Stretching and Evening vs Morning Runs (Read 1088 times)

What is everyone's thoughts on stretching before a run... I have heard it's bad to stretch cold muscles so don't stretch prior to a run, but then I read from some RA posters that they DO stretch before... personal preference or??? And is it more beneficial to run in the am or the pm regarding energy, metabolism etc etc?? Or is this again just personal preference... as it stands right now I don't stretch prior to running and I run at night... NOT a morning person and at this point it's less humid and hot in the evening. Thanks

Never ever ever stretch cold muscles. Sure, some people get away with it, but it is a great way to injure yourself. I never stretch before I run, haven't since Coach made me in high school back in 1982, but for those who absolutely must: warm up first! Warm up first! Run at whatever time works best for you to ensure you get the run in. There are studies which seem to indicate that morning running is better (slightly) for your metabolism... but if you aren't a morning person and tend to hit the snooze, then it doesn't matter - run in the evening. I'm the opposite. If I wait until the evening, I tend to fill in my day with other stuff and don't run. But if I do it in the morning, it tends to get done.

It's been nearly three years since I gave up stretching and I've been much better off without it. Gone are the numerous minor muscle pulls that I used to experience when I was an avid stretcher and I have not experienced any loss of flexibility. Stretching is one of those old school routines that refuses to go away for the simple reason that it has been around for so long. Static stretching is increasingly being replaced with warm up drills to get muscles loose and up to operating temperature before they need to perform. I work with a high school football coach and he concurs. Stretching is no longer part of his team's pre-game activities. Instead they spend time doing calisthenics and other warm up drills. My warm up routine consists of a quarter mile of fast walking followed by a mile or so of easy running. Cool down is just the walking at an easy pace. I've run year round here in the midwest for the last seven years and even with all the cold weather running I have had zero muscle pulls. Give it a shot for a while and see if it works for you. Tom

I really hate stretching before morning runs, so how do I convince the army that what they are doing is really dumb? So when we have a nice 4 mile run at 5am in the dead of winter and its freezing, what do we do? Go outside and stretch for 15 minutes before running. I hate doing that, but somehow I don't think they are going to change their stretch policy any time soon... I can just feel my poor leg muscles tearing ha ha...

wow thanks so much for all the advice..... At this point we are walking fast for about 5 min before running so I guess that makes a good warm up.... maybe someday I'll move to am runs but I don't see it yet so it's good to know there isn't a difference...

What exactly are dynamic moves?? oh ok i see the link... lemme check that out.

Katie, I am in Green Bay, but like the link on dynamic moves from that Virginia site. Good luck!

I really hate stretching before morning runs, so how do I convince the army that what they are doing is really dumb? So when we have a nice 4 mile run at 5am in the dead of winter and its freezing, what do we do? Go outside and stretch for 15 minutes before running. I hate doing that, but somehow I don't think they are going to change their stretch policy any time soon... I can just feel my poor leg muscles tearing ha ha...

I've been trying with our army for years. Not really getting much of anywhere with the training system, and I don't expect it to change, but I do have a few people doing dynamic stretching instead. Luckily, I've got a Physical Therapist Officer who's a CISM runner and soccer player campaigning nationally to help.