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To stretch or not to stretch?
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Shaun Fox
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Joined: 15 Jul 2001
Posts: 78
Location: Peterborough, England

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Should you stretch before a race or not? some people have told me you should and some have said its best just to jog and stride out, whats your opinions please?
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Dan
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Joined: 22 Mar 1999
Posts: 9334
Location: Salem, OR

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Definitely good to stretch, but not all stretching is equal... You should do some warming up before stretching, otherwise it's like trying to pull apart frozen pieces of chicken. Smile I favor a lot of dynamic motion activity over the traditional jog warmup, but either will work.

The most important time to stretch, of course, is afterward. This is when you have the ability to dramatically improve your recovery time.

Dan
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Leech Boy
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Joined: 27 Jun 2001
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good advice again Dan.

Warm up before you stretch. You can overstretch.

It is more important to stretch after running than before. But I have found walking 8-10 minutes after I run is the most effective way for me to not feel tight the next day. Worst thing you can do is do a track workout and then jump right in your car and go home. Let the blood flow.

Ice baths or just let cold as water as you can get to rinse your legs is good to do too.

Streching seems to be more important on fast days. On your long run or easy days, it is not so critical to stretch as much. After your long runs maybe. But walking works good to get the lactic acid from just bunching up too much.
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Dan
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed on all points.

Dan
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