To stretch or not to stretch? (Read 1276 times)

Well for me, stretching is very important. Though I have only been running for about 2 months now, I have been playing sports (soccer, hocket, etc) my whole life and I have always found stretching to be very beneficial. Not only has it helped me prevent injury, but it's helped my body wake up and get ready for what is coming. It allows me to not feel so cramped up during the activity as well. I have, however, heard exactly what you posted about some people just not stretching, and finding it better. I can't see that, but I doubt these people are lying. I guess you just need to see how your body reacts to either case. I will tell you this though -- for me, it is much more important to get a good stretch afterwards, more than before. I usually do both, but I take more care and time afterwards, just to make sure. Sorry I couldn't be more help, but finding an exact answer to this is very difficult from what i've experienced.

I do little to no stretching. I know when I need to do it, because I can feel it. But I don't specifically stretch before or after a run.

The best advice I've heard, and what seems to work and feel the best for me, is don't stretch cold muscles. A brief warm up and then stretch before your run and/or a post-run cool down followed by some stretching seems to work well. Personally, I do a short warm up, run, then cool down and stretch. I'll hold each stretch for about 12-15 seconds and typically move through a series of stretches twice. It takes about 5-10 minutes. Also, when I was taking yoga classes once a week, I had a dramatic increase in flexibility and eliminated most post-run stretching altogether...just a worm up and cool down. I miss yoga...it was a great workout.

oh yea, yoga is fantastic! I take a class on it at the gym. it's good for the body, mind and spirit!

One of the more recent threads on the topic. Some interesting stuff. The consensus is pretty clear: not many of us stretch very much. And few if any experienced runners stretch cold or before a run: http://runningahead.com/forums/post/88c58b660c824cc2a70cb2cc03a755ce#focus

Flexibility is one of the 5 key components of fitness. If you skip it, you are missing out!

Hmmm... do I know you? Resistance Cardio Flexibility Rest Nutrition

When I started running - I followed the "advice" to stretch before running. After a couple of months - my left hamstring was always really sore. I stopped stretching and it "magically" got better.

Not stretching at all is better than stretching cold before a run.

I don't know if you know me. The main 5 components of fitness are: Muscular Strength Muscular Endurance Cardiovascular Strength Flexibility Body Composition I believe nutrition and rest should be added. Good job, Drew.

It was sort of in jest. (I saw you live in a state I've never visited, so I figured that's probably a "no") I work out at a facility that uses the 5 Keys Fitness model, which are those I described. It's a pretty nice and involved Transitional Fitness model, which has been very effective for me.