ben 2000 video and man did I see myself while watching you skate in that video. All the nostalgia from VHS homemade skate videos my buddies and I would put together is priceless. I’m a painter by trade but I also skate any chance I get. How often do you get to skate when your not doing drywall etc?

Would love to see a video about your experience and outcomes of knees over toes Ben that Would be great

thanks for the upload

gotta try stretching after a session now to see how i feel. by the way the coping on your mini ramp looks like heaven to grind.

the boss returned

the transition transitions were dope.

Even though I maintain good fitness (I run 3 times a week, don't smoke, don't drink), I have to stretch before and after skating to feel good both on the board, but also so I don't ache to high hell the next day! When you approach 40, it becomes even more important to look after yourself if you want to keep skating and keep progressing :)

What I do is kinetic stretches before my session, and start my session doing warm up tricks and basics. The carves, the pumps, flat ground manuals, I figure if I am gonna be skating for a few hours, why would I want to burn up all my energy early, get no tricks AND walk away exhausted and sore? I could make room for more after-session stretching, maybe it can help with recovery since pre-session stretching helps most with preparation and warm-up. Basically I started stretching when I heard Steve Caballero say it’s the one thing he wish he did more often. Since then, I was sold on stretching, hoping it will make my aging process at least a little more graceful.

Ben Degros is one of them youtubers I actually hit the bell for

Great video. I've got those shoes and they were stiff for soooo long. Took absolutely forever to break in but they're the first shoe that I haven't had an ollie hole in and I've been skating 15 years

I can see your Knees Over Toes Guy routine paying off when you do that hamstring strength whilst standing on the transition.

my favorite Achilles/calf stretch is to stand on the edge of a step. I will have to try it on an incline like that

Soccer athlete and skater here, the best thing to do before a session is dynamic stretches. So pumping on your board, turning and twisting your back comfortably, just getting loose on your own time. There are also great dynamic stretches I do that help me loosen up my groin which I believe to be one of the most important parts to stretch as a skater/soccer player. Only after a session should you do static stretching. Ice ankle baths and heat pads are also great for recovery

also recommend neen’s video on stretching, dude knows

I always stretch first then do warm up for any sport, basketball, baseball or skating. I need to start stretching after though! I usually just walk afterwards to stretch it out and cool down

Major Ben strikes again!

love your videos ben

Nice mini ramp!

Remember to warm up people! I've had some issues with my quads and they always come back to me. First time it happened was when I wasn't warmed up and felt a pop near my groin and I couldn't lift my leg for awhile. I just did an Ollie. I'm eating painkillers now cause I have some neuralgia going on and it's not fun. I have to start skating curbs before I start to do popping stuff.

Always have time to listen to Ben. I do stretch before and after. Or els the sesh will have me out for a week. Thats more cuz of my own illness. Edit: Thanks for the like Ben big fan of yours.

did you build that park? btw you the only skater/youtuber that i follow =) keep posting man!

To be honest my biggest struggle in skateboarding is I’m getting older and my friends are quitting skating and now I’m the old loner at the skatepark

Hey Ben, I'm going to Vancouver for a week and I'm planning to hit a park. What are some good beginner friendly parks in vancouver you would recommend? I like nice pump lines and small ledges to ollie onto or off of. I'm going to buy a complete but I'm not flying it back home so I'll probably just give it away to someone before I leave. Love your channels. Bathroom remodels all day, skating all night.

super awesome miniramp. I usually stretch if I have been there for so long I can't stand up anymore. And then I stretch and either push around or leave. 3-4 hours. Long gone are the days of being able to skate for 8 hours in a row. lol.

No complies and shove it's in different stances is my warm up then I'll stretch in the evening while watching football (soccer) highlights. Works well for me

Generally speaking Dynamic stretches (moving) are for warming up and Static (stationary) are for cool down General mobility is good for both, like over the fence or drawing circles with your toes to move your ankles Though there are some exceptions. Some leg swings, foot circles and calf stretches as a warm up.

role model ❤️

Ben you dont F around. You have an admirable bag of tricks

Dude you live in skate heaven.

Damn are you barging that tennis court? It looks like an incredible spot!

From what I know with high intensity training you wanna warm up doing dynamic stretching before and static stretching after session

Heyyyyy I recognize you!!!! You’re the Vancouver Carpenter haha.

I need to stretch way more. I just hop on my board and skate a round a lil til I feel like I can start my ollies and shuvs. But really should prep before.

Ben really putting his all into the dad jokes

I honestly do the no comply 180 then the no pop fakie front shov almost every warm up. idk why but they just go together well. My friend ki told me you get ur age in min to warm up give or take a few

Get this man a Tommy Bahama sponsor! Chez Degros is looking amazing!

I usually do some dynamic and static stretches before skating and just rest after the session.

May i ask, wut is the first ledge u skated made of, the top part? Also great vid, i never usually paid attention to warming up and stretching after, i usually jumped on my board and then started doing kickflips and practicing heelflips lol, at the start i also wasnt good at them cause my muscles werent warmed up, ill definitely start warming up by doing simple tricks and then get into flip tricks and then stretch after, i do when im at the gym but for some reason not skating lol, but thank u for this vid!

Hello Ben!!! I am a big fan and want to learn some 5050 grinds on a rail. It is pretty scary. I'm using an 8 inch axle venture trucks and I'm wondering if trucks with bigger axle would make any difference!?

THUNDER FTW!!!

Thnks for share🙌🙏

i made many friends stretching like a fool at the park, cuz it makes people laugh, then engage with you (also im super extra flexible and almost pull off splits and crap like that, that helps a little ig)

in athletics for instance you stretch a little before 10 sec a position to get loosen up a little but not too much and after you do the long ones 30+ sec

the Bionic Skateboarder is back

Thank you so much. I’m only 24 but between working in a warehouse when I was younger and being a barista now, my back and knees are really starting to feel it. I did the stretches after a long sesh and feel so much better! Keep shredding dude

a little before more during and wishing i did after i called it a day at the park.

i also suffer from achilles tendenitis. i put my toes on the curb and stretch my heels like an angle board. also a sqwat were i wiggle around is massively helpful