Have you done your stretches today? I haven't.

tardington

C'mon, who actually bothers with all that "12 seconds doing this to the calves, and twelve seconds doing that to my thighs. And now lets all do the Cat!"? And then there's that whole business of lying on the floor etc etc...

Because I did them all last night when I was waiting for a washing to finish, and my legs felt really good this morning - 5 mins off my usual time to get to work! AND a nice girl winked at me at the traffic lights!

I can't be bothered doing it all tonight, though. I'm busy drinking Red Wine.

CyclingBantam

:oops: I never do stretches. I never feel I need to but I know I should! :oops:

prj45

I generally do leg stretches on the final 30 yards or so of my ride standing on the pedals.

I don't go this far though: -

http://www.chap.com/lgmain.htm

magicroundabout

I find I never have time to do ALL my stretches, so I tend to do them in cycles, not stretching everything every day. Sometimes I get specific areas that need attention (my glutes really play up a lot!) so I'll have a week of stretching them every day.

So I do what's needed really, though I'm convinced that it would be better to get up 10 mins earlier and do it properly.

ChrisLS

...never do any stretching...my thighs get so stiff sometimes that I can't even crouch or sit on my heels...bad I know

BentMikey

I hate stretching, but if I don't, I get injured. Since I depend on my body working well for a living, I'd better go do some stretching then!

DavidTQ

Hmm I stopped doing stretchs when I got my road bike, it made the commute so much easier that I didnt HAVE to do stretchs to be able to walk straight the next morning . Im now finding running down hill causes calf pain, not sure if thats due to not stretching and cycling doing weird stuff to my muscles . Might have to start stretching again soon.

dondare

Static stretches should be held for 30 seconds. Never stretch when your muscles &c. are cold; always after a ride.

If you indeed bother at all.

mrchrispy

never bothered myself.....hmmmm

Clever Pun

I only ever do stretches when at the gym after or before a really strenuous workout. cycling doesn't really strain my legs in terms of stretching so I never bother... I do spend 2-5 minutes warming up before I push it though

misterben

:shock: Stretches :shock:

Can't say I've done much - a brief stretch before I get on, then a bit of flexing whenever I stop. I guess I probably should - anybody got a list of recommended stretches to do?

FatBlokeFromFelixstowe

No never here either, cannot be arsed.

A - W

I dont. :oops:

squired

Never did in the past, but I now have a number of problems relating to short hamstings and various other key leg muscles. As a result I've just started taking them seriously in the last week or two. Having said that, I'm not sure they are something I would keep up long-term. I'm actually not cycling much at the moment because of the issues, so know it is now or never to do the stretching.

chronyx

No :oops:

If my body was a car it would be the one that some moron gets into and redlines from cold.

Which is silly as I'd never do that to one of my vehicles. :?

neslon

I don't think there's any real evidence that stretching before/after exercise does anything to reduce injury rate.



And I can't be arsed

misterben

Wished I'd done a few stretches this morning it was cold and my muscles were stiff

BentMikey

neslon, I'm thinking specifically of the issue where cycling causes some sort of knee imbalance, and stretching is one of the ways to prevent it. Can't remember the proper names for it, but it's a well-known syndrome and I suffer if I don't stretch.

Matteeboy

I used to compete in kickboxing - I overdid the stretching once and completely totalled my hip!

I do a bit for surfing (needed to help the shoulders work when paddling) but don't bother for cycling - don't reckon it's intense enough until you naturally warm up anyway.

squired

BentMikey wrote:

neslon, I'm thinking specifically of the issue where cycling causes some sort of knee imbalance, and stretching is one of the ways to prevent it. Can't remember the proper names for it, but it's a well-known syndrome and I suffer if I don't stretch.

Not sure what the name is, but that may be what I have at the moment. My problem is due to the muscles on the outer portion of the thigh pulling the knee cap across and thus out of its normal alignment. It also causes me to constantly cramp from my left buttock down to my left knee as soon as I try to pedal hard on the bike. I'm working hard to balance my muscle strength through specific exercises, as well as doing stretching frequently.

My muscles are fairly tight and if i try to touch my toes I fail badly. My aim now is to at least get my flexibility back to the able to touch toes level again.

ChrisLS

...I did used to do yoga...I was very bendy in those days...

neslon

B.Mikey & Squired

You could be right, but talking about different things. The typical pre-exercise stretch aimed at preventing muscle tears etc, seems to be hokum. What you to are referring to is (dredging something up from the past) is more to do with the structural relationship of musculature & tendons after repetitive exercise, specifically around the knee for cyclists. Stretching here is different, but helps. We need a knee person who bikes to chip in.