Description
This article is from the running
Beginners' FAQ, by Ozzie Gontang with numerous contributions
by others.
18 Stretching and strength exercises
Brad Appleton posts Stretching & Flexibility monthly in rec.martial-arts,
misc.fitness, rec .arts.dance,alt.arts.ballet, rec.sport.misc,alt.answers,
rec.answers, misc.answers,news.answers
Ftp-sites: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
Web:
http://www.enteract.com/~bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/stretching_toc.html
ching can help ward off injuries, help recovery after running and can get
rid of stiffness before running. Some runners stretch before running, some
stretch after, some run for a few minutes and then stretch before their
main run. You can stretch better when warmed up, so after some running may
be the best time. Personally, I do a few gentle stretches before and after
running, taking more time and trying to lengthen the stretches only after
running. Maybe once a week I do a longer (half-hour) session, really
working on increasing my flexibity, but most people don't bother with this
type of thing.
The most important thing to say about stretching is DON'T BOUNCE !!!! The
old-fashioned ballistic style will do you more harm then good. Stretch
gently into position, hold and try to get your muscles to relax in the
stretched position. If you are warmed up, try to lengthen the stretch after
holding for at least 20-30 seconds.
A good calf (muscle on the back of your lower leg) stretch is to stand a
long pace away from a wall, lean onto it then either bring one leg forward
or lift it off the ground. As you lean into the wall you should feel a
stretch in the calf of the rear/lower leg. Bending the knee slightly will
move the stretch lower down the calf. You should look as if you are trying
to push the wall down.
To stretch your quadriceps (muscles on the front of your upper leg), grab
onto something with one hand, lift a leg up towards your bottom and grab
the ankle with your free hand. Pulling upwards/inwards should stretch the
muscle. Keep standing upright. Holding with the hand on the same or
opposite side to the leg will alter the location of the stretch.
The best stretches for hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your upper
leg) are done on the floor. Sit on the floor with legs together, then lean
forward, reaching towards your ankles and trying to keep your back flat.
Depending in how flexible you are you may be able to keep your legs
straight or you may have to slightly bend your knees. You can also spread
your legs apart and stretch to each ankle in turn.
An alternative for when you can't sit on the floor is to put one foot
forward until it is ahead of the toes of the other foot, but still the
normal width apart. Lift the front of the forward foot off the ground, so
it is now resting on the heel. Bend the rear leg and lean forward. You
should feel a stretch down the back of the forward leg.
DO NOT use the old-fashioned hamstring stretch with feet together or apart
and knees locked in a standing position, or the newer variant with crossed
ankles. These risk back damage in anyone who doesn't have a perfect back
and good flexibility, which means most of us.
There are many more stretches useful for runners - find a book or someone
knowledgeable to instruct you. Beware of older books or unqualified people
(or anyone who teaches the old-style hamstring stretch or tells you to
bounce "to increase the stretch").
There are a number of popular stretches which are either unsafe for
everyone or unsafe for anyone who isn't very flexible to start with - these
include the hamstring stretch mentioned above, the "hurdlers stretch"
(seated, one leg forward, the other tucked back under the body - put it
against the side of the knee of the straight leg instead), the floor
stretch (yoga plough) where the arms are extended and the legs are lifted
over the body to touch the floor, with the head tucked between the body and
floor (this presents obvious danger to the neck).
Experiment with how altering positions affects the stretch. Find what works
best for you and in particular what helps out your own trouble spots. I
have to pay lots of attention to my calves and achilles tendons. Some
stretches work for some people and not others. It all depends on your
skeleton, musculature and level of flexibility.
Running strengthens some muscles but leaves other relatively untouched.
This imbalance can lead to injuries. The most common example of this in
beginners (and more experienced runners) is weakness of the muscles running
up the shin. Strengthening these may help to ward off shin-splints.
Gordon Haverland <ghaverla @ freenet.edmonton.ab.ca>writes about some shin
strengthening exercises:
There are 3 kinds of exercise which I tell patrons at my YMCA about for
strengthing the tibialis anterior. Two are weightlifting.
1) Walking up hills (on treadmill). A person has to lift
their toes more to walk (or run) uphill, which will with time
cause the muscles in the front of the shin to strengthen.
Using a treadmill means you don't have to watch your step
so closely.
2) On a seated calf machine. Normal position is to have the
balls of your toes on the rear edge of the footrest, and then
contract the calf muscles (mostly soleus (sp?)) to force the
weight up and down. If you rest the ball of your heel on the
front edge of the footrest, then you will work tibialis when
you lift your toes up. Rule of thumb, about half the weight
you can lift with the rear calf muscles, but it depends on
how muscle bound you are.
3) On a padded bench. Have your ankles overhand the end of the
bench (you are seated on the bench). Put a dumbell between your
2 feet. Then when you dorsiflex (bring toes toward head), you will
be working the tibialis muscle(s).
From Ozzie <gontang@electriciti.com> who believes that it's not a matter of
strengthening the shin muscles but teaching them to be elongated. Here's
what I do for the posterior tibialis:
The muscle behind the shin bone is called the posterior tibialis or the
muscle behind the tibia bone.
If it is the right leg, cross it so that the right ankle or there abouts
rests on the left thigh as when you cross your legs. In front of you as
you look down is your right crossed knee and you are looking at the
posterior tibialis.
Take your left hand and place the fingers so they are holding the tibia and
the thumb is pointing toward the inside of the right knee and resting just
on the inside of the tibia. Take your right thumb and place it on the left
thumb and the right hand grasps the shin bone. Push in lovingly at first
and start at the bottom of the posterior tibialis. As you make a small
circle with your right foot, you'll feel the muscle push against the thumbs
pressing in.
As you continue to make a small circle with your foot, slowly push in with
the thumbs and slowly slide the right thumb on top of left thumb up towards
the right knee. Gradually massage out this muscle. You'll notice that you
have allowed the muscle to gradually relax and loosen....and therefore
relieving some of the pressure on what is often called a "shin splint."
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