Stretching Tips and Basics

You need to stretch, you need to stretch, don't forget to stretch! It seems that we hear this all the time, but do we really listen and do it? I just saw a video where stretching is compared to the dentist and flossing. The dentist tells you to do it, you know you need to do it, but most of the time you don't do it. Until you get cavities and say... I should have flossed!

Why do we need to stretch? It is very simple. If our muscles are tight our movements are going to be straining our muscles every time we push them to their limits. This can lead to an injury. And after a muscle is injured it takes a long time for the tissue to heal. So we don't want to get to that point and say... I should have stretched!

Now, how do we stretch? While there are many types of stretching (active, static, yoga, etc.), I have found that there are some basic principles that can give you a start to a healthy stretch:

• Always warm up your body first: jumping jacks, 4-5 minutes jog, cycling, etc.
• Take your muscle to the point where you can feel it and hold it. If it is painful you are taking it too far.
• You can hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds and take the stretch a little further for another 10-15 seconds. You can also hold it for 10-30 seconds, release the muscle and contract it; and immediately repeat the stretch for another 10-30 seconds taking it a little further. This will help to gain flexibility.
• There are many stretches, try different ones along your training. But always try to incorporate stretches for all the muscle groups: toes, ankles, calves and shins, hamstring and quadriceps, gluts, abs, chest and back, shoulders, neck...
• Listen to your body and pay attention to the tight areas, give these areas priority and more quality time
• If you are running short in time: warm up, stretch your tight muscles, go for your run and at the end stretch all your body paying attention again to your tight spots.
• Make time for stretching. It is like investing for your run... you will feel better, will breathe better, will move your legs better and with longer strides. All these will improve your pace and endurance.
• If you start feeling pain: stretch, massage and put cold/hot compresses in the area. Also give your body some rest from high impact activities and try to cross train with low impact activities like cycling, swimming, yoga, pilates, etc.

For stretching exercises you can go to Runner's World or Google and search for stretching. There is ton of information and videos out there. Try as many as you like and find what works for you. Remember to pay attention to tight muscles. Here are some links I found that can get you started:

Runner's World: Stretching
Runner's World: Flexibility Training
Run the Planet: Stretching for Runners
Running Advice and News: Coach Joe English: Stretching Routine for Runners

Our Stretching and Injury Prevention Clinic will be on September 12th during our practice. Please, plan to attend this day as Dr. Ivette Nadeau from Total Chiropractic Care will talk about these and will be available for answering questions. She is Alejandro's chiropractor for 3 years now and has volunteered at Fort Bend Fit as well.

I hope this can get you started. Blessings to all and a peaceful run!