Basic Pursuits

To stretch or not to stretch before running (or walking or playing tennis or whatever). Conventional wisdom has athletes doing lots of stretching before events and workouts to prevent injuries. Unfortunately, conventional wisdom is looking worse and worse in the light of scientific investigation.

I'm a former yoga teacher. I've thought for a long time that long static stretches and fast muscle movement do not mix. Holding stretches compromises the stretch reflex, the tendency for a muscle to contract when it approaches over-stretching. I thought that long static stretches sort of re-programmed certain reflexes, but not for action; rather for stillness. Therefore, an extended forward bend before a tennis match isn't a good idea.

As the article from runonearth.com suggests, pre-workout time is better spent just warming up properly.

After I run, however, I have a routine that stretches all the muscles in my legs. Even then, I don't hold the stretches. I go through the routine three times. Each time I notice that the stretch goes deeper even though I'm in it for a very short moment.

Why do I do it? Because it feels a whole lot better when I do than if I don't.

DOES STRETCHING PREVENT INJURIES?