1234

Stretching? Lifting? Yay or Nay for runners? (Read 2772 times)


Feeling the growl again

    Further, it looked only at pre-workout stretching.

     

     

     

    Good catch.  The only pre-workout stretching I do is reaching for my coffee cup.  I do everything after when the muscles are warm, I've actually tweaked cold muscles by trying to stretch them.

    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

     

    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

     


    SMART Approach

       

      Define stretching? Active or static? Preceded by what? Before or after a run? What type of run?

       

      I think there is a consensus among competitive athletes that active stretching before as part of your warm up, and static stretching after as part of a cool down, are beneficial.

       

      I do and recommend dynamic/active stretches before activity and after and then static stretching after activity. It only takes 5 min of key glute/ham/ hip flexor/quad/low back/calf stretching.

      Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

      Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

      Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

      www.smartapproachtraining.com


      Prince of Fatness

         

        I do and recommend dynamic/active stretches before activity and after and then static stretching after activity. It only takes 5 min of key glute/ham/ hip flexor/quad/low back/calf stretching.

         

        This is what I am doing now.  I do some dynamic leg swings before running and then do about 10 - 15 minutes of static stretching after the run.  I am coming back from injury and think that this is helping me.

         

        As for the strengthening stuff, I was doing that while on the DL, but I am not at the moment.  I'll probably get back to it at some point.  Anything that I do will be like a 15 minute or so session, because anything longer than that I tend not to bother.

        Not at it at all. 

          I've been doing these exercises of late, and they feel like they're doing some good.  Of course, you never know with injury-prevention type exercises, because you don't really see much in the way of gain.  If they work, you just don't get hurt.  Or you do anyway. 

          "Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn.  Climb that goddamn mountain."

          Jack Kerouac


          SMART Approach

             

            This is what I am doing now.  I do some dynamic leg swings before running and then do about 10 - 15 minutes of static stretching after the run.  I am coming back from injury and think that this is helping me.

             

            As for the strengthening stuff, I was doing that while on the DL, but I am not at the moment.  I'll probably get back to it at some point.  Anything that I do will be like a 15 minute or so session, because anything longer than that I tend not to bother.

             

            I am huge fan of dynamic leg swings with straight leg and bent knee and also side leg swings. I also recommend and do something to get the glutes firing before running. This could be some bridges on floor with butt squeeze. Planks while extending leg up and squeezing butt etc. When running, you want the strong glutes firing to take some stress off hammys.  I also love one leg squats. This is a great core exercise.,Also good are weighted db squats against a swiss ball and wall and walking lunges with no or light weights. Using 50# db was not good for my upper hammys, too much stretch and load. I mix up landing foot position, add in small moves, and if more advanced you can do walking jump lunges to add a plyometric component. POTENT!  If you just do  a set or two of walking lunges post run, this can have benefits.  Just a few minutes post run can make a big difference.

            Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

            Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

            Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

            www.smartapproachtraining.com


            Prince of Fatness

               

              I am huge fan of dynamic leg swings with straight leg and bent knee and also side leg swings. I also recommend and do something to get the glutes firing before running. This could be some bridges on floor with butt squeeze. Planks while extending leg up and squeezing butt etc. When running, you want the strong glutes firing to take some stress off hammys.  I also love one leg squats. This is a great core exercise.,Also good are weighted db squats against a swiss ball and wall and walking lunges with no or light weights. Using 50# db was not good for my upper hammys, too much stretch and load. I mix up landing foot position, add in small moves, and if more advanced you can do walking jump lunges to add a plyometric component. POTENT!  If you just do  a set or two of walking lunges post run, this can have benefits.  Just a few minutes post run can make a big difference.

               

              A lot of these I was doing while injured and would like to get back to.  I have one of those exercise balls and do bridges, leg curls, etc.  I did my lunges a little differently.  I held a small weighted exercise ball (not heavy at all) over my head, stepped forward into a lunge, then did a set of 10 dips touching the back knee on the ground.  This seems to engage just about everything head to toe, and you really need to focus to maintain your balance.

              Not at it at all. 


              Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k

                wrt stretching - here is another opinion - http://philmaffetone.com/stretching.cfm

                 

                Personally, I prefer dynamic stretching, e.g. heel up/down on curbs, lunges, squats to static. Do the dynamic (when I remember... age is a terrible thing) as a light warm up before starting long warm up walk. Maybe the aerobic warm up that Dr Maffetone talks about could be considered a form of dynamic stretching.

                bob e v
                2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?

                Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full

                Break the 1000 mi barrier!

                History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.

                   

                  I do and recommend dynamic/active stretches before activity and after and then static stretching after activity. It only takes 5 min of key glute/ham/ hip flexor/quad/low back/calf stretching.

                   

                   

                  Wow, I never knew the difference between dynamic/active streches and static stretching.    Well, I still don't.

                  - Anya


                  SMART Approach

                    Static stretching is static, stretch and hold. Dynamic is range of motion activity that causes a stretch through activity that may (ormay not) simulate the movements  you will partake in.

                     

                    http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dynamicstretching.html

                    Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

                    Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

                    Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

                    www.smartapproachtraining.com


                    No Talent Drips

                      This is weight training related-- nothing to do with stretching:

                       

                      I've been doing embedded circuit training for a couple of months and feel like I'm getting some big returns out of it. Historically, I have done very little strength training, so this area of training likely represents some low-hanging fruit with respect to early returns.

                       

                      Here is the excerpt from Runner's World "Complete Book of Running":

                      http://books.google.com/books?id=_MkCm_YpVqUC&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&dq=embedded+circuit+training&source=bl&ots=2fGK7NPHBN&sig=VOSAAMwHF20EUVIKLC90N9Self8&hl=en&ei=dc8PTb2aHML38Aawu-zjDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=embedded%20circuit%20training&f=false

                       

                      The w/u and c/d on the treadmill have really become progressive runs for me...and I feel like I've tapped into some speed (turnover) that I'd not found before. I do this on Mondays and Fridays and count these as easy days. 

                       

                      Too soon to tell for sure, but I am optomistic that doing this through the cold Maine winter (in addition to the mile outside) will yield a strong result in Boston in April.

                       

                      Oh, and I stretch for about 2 minutes (calves & hammies, mostly) after the second set on the mill...

                       Dei Gratia

                       

                        So... as many times as you read something about how runner should stretch or lift, you find someone else telling you that it doesn't help or actively harms...

                         

                        Do runners here regular do stretching? If so what kinds?

                         

                        What about lifting? If you do it is it low weights, high reps, or high weights, low reps? Or somewhere in the middle?

                         

                        It's kinda like what Ennay asked; it really all depends.  Personally I don't think either lifting (or even core exercises) OR stretching are necessary to be a better runner.  For over-all general fitness, maybe.  You want to spend more time in the gym; try to impress girls at the club, maybe.  Want to feel like you're doing something while watching TV, sure.  If you REALLY want to be a better runner?  Get your a$$ out there and run.  I know a group of runners, personally, who never lifted, stretched, and set numerous world records, some of which are still very competitive today, and won some Olympic medals.  They never worried about spending extra time on the gym floor--they were running upward of 100 miles a week and they didn't have much time to muck about because they were working 40+ hours a week as well.

                         

                        I'm not saying stretching is bad; or lifting is a waste of time.  Like I said, they have their purposes.  But to be a better runner?  They would be, and probably should be, some of the last resorts.

                        drrbradford


                          I don't stretch nor do any circuits nor weights. I'm generally too busy running. It's worked out so far.

                            I don't stretch nor do any circuits nor weights. I'm generally too busy running. It's worked out so far.

                             at the ripe old age of 23, you can get away with this.  These two things grow in importance as a person ages.  After 50 ( I can say that now Joking), stretching is vitally important as well as strenght training due to the losses of flexibility and muscle with age.  I was greatly surprised at the difficulty I had hiking a trail in Vermont that just a four years earlier was rather easy.

                               at the ripe old age of 23, you can get away with this.  These two things grow in importance as a person ages.  After 50 ( I can say that now Joking), stretching is vitally important as well as strenght training due to the losses of flexibility and muscle with age.  I was greatly surprised at the difficulty I had hiking a trail in Vermont that just a four years earlier was rather easy.

                               

                              So I'm curious; you've found it's vitally important to stretch and strength-train after the age of 50 and so are you doing them now?  And, yet, you've found it difficult to hike over the Vermont trail?  Again, we're not talking about to be better at hiking; we're talking about RUNNING.

                               

                              I do understand what you mean.  I was just talking to a former (sadly) 2:11 marathon runner about why we get slow as we age.  My feeling is that the main contributing factors would be loss of range of motion and loss of power.  But my practical answer to that is NOT stretching more or lifting weights.  My practical answer to that would be running hills and cross countries.  My answer is to run better; not to be more flexible and strong.  The main contributing factors to my being slower is not lack of stretching or lifting weights; my lack of running slower is mainly because I don't train as much.  If there's any example of someone starting to run better after switching the training pattern from running more to running less and doing more stretching and weight training, I'd like to see that.  I don't believe there had been any extensive long-term study being done on this matter simply because most RUNNERS -- not a hobby jogger who does everything else -- are more interested in being a better runner.  But I would imagine most experienced RUNNERS would tell you that there's no real benefit to running better by doing more stretching and/or weights.  I actually tend to believe what Soh brothers had said about weight training -- they said that, when they turned 40 and they started doing weight training (when they were competing, by the way, and running 2:08s and 2:09s, they never lifted weights); they found that that didn't contribute to running faster/better at all.  However, they felt that it might have helped them recover better/faster.  To me, it's pretty much same as wearing Breathe Right.  It won't make you run faster.  But, and they have a clinical study to show as well, you'll be doing the same workload with slightly less HR by wearing it.  That means you may recover better and/or possibly you can maintain the same workload and intensity longer; but it most probably won't contribute to running faster.

                                Nobby, I don't think loss of flexibility or range of motion are the MAIN reasons we slow as we age.  But I'd liken them to diet: it's something that can be attended to and that does have an impact on running performance.

                                "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                                -- Dick LeBeau

                                1234