I tried Petrucci's streching too , and they were useless , it didn't feel any better , and I still had to warm up as I normaly do ... Not to mention that I've been hearing that it can do more harm than good , which actualy make sense cuz streching is usualy good for big muscles , I don't think we can call those fingers as big muscles , therefore no need to strech 'em.
I normally start up easy too , but the reason is that there's more chance to mess up than if you're warmed up before , that's all... I also rub my hands against each other and blow some hot air from my mouth into them if it's a little cold cuz it's hard to play fast with cold hands.
