when to stretch??? (Read 1683 times)

Non stretcher here too. Since I quit, all my little nagging pains and injuries have disappeared. I was just causing more stress to muscles that were trying to heal on their own. Just my experience.... Tim

I'd say that it's between stretching and whether or not it's good to take days off from running as the 2 most controversial topics I've seen on running forums. These are the two I've seen discussed over and over, with strong opinions on both sides. This leads me to believe that it works for some and not for others. The lessen here is to learn what works for you and what doesn't rather than baseing your decisions on what everyone else does. As for me, I don't stretch much and never have, which is not to say that I never do it at all. I might spend 2-3 minutes max at the end of some runs doing some very light stretching, but not before a run and never what would you would call a stretching routine that takes several minutes.

I do some light stretching every day. Some people don't seem to be able to manage without 20 minutes of it and are horrified by the thought of not stretching. Others don't stretch and aren't any worse for it. Different strokes for different folks. I train in racing flats, some people don't seem to be able to run without heavy motion control shoes. Everyone is different. Do what works best for you.

I stretch just about everyday. As for preparing for my runs. I warm up first and then spend 10 minutes stretching and then after running and cool down, i rerpeat the stretching. I may also stretch again at home while camped in front of the TV with my coach potatoe wife. I've stuck to this routine all year and it's the first year I haven't been plaqued by injuries. Although, I will say that now that I'm doing a lot of threadmill workouts (I hate the cold) I have ben skipping the streching at the begining of my workout.

I always stretch hamstrings, calves, quads and hips only after running...takes about 10 minutes. I do always seem to be a little stiff and sore no matter what though so I have decided to try an experiment and stop stretching for a few weeks to see if I have less overall soreness/stiffness from running. If I live....I will post my results.

Me, too. And I've been having some sensations that might be stretching related. I'm going to try without for a while. Although I still probably need to stretch my back.

I strethch and use my foam roller AFTER. I feel weird if I don't. I don't strech a lot, just a few stretches and a couple rolls on the old foamy. If I don't my hips feel like they've fallen asleep. Weird.