| Stretching: Should I? |
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I know what you are thinking: "Not another article on stretching! I thought this column was about swimming, biking and running!" Well, it is. However, in my opinion, adequate flexibility acquired through diligent and proper stretching is critically important to success if you are a multisport athlete, and, this column IS about how to have more success in multisport, isn’t it? If you were to ask the average runner or multi-sport athlete if they feel stretching is a valuable and worthwhile part of their overall training program, most would probably answer, "Yea, I guess so." However, it has been my experience while observing and training with many athletes, that many do not stretch, and even more importantly, many, even if they do stretch, approach it incorrectly. After all, stretching just doesn’t provide the immediate gratification of a hard interval session or tempo workout. Similarly, there are many athletes that feel the jury is still out on whether or not stretching is worth doing at all anyway. Well, stretching certainly won’t, by itself, make you into a world-beater out on the racecourse, allowing you to miraculously start beating your training buddies and setting new personal records. And it may be another in a long line of things you should do but really don’t have time for. But… in my opinion and in the opinion of many highly regarded experts in the exercise science community, committing to a properly executed dynamic mobility/flexibility program prior to activity and a static-based stretching program following activity, is absolutely essential if you are to stay injury free and reach your full potential as an athlete. The key with a flexibility program, as it is with many things, is that it needs to be done properly and consistently. How to Stretch Prior to a Training Session: Whether you believe it or not, the fact remains that what you do (i.e. how you warm up and prepare) before a specific training session plays an important role in how effective the session will ultimately be. Typically, runners and other athletes can be found performing routine static based (non-moving) stretches prior to beginning an activity, but it is important to remember when planning a stretching program, what the actual purpose of pre-activity stretching should be. Static based stretching (while effectively utilized at the end of your workout to elongate muscles and connective tissue and return them to their resting pre-workout length), does little to elevate your core body temperature and is not the best way to prepare your body to move efficiently and quickly in activities such as running, swimming, and other sports requiring rapid and vigorous muscle movements. The bottom line is that placing static stretches at the beginning of your workout does nothing to prepare your body for the dynamic and rapid movements that will follow. Additionally and perhaps more importantly, doing vigorous static stretching before training can potentially put you at a much greater risk for injury as well.
Prior to your workout or activity, the best types of "stretching" you can do are functional in nature and which mimic the sport specific movements you will do, allowing a gradual increase in core body temperature as you go from a resting to a high energy state. Use your imagination when designing these exercises. Often, actually performing the specific movement at a very low rate of speed and intensity is the best practice. Many times a typical stretching position can be used, but some form of movement precedes it. An example is the typical runner’s calf/achilles stretch where you lean into a wall with your rear leg extended and heel on the ground. The obvious disadvantage to this stretch is it does not raise core body temperature, and rarely during running are you pushing with both hands into a fixed immovable object while standing still! To make this more dynamic, simply walk on your toes for a length of 10 yards or so. To incorporate the shin into the movement and gradually warm and loosen the achilles/heel area, walk on your heels. Next, combine the two movements is a heel-to-toe walk. This can be done with a walking gait at first, before breaking into a skipping movement, then a very slow jog. For the upper body, using various arm circles, hip twists, and fly-type movements into your pre-exercise warm up can be an effective way to incorporate beginning dynamic flexibility exercises into your training program. Again, the most important consideration is to always think about the activity you are about to perform, and design and incorporate whole body movements that mimic that specific activity into your warm up, utilizing a lower overall intensity and speed. These movements will do a much better job of preparing your body for higher intensity activity, and you will be much less likely to suffer an injury as a result. If you would like more ideas on specific mobility exercises to perform for your sport, contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I’ll respond a.s.a.p!
How to Stretch Following a Training Session: The time to perform static-based stretching exercises is after your workout is completed, as part of your cool-down. This is the time to bring your body back to a state of rest and recovery, allowing you to focus on relaxing and lengthening the muscles you have put under stress during your workout. There are many forms of static based stretching, but in my opinion, one of the best is a type called: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, known more commonly as "PNF". PNF is a technique of stretching where you alternately stretch, contract, and then relax your muscles. Theoretically, you can achieve a greater range of motion with this technique because of the behavioral properties of two of the body’s proprioceptors, namely the "Golgi tendon organs" and the "muscle spindles." Without going into the physiological details here, suffice to say that these proprioceptors act to protect your muscles and connective tissue from stretching beyond their capacity. By utilizing some specific techniques, you can "trick" these protectors into believing everything is O.K., allowing you to reach newer, higher levels of flexibility. Finally, to optimally perform PNF stretching, a rope and/or towel should be used to assist you in the contraction portion of the stretch. This makes the movements and stretching much more effective.
Here is how to make this "contract-relax" method work for you: Begin by relaxing your target muscle and moving it into a stretched position. Let’s use the hamstring muscle as an example. Lying on your back, lift up one leg by grasping each end of a towel or rope wrapped around your heel, and stretch gently by pulling back on the rope/towel for about 10-15 seconds. Do not go to the point where you are in pain! After the initial passive stretch, you immediately contract the muscle isometrically (without movement) for another 10-15 seconds. For the hamstring, you simply press your heel into the towel or rope as you try to lower your leg, resisting this movement. After a short relaxation, bring the target muscle (in this case, the hamstring) into another even deeper yet gentle passive stretch by raising your leg and grasping both ends of the towel as it is wrapped around your heel, and hold again for 10-15 seconds. Relax for 20 seconds or so and repeat this sequence.
Time and space prevents me from going into great detail about stretches for each part of the body. Obviously, entire books have been written on this subject. If you would like more information about these techniques or about specific PNF stretches for different parts of the body, feel free to contact me at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I’ll respond as soon as possible.
Some final points about post-workout PNF stretching:
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