Monday, November 3, 2008

Bad Stretching

I'm sure most of us have seen similar articles before (link is in the title), but it's good to hear more about how damaging pure static stretching before a run can be for your body. I've been doing a simple dynamic rope-stretching routine before runs for about 2 years now--takes about 10min--and I definitely can feel the difference in my legs. Anyhow, if anyone has more good info on dynamic stretches for runners, I think that'd be a good addition to the blog (unless it's already here somewhere and I'm just blind).

In other news, I've been incognito the past couple weeks due to injury, plague, and work , but I'm def coming to the run (or walk, for our favorite purveyor of the double entendre) in Fed Hill tonight.

5 comments:

RM said...

I feel like Dr. J may have some good info on this, as she probably did/does a lot with her team and also is really flexible.

Not that I stare at her when she practices her flexibility, but sometimes it catches my eye.

I can't help it.

I am man.

a said...

I just started hearing about dynamic and resistance training this year but a couple of people have told me really good things about it in terms of flexibility and injury prevention. Apparently it's also less painful than the old fashioned "pull on it till you can't stand the pain" methods of stretching.

Apparently there are some good books on the subject. I don't know the titles offhand but I can inquire if anyone is interested.

a

Ben said...

sounds interesting. what's amazing to me is that this is currently the "most popular" story on the NYT site. It's not like today is exactly a slow news day.

scotty doesn't know said...

so you know i gotta represent for the PT field for a moment...

whereas i do love a more "dynamic" warmup - less all of us runner/cyclist types to ignore the good ol' static stretchin POST exercise

we see way too many athletes with hamstring/glute/hip flexor/calf-shin/achilles issues that have to be solved through painful massage techniques (ask ryan, he'll tell you) ...that could of been prevented with a few minutes worth of simple stretchin after working out

i'm definitely in line with article in terms of what to do pre-race & hard workout ... functional movements = GOOD movements, especially going into the cold months ahead

a said...

Scotty knows best.