Stretching?

[Joshh]

Hello all. Was wondering if the more knowledgeable in the community could weigh in on stretching and BF'ing.

I have heard you aren't supposed to stretch before running so I wasn't too sure. Today I had a long stretch of my IT band before a run (which went great) and in highschool in the late 80's we sure stretched a lot.

I ran with rswhitaker (he took the shot of me BF in front of NIKE) who has 6 years running BF under his belt and he said that he never stretches and has never been injured. He is a strong runner so I was all ears but I'd be interested in what others with experience have to say about stretching before BF'ing.

 

[Fito]

Joshh,Stretching cold

Joshh,

Stretching cold muscles can cause you more problems than it's worth. The most important thing before starting any exercise is to warm up the muscles you will be using, usually by doing that exercise, but at a much reduced pace. So for running, a slow jog or even a brisk walk for around 5 minutes should be enough. If you really feel like you then need to stretch, you do what is called 'range of motion' stretches, which is holding a stretch for no more than five seconds. Save your longer stretches for the warm down - then you can fill your boots.

I've found that when I was running shod, I would stretch to relieve tightness and tension and to reduce pain, but since running naked I'm still stretching as much, but have found that it is mainly for flexibility rather than trying to avoid injury.

I'm no expert, but take things easy and if it works for you, then do it and try to work out why afterwards.

 

[JosephTree]

I concur with Fito: I only

I concur with Fito: I only stretch my calves and achilles prior to running, and give my ankles a little rotation.

I have noticed, especially in the cold weather, that it takes me 2 or 3 miles before I'm properly warmed up, loose and comfortable with stepping up my pace.

 

[Abide]

I like stretch whenever as

I like stretch whenever as much as I can, sometimes I will before a run, sometimes after and once in a while I will do it in the middle of the run. I like variabilty.

 

[paraganek]

I don't do any stretching, I

I don't do any stretching, I only roll my calves/soleus on my water bottle for a minute before each run.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I concur with Fito

I concur with Fito too. Since I am still dealing with tight calves after the antibiotic episode, I will even stop to stretch my calves during my runs now and again. Like Fito said, just make sure you warm the calves up by walking or running at a slow pace for about 5 minutes.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

 for any study saying yes you

for any study saying yes you can find ten saying no on both sides of this argument. bottom line is that you should do what feels good for you and your body when stretching is concerned. the things said so far are not false, but they aren't proven to be true either. i've got multiple certifications on stretching as well as muscle activation training and it seems no one really knows what is best.

so i ask this. do you feel better doing some stretching before a run? if so then do it. don't do it deep or long and you run little to no risk of causing injuries. if it doesnt help or feel good then don't do it and wait till your done when you can go deeper on and longer on your stretches.

stretching a cold muscle doesn't hurt it but the muscle is less likely to really respond. think of a rubber band. under normal conditions, when stretched it will bounce right back. freeze the band and it will tear; heat it and it stretches out and stays. your muscles are similar to the rubber band in it's responses to being stretched. it may just go back to normal after a stretch pre warm up but a light stretch can also help facilitate the warm up by causing blood to flush into the muscle.

all in all it's up to you...in my opinion

 

[Joshh]

Thanks all of you for

Thanks all of you for weighing in on that question. I've never felt that I really needed to stretch before but after definitely yes. Interesting to hear that there is no definite yes or no on this one.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

If anyone is dealing with

If anyone is dealing with tight calves and/or plantar fasciitis, it's very important to do a warm up before you start running whether that involves walking for 5 minutes at a brisk pace or running really slow for a few minutes. In fact, it's important to stretch more often throughout your day than what a "healthy" runner would do.

 

[Fito]

After writing my last

After writing my last comment, I was seriously thinking about this stretching caper on the weekend whilst rereading Born to Run. Part of the whole BF culture, as far as I can see it, is to look at current trends and weigh them up against the evidence that supports them and then against history. I coudn't help but think about the hunter on the Serengati (sorry about the spelling) getting up in the morning, having thier prehistoric coffee, wacking on thier skeetchers, stretching for half an hour, packing some goo and a protien bar or two then heading off for the hunt!!!

Here's what I think they did and what we should be trying to emulate in our modern world. They would have woken up, had a coffee (probably!!) then headed off at a walk to locate the herd. Then they would have broken into a run and hunted their hearts out. After the poor meal had dropped dead, they would then butcher the carcass and carry it (walk) back to camp. This, according to our manifesto, is what our body was designed to do.

21st century translation - before heading out for a run, have a short walk. After the run, have a longer warm down - again a walk and if you feel the need (as I do) stretch. But with all things, try it out for yourself - if it works, make it yours.

 

[Dirtbag]

Hadn't thought about the

Hadn't thought about the stretching argument in terms of prehistoric hunters before. Something to think about. You don't think our hunter ancestors wore Resistance Runners? Crazy talk!

I don't stretch before a run and only my calves at a stop light during unless I'm feeling really tight. But I spend five or ten minutes stretching afterwards. Sometimes its my favorite part of the workout.

 

[Joshh]

Fito, your post really had me

Fito, your post really had me thinking today. I went on a run with fellow forum BF'er Migangelo and we talked about the sense that made. He was saying too that in Mcdougall's book that hunters sort of tag-teamed animals they chased. So basically, there would have been plenty of walking before any sort of hard running. Hmmm... very interesting.

Hey Doug, what's a Resistance Runner?

 

[Fito]

Joshh,It's funny where your

Joshh,

It's funny where your mind goes when you run. Yesterday I was still thinking along the same lines about one part of the hunter/warm up thing that still stumped me - why do we need to stretch ( and, yes, most of us do) and warm down? I couldn't see the original Hunter Mike standing next to the Kudu (mighty fine roasted, with a side order of chips) doing his stretches and then it hit me. He didn't need to stretch as he didn't actually stop. When we run, we run for a short time and then after the run, hit the showers and then flop. No wonder our muscles get tight. It's not the running, but the slothing afterwards.

This is probably why guys like Cliff Young (the old farmer Sydney to Melbourne ultra champ in the early 80's) could just keep going - he was out all day on the farm, walking, jogging, running etc. He didn't stop, so didn't need to warm down.

On a side note, he was also famous for doing all his running, except for the road racing, wearing gum boots - early minimalist foot wear?

This is just my thoughts and opinions, mind. Please feel free to shot me down - I won't get offended.

 

[Joshh]

Once again I think you are

Once again I think you are "right on the money" (like we say in America). Not so sure about the gum boots though or how they might be called minimalist? Maximalist is more the word that comes to mind.:bigsmile:

 

[migangelo]

i still do my stretching

i still do my stretching after my run/workouts. i just start, or try to start slowly then speed up as i get warm. i do pretty good with it. sitting here now a few hours after my run my ankles get stiff until i get moving.



mike

 

[Jimmy Hart]

The big difference for me is

The big difference for me is that our ancestors didn't know any better. sure they may not have stretched at all or done anything that looks like what we do today but that's because they didn't have the science we have now. i agree with all that you've said but i say why do what barely worked back then when we can do so much more today?

it is very true that our daily lives are 100 times less active than our ancestors and that plays a huge role in things like needing to stretch. shoot we are probably half as active as we were 50 years ago. this is part of why our world is suddenly obese. no one is moving around more than they absolutely have to.

running today is not a way of life but something we do for joy and or for exercise to make up for our lives lost levels of activity. the science is there for us to benefit and get the most out of it that we can. there is nothing wrong with carbo gel packs, moisture wicking clothes, or warm up and stretching techiniques if they can help you get more out of what you are doing.

I'm all for harkening back to the early days of development for inspiration but trying to say it should be able to replace the knowledge of today is say that we should try and get rid of centuries of enlightenment. I say remember the past but take advantage of the today.

 

[Joshh]

I definitely agree Jimmy. 

I definitely agree Jimmy. For me the challenge comes down to striving for balance between the two. As much fun as it might be to go down either road to the exclusion of the other, I suspect the healthiest for body and mind is somewhere in the middle. I think the middle is where we naturally end up when we really think about it and keep things in perspective like you did by bringing up ancient and current activity levels.

 

[ajb422]

 I'm not completely convinced

I'm not completely convinced saying our ancestors didn't stretch is correct. Sure you'd be hard pressed find them in yoga poses but I bet they did do some stretching unconsciously. Look at any teenager who isn't in a rush to wake up in the morning. You'll see them stretching as they are trying to wake up. I find myself doing this whenever I don't have an alarm set.

Then add in the fact that they didn't have chairs like we do today everywhere. When you sit on the ground there is a tendency to stretch out different muscles. Crosslegged you can feel the backs of the upper legs. If you have your legs in front of you you can feel the whole backs stretch out. Then think about how'd you sit around a campfire and cook or around a carcus to slaughter it. Probably there would be some squatting down that would stretch out the inner legs. With no tables around I'm sure they bent down to pick things up off the ground far more often than we do now and all those little stretches would add up.

Basically the same argument as our way of life is different, except that our way of life also includes way less stretching built into the every day activities.

 

[Fito]

Guys,My whole point, which

Guys,

My whole point, which I've obviously totally failed to bring across, is that our body has evolved in a certain way because of what we did. Today's science is spot on and I'm not trying to go against it. I stretch - constantly!!

What I was trying to think through was why I need to stretch - not scientifically, I know the science and understand the physical concepts - but rather why I need to go through a routine of stretching that running man did not have to do? Sure, he didn't know he had to do them (no science) but I believe that he didn't need to do them - otherwise, he wouldn't have survived and we wouldn't be here.

Stretching was part of his existence - lounging is part of ours.

 

[Joshh]

Fito, I get it.  I don't

Fito, I get it. I don't think you have failed to make your point. In summary we either need to stretch and/or vary our movements throughout the day. There's no question as to the fact that what you don't use, you lose. By essentially "losing" entire muscle groups through our modern, sedentary habits we are setting ourselves up for injury - unless we consciously vary our movements (cross train for example) or stretch.