Help a newbie out with stretching.

[shinysparklybubbles]

Hi everyone! I am tried of being a couch potato and being overweight so I decided nothing will motivate me better than a runDisney event! My plan is W&D in 2013.

Jeff Galloway's plan seems like the best for for me and I'm going to do the 8 week conditioning (repeat each week if I need to) and then his 1/2 marathon training (same plan repeat every week if needed). I figured that should give me enough time to hopefully be able to finish the 1/2.

Anyway, can you point me in the right direction to find how much and what kind of stretching I should be doing?

Thanks everyone!

 

[bumbershoot]

I've been reading more and more that stretching should happen after the exercise. Or, if you aren't comfortable with that, warm up first, do your brisk walking, then stop and stretch. I've read the explanation that stretching before the exercise causes your muscles to work less well. It all makes quite a bit of sense to me. It's not what was taught to us when I got my Exercise Science degree, but the full stretching before exercise just never made a bit of sense to me, either on paper, or in my experience on a varsity sport.


I've been doing the Cool Runnings couch to 5K program, and I stretch afterwards. I've been feeling REALLY good doing that, too.

 

[annabanna]

I always stretched before a run, and then after. And time after time I struggled to get out of bed, always felt pain when I got out of the car, or my chair at work. I started reading Jeff Galloway's Marathon Book for Women, and he talks about not stretching at all. The idea behind it made sense to me, and I figured that I was already always sore, so what could it really hurt to not stretch? I just start with a 5 minute walk before I actually start my run program. What a difference it made. I am no longer sore after a run, I feel good in the morning and after sitting a while.

So, I am on the side of not stretching, and it seems to be working well for me.

 

[AnotherPrincess]

I started the conditioning plan in October of last year and am doing TOT next month so it works! One thing I will say having been where you are now is just trust the training. I also started the half training after the 8 week plan. Looking back, I should have just focused on speed and building a good base leading up to the beginning of the training plan for the specific event. I just didn't trust myself with the training. I was convinced that I needed more. The reason I say this is two-fold. First, it's hard to ever focus on speed when you are constantly building mileage. Taking time to just build a solid base and focus on speed would have been more efficient. Second, training burnout is very real. There is a reason the training plans are as relatively short as they are. While most people are just now getting to the 10 mile distance in our training plan, I'm now facing my 3rd with 2 more to go before the actual race. It's a lot for a first timer to face and it was completely self inflicted. You won't need to repeat any weeks unless you get an injury or illness. And i did get both an injury and an illness and neither set me back much if any. Just trust it and trust yourself.

 

[stargazertechie]

I've been reading more and more that stretching should happen after the exercise. Or, if you aren't comfortable with that, warm up first, do your brisk walking, then stop and stretch.

This- you want your muscles to be warm before trying to stretch them. I normally do a 15 minute warm-up (cycling, elliptical, and rowing, 5 minutes of each) at a VERY easy pace, and then stretch. I then do my workout, a 15 minute cool-down, and a full stretch and core workout.

I'd suggest going to a gym and having one of the trainers show you stretches if you have the ability to do so- otherwise a cursory google search of "stretches for runners" will yield good results.

 

[MightyDuck001]

I always do it afterwards and it's always helped me get over any initial soreness/tightness and then I go from there. I haven't had any second day soreness in a few months.

Some options for finding routines that would work for you: Runners' World has a ton of videos on stretching (and just about anything else) on their website and on Youtube you can find the Seawheeze 1/2 marathon tackle box which has videos for pre-run warm ups and post run stretches like this one that are more yoga than just stretching, I enjoy these a lot. But as usual, see what works well for you and go from there.

See you at the Wine and Dine!

 

[Tabetha]

I feel much better if I give my muscles a little stretch after a run. I get pretty tight, otherwise, and it is a nice way to relax and calm down afterwards.
I try to warm up ballistically, and cool down more statically.

 

[bigdave10000]

Been running about 10 years. I never stretch. I start by walking, then running, very slow, then speeding up as I warm up. After I run I just walk around the house a bit to stay loose. I am a morning runner.