Do you stretch?

Do you stretch when you run?

  • Yes, before

    Votes: 1 4.8%
  • Yes, after

    Votes: 6 28.6%
  • Yes, before and after

    Votes: 1 4.8%
  • No

    Votes: 13 61.9%

  • Total voters
    21

Amigo

Barefooters
Dec 6, 2013
12
9
3
So, relatively new back on the running scene after a couple of years break due to injury (shin splints). I have been stretching my calves (heel drops) quads & hamstrings before (briefly) and after (for longer) my runs to try and help in the recovery/prevention of the shin splints.

I have always tried to stretch in the past, but I have just discovered a video on youtube by a guy called SocDoc who advises against stretching.
http://sock-doc.com/2011/03/shin-splints-video/

So my main query is do you stretch, and if so what stretches do you do and why?
Thanks!

P.S. Also if anyone can recommend a barefoot instructor/someone to give me advice & see me run in the Berkshire-ish area of the UK, please let me know! Thanks :)
 
I don't follow Dr Soc but I've stretched and not stretched off an on over 20+ years and I can't honestly see any difference one way or the other. If you feel like stretching do it...if you don't feel like stretching don't do it.

What I do recommend is to start your run with a walk to warm up your muscles and a cool down walk after running...just try that and don't worry about the stretching.
 
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Yes, but I think massaging and rolling are probably more important for running maintenance, especially for the lower legs. Also, I tend to need to stretch more when I go on longer runs. Still, I value stretching in general for staying limber. When my hammies are loose, so is the rest of me.

In general, it seems there's very little settled opinion in the fitness/health/nutrition industries, so go with what works for you, as Mokaman recommends. The SocDoc is probably just trying to establish a strong brand with his churlish name-calling.

If you do stretch, you might try dynamic stretching, something like leg swings, or donkey kicks, iron crosses, etc., with or without ankle weights. I like those a lot.

Also, box jumps and squats might count as dynamic stretching I think.
 
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Yes, but I think massaging and rolling are probably more important for running maintenance, especially for the lower legs. Also, I tend to need to stretch more when I go on longer runs. Still, I value stretching in general for staying limber. When my hammies are loose, so is the rest of me.

Massaging and rolling are probably more important for running maintenance...Yup this is what I do...much more benefit than than stretching for me...this is my bread and butter for post runnning.
 
More along the line of DNEchris, my stretching comes naturally, as yawning, and in the mornings. I do that full body extension when still in bed before I step out, feels awesome. I never was a stretcher, even when I played sports in High School, I just went through the motions. I never stretch, at all. I can literally roll out of bed and start exercising or running without warming up or stretching and have no issues.
 
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I don't stretch. I used to when playing basketball, but only for the same reason I wore air max: it was comme il faut, and I hadn't the guts to realize that it really didn't go me any good.
 
Massaging and rolling are probably more important for running maintenance...Yup this is what I do...much more benefit than than stretching for me...this is my bread and butter for post runnning.
And now I do it post-lifting too. I've had this soreness in my left shoulder for many years now, it comes and goes, but it finally occurred to me that a little massage around the shoulder joint and nearby muscles might help release some knots/trigger points. And sure enough, it does! Doh! I thought it was just getting old, although that's probably part of it too. I feel pretty dumb, cuz I went through the exact same process with my top-of-the-foot-pain. I thought it was tendons or bones in my feet, when in fact it was just tight shin and calf muscles.

Outside of running maintenance, I'm actually stretching more these days. I'm an old dad and feel a little stiff getting down on and up off the floor while playing with the kids, so I'm starting to work through a Bikram Yoga book. I loves to be limber.

Hmnn, another stretching thread, can one on cadence be far behind?
 
my wallet gets stretched everyday.
 
I cannot say whether it is right or not, but having grown up with artistic gymnastics stretching is part of my upbringing, I do not believe it makes me a better runner though.
Daily stretching do keep me agile and flexible though, a feeling and ability I quite value I might add :)
So yes I stretch, but it is not really a running thing for me.
 
I'm too lazy to stretch before or after a run. The closest I ever come is jumping up and down impatiently while I wait for my watch to find the satellites.

On the other hand, I have a nasty lower back complaint that seems to benefit from some pilates-style exercises that I don't do often enough.
 
I stretch sometimes after, but not always. And yes, I too do lots of yoga. Ideally, I try to time my runs to end right when a full on class is starting, but that doesn't happen much. Do I think it's vital to running? Probably not, but I do like being more limber. Stretching feels good. Just like running. Maybe they're parts of a larger 'healthiness ethic'?
 
I'll go ahead and toss in my thoughts.

I am a firm believer in stretching muscles that are warmed up. If I try to stretch at home, or anywhere, without having just been running or doing something else active, it just hurts more than I actually feel a good stretch. So my easy answer to this question is that, yes, I like to stretch right when I get done running. I have noticed myself to be considerably less flexible than others my age all my life, I could never touch my toes growing up and my hips have always been really tight as well.

Lately I have come up with a bit of a new theory concerning stretching. Obviously we don't really see other creatures practicing static stretching, yet they always seem to be quite limber enough to do their normal animal things. These "normal animal things" that I am referring to are laying down on the ground, sitting on the ground, and running/walking (barefoot obviously).

Quite simply I am starting to believe that our habit concerning simply sitting down (which for many of us is more of the time than standing up/running/walking ie work or school) is the most important determinant of the flexibility/mobility/limberness of our bodies. We are often sitting down for very extended periods of time, so, naturally, our bodies adjust to the types of conditions they are put in. The typical sitting position in a chair just seems extremely unnatural the more I think about it, it seems to shorten the hamstrings and not allow for much mobility in the hips.

I say these things having actually given sitting on the ground a try for the past week or so. Most of us sat "indian" or "pretzel" style on the floor when we were in elementary school. I don't think that we should have strayed from this habit even as we left the childhood classrooms. I have been trying out this kind of sitting on the ground, along with others (like my legs out in front of me) for about a week or so. Sometimes I do it for hours at a time.

And I will tell you, my legs and hips feel pretty crazy after I do this. It's not a bad feeling or anything, my legs just almost feel like they are in shock from not having been put in those types of positions for so long. A lot of posterior leg muscles and hip muscles feel extremely tender and "awakened," almost. My hips also just feel a lot more mobile and less tight.

Like I said, I haven't been continuously doing this for very long, so I am going to try and continue with it for an extended period of time and see how my body reacts to it.
 
Hello,
Thank you everyone for your replies! It is interesting to see what everyone does. I don't think I will worry about stretching before anymore, but will continue a little after.
Bryan, what stretches did you do for your shin splints? Unfortunately, despite taking running very slowly they are coming back :( so I may have to find a barefoot friendly physio/trainer in my area as I am determined to beat them!

Thanks again
 
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order "trigger point self therapy manuel 2nd ed" by Clare Davies. if that doesn't help then seek a professional.
 
Bryan, what stretches did you do for your shin splints? Unfortunately, despite taking running very slowly they are coming back :(

Do you run with any type of shoes on? What surface(s) do you mainly run on? These questions are directed at Amigo.
 
Bryan, what stretches did you do for your shin splints?

I had a can of coke and rolled it underneath my arches, pushing down. It stretches out the tendons or tissues or muscles or whatever is down there in my arches. I did this while I was at work all day.

I might have also done the regular calf-stretches when I was outside about to run.

Just to clarify. My shin splints didn't completely disappear, they just got a lot better. So now I can run about 1-2 miles any day I want. After my runs they hurt a little more. After I sleep they heal up again and feel better. I think if I stopped running for a couple of weeks the shin splints might go away completely, but I don't want to stop running for that long. So what I do is limit my running to 1-2 miles per day.