General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Morning Regimen Rss Feed  
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2017-10-05 2:53 PM


12

Reston, Virginia
Subject: Morning Regimen
TLDR; should I stretch only when sweating (less often) or be more consistent.

I've struggled with all kinds of strains and tendentious over the years. I've completed one Olympic and three sprints in the last few years, but prior to that mostly did tennis, basketball, etc. So have the cumulative injuries from all those sports. This year I strained a hamstring two weeks before my first Olympic. So I'm considering different approaches to my morning regimen.

Typically I walk the dog at a medium pace for a mile then immediately come home and stretch for about 15-20 minutes, including foam rolling IT band and calves. Add in a little core work and I'm done. I'm contemplating not stretching every day but instead only stretching immediately after a run or bike. Only when completely sweaty. So that would be 3 maybe 4 times a week during the off season. I may change to doing 3-5 core type exercises instead in the morning. I'm naturally pretty tight so don't want to introduce the big injury (tear, rupture, etc), but I feel like this daily stretching isn't doing it for me.


2017-10-06 6:30 AM
in reply to: dupdup

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Subject: RE: Morning Regimen
Particularly if you are prone to injury, I would stretch only when you are well warmed up. Stretching muscles before activity hasn't really been shown to increase performance, and might lead to injury. Normally I stretch at two times--during the run and after. I just start running (or riding, or swimming--depends on the workout) very slowly and don't get to normal pace or start any speed work until 15-20 minutes into the workout. Some people prefer a pre-run warmup that includes dynamic movements like jumping, stride drills, jogging in place, etc. You can google "dynamic warmup" to get ideas.

Sometime before starting the more intense part of the workout, I'll make 1-2 short stops and stretch anything that feels tight (quick standing stretches). The static stretches that most people consider "stretching" I save for after I've finished the run and cooled down with a few minutes of walking, before showering, eating, or doing anything else.

Can't say I am a paragon of being injury-free, but they haven't generally been muscle pulls/tears and in most cases weren't even running-related, so this routine appears to work, at least for me, over 30+ years of running.
2017-10-06 2:37 PM
in reply to: Hot Runner


12

Reston, Virginia
Subject: RE: Morning Regimen
Thanks! Where do you think foam rolling falls? I'm definitely only luke warm after my morning dog walk. Not sure if I should still do the calf and IT band rolling.
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Morning Regimen Rss Feed