What guidance would you give to runners about stretching? When I ran in high school, which is when I learned a lot of what I “know” about running, we were taught to stretch really well before a run, and if we could, a little bit afterward to help with soreness, especially after harder runs. But we usually didn’t stretch much after runs. Anyway, I recently read that stretching before a run does little, if any good. Should runners spend less time on stretching and more time on warming up?
I'm not sure when you attended high school, but I do know that the information on warming up and stretching has changed significantly over recent years. Exercise Science is a relatively new field and as research is conducted, recommendations and guidelines change. It keeps things interesting!
At one time, the terms "warming up" and "stretching" were used interchangeably, almost as if they were the very same thing. Now we know that stretching and warming up are very different activities and they serve very different purposes.
Stretching refers to the lengthening and relaxation of muscles, specifically the large muscles recruited while running. Stretching has a variety of purposes. Some of which are to restore joint range of motion, improve posture, reduce post-run soreness, improve circulation, and reduce low back pain. Some researchers speculate stretching can even improve athletic performance and reduce the risk of injury.
Warming up literally means "warming up." The purpose of the warm up is to raise the body temperature, elevate heart rate, increase breathing rate, facilitate the redistribution of blood flow from internal organs to the large muscles of our extremities, lubricate joints, warm up connective tissue, and to wake up the central nervous system. Long story short, prepare all the body's systems for physical exertion. To facilitate this process, movement is required and so the term most often used in conjunction with the warm up phase these days is "dynamic." Dynamic is the key word, because it signifies movement. The warm up phase needs to include movement as opposed to static stretching. By mimicking the actions of running at a very low intensity we can prepare the body for running at a higher intensity. Walk or jog easy, swing your arms and legs, march.... in other words, move. Using a foam roller is another option. The dynamic warm up phase should take about 10-15 minutes.
The issue then becomes, when to stretch? Recent research indicates that stretching before running may not be the best time because muscles are cold and therefore, not as elastic and may be more prone to injury if lengthened. Also, since stretching lengthens muscles, it increases the distance between the contractile units of the muscle, which are known as sarcomeres. For a short time after stretching, because of this increased distance between sarcomeres, muscle contraction and reaction time can be measurably longer and this temporarily weakens the muscle. Some researchers speculate that stretching before a run has the potential to even increase your risk of injury due to this temporarily weakened state of the muscle. Stretching after your run, when muscles and connective tissue are warm, appears to be the better time to include static stretching in your routine.
Now the problem is time! How to fit a warm up, a run, a cool down, and stretching into an already hectic schedule? My suggestion is this: incorporate a warm up period into your run by walking or running very slowly (2 minutes or more slower than goal race pace) for 10 minutes. If you find yourself speeding up, put a couple of walk breaks into the warm up time to slow you down. Then, do your run workout. Follow up your workout with a 5-minute cool down period. The cool down can be walking for 5 minutes. Then do these standing stretches to conclude your workout.
You can schedule more stretching time at the end of the day when you are not feeling rushed. Take a warm bath or shower to warm up muscles and connective tissues, put on comfortable clothing, and relax. Lie on the floor and take your time moving through some stretches that target the large muscles like the low back, hips, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf muscles. Hold each stretch for about 30 seconds and then repeat 3 times. This is a great way to unwind at the end of the day and may even help you sleep better!
5 Easy Stretches:
- Low Back: Lie on your back and pull both knees into your chest.
- Hips: Lie on your back, bring your knees into your chest and then let them fall to one side, creating a twist. Keep your shoulders on the floor.
- Hamstrings: Lie on your back and bend both knees. Pull one leg at a time in towards your chest. Do this with your knee bent and then try it with keep your leg straight.
- Quadriceps: Lie on your side. Bend your top leg, bringing your heel towards your butt. Grasp your foot and pull gently, bringing your foot closer to your butt.
- Calf: Sit on the floor, legs straight out in front of you. Flex one foot at a time and feel the stretch in the calf.
All the best to you!
Susan S. Paul, MS
Susan Paul has coached more than 2,000 runners and is an exercise physiologist and program director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation. For more information, visit www.trackshack.com.
Have a question for our beginners experts? Email it to email@example.com. NOTE: Due to the volume of mail, we regret that we cannot answer every email.