Runners don't need to stretch

[Paul in Hobart]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/health/nutrition/13Best.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

As an ageing someone whose connective tissue is supposedly turning from elastic to fibrous I'm inclined to agree with this article.

IMO stretching dynamically with weights (or maybe bands - I have no experience with these) is the way to go for the majority.

Nothing wrong with warming up . I've said it before though , stretching as such has done very little to benefit my athletic abilities at any age. I find it perennially amusing that the process is extolled in all the popular magazine articles on "fitness". So many experts...

Let's face it , kbs work because they combine a stretch with a strengthen.

Kbs used "beyond the range" e.g. whilst standing on blocks - will give additional stretch for those few athletes who need it.

Watching fun runners go through the stereotypical stretches before a race always makes me :) . And they are always complaining about their sore muscles :( How miserable :cry:

[mickh]

An old debate resurfacing again; stretching also being such a broad term. This has been of interest to me as I have noticed my flexibility is not quite up to scratch for my some of my chosen sports (MMA and BJJ). After reading , Pavel's Relax into Stretch, I agree with what he says.

In summary he states:

- Western style stretching attempts to elongate muscle tissue which is bad, whereas getting your CNS to let your muscles relax into a longer stretch is the way to go (PNF and other methods).

- You only really need flexibility slightly more than your sport dictates, any more can comprise performance or invite injury.

- Stretch with consideration to age and gender requirements.

- When building a greater range of motion, you need to gain strength throughout this range of motion.

- Avoid stretches that stretch the ligaments, i.e. hurdlers stretch.

Before any activity I basically do some simple joint mobility to loosen up and lube the joints and then get my muscles warm by skipping, jump rope and some basic sports specific movements. After the activity I basically do some lighter sports specific movements and some light static stretches. By doing this I find I am less sore the next day (something about muscle tissue staying slightly contracted after a workout).

So far so good. I'll have to see how I go once I'm Pauls Age. :D

[Paul in Hobart]

I agree with pavel's stuff , straight out of the eastern bloc - old information stubbornly secreted away by coaches of performance ( as opposed to recreational ) sports.

in regard to a previous article post of mine :

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/s ... transcript (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007/1976798.htm#transcript)

Norman Swan: Now there's also a reason why people do stretching, endless stretching on the bars and against walls and things like that. They also do that to prevent leg muscle soreness and my understanding is that it doesn't work.
Rob Herbert: That's right. A couple of years ago we did a fairly exhaustive look at the literature on this and all of the studies that have been done looking at the effects of stretching on soreness show very conclusively that the stretching doesn't reduce soreness, it has no effect whatsoever.

Norman Swan: And stretching and injury?
Rob Herbert: There have been two large randomised studies done on this and I was involved in those, they were done by Rod Pope now at Charles Sturt University and they seem to indicate that there's no effect of stretching on injury risk. Those studies were done on army recruits and some people think that we need to replicate those studies on community populations. But the best evidence we have at the moment from studies on army recruits says there's no effect.

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My question is , why does so much BS persist in the common media , against all the current evidence? Invariably the writers are health & fitness experts with numerous diplomas and certificates...

Why don't knowledgeable & influential people within the industry speak out? Because I suspect you can make money out of teaching people to stretch.
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Mick - when you're my age it'll only be another 1/4 century til you're 70. Scary thought eh? Train smart :wink:

[Emily]

I was watching the 'Magnificent Mobility' DVD the other day. It's really good - straightforward dynamic stretches and mobility work that should replace static stretches in a warm up. The guys on it said that static stretching before any sort of athletic activity has been shown to impair athletic performance. So, not only is static stretching useless, it can be detrimental.

That's my two cents!

[kiwibelinda]

what do you call it when you feel pain coming from your heel or ankle when your feet first hit the floor bare feet ?

eg when getting out of bed in the morning
when standing up from a chair after sitting down

if I got shoes on , pain not so bad
if I got no shoes on , PAIN

I fix it by raising on both feet and dropping my weight on one foot

fixes pain after 3 days but back again if I jog, jump squat, burpees etc

[jd]

what do you call it when you feel pain coming from your heel or ankle when your feet first hit the floor bare feet ?

eg when getting out of bed in the morning
when standing up from a chair after sitting down

if I got shoes on , pain not so bad
if I got no shoes on , PAIN

I fix it by raising on both feet and dropping my weight on one foot

fixes pain after 3 days but back again if I jog, jump squat, burpees etc

severs disease

and Paul, knowledgable and influential people are speaking out regarding the efficacy of stretching. People like Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, Scott Sonnon to name a few..and guess what...theyre all making shitloads of money out of the products they have created based on mobility exercises before training

As for main stream media..well they always talk shit...in 5 years time we'll hear (again) about this fantastic new tool thats just burst on to the market...kettlebells! or will it be the peanut shaped fitball?

[AndrewR]

For distance running too much flexibility will actually reduce the amount of force you can store and release effectively. The ability to use elastic force is one we often lose due to the sedentary nature of our lives these days. As previous posters have said - you only need enough range to prevent injury occuring outside your comfortable zone. Beyond that, research shows that you are just as likely to be injured from hypermobility as you are from hypomobility.

It is actually more important to ensure that side to side differences don't exist, and that active and passive ranges of flexibility are the same.