Stretches and warming up

ianbar

How many of you do stretches to warm up and after? I have not been doing hem nasty habit same as when I used to run I never used to warm up enough. I always feel I struggle to recover quickly although partly I think this come from working nights but wondered if warming up and down and stretching would help?

danowat

I never "cold stretch", but I stretch afterwards, I normally do 5-15mins easy spinning (depending on session) to warm up

alihisgreat

Don't stretch before -> its pointless for cycling and can reduce your power for the first hour.

Warming up is probably worth it.. but I don't find it helps too much unless its cold. But that's me personally. (and I usually ride out of town before upping the pace anyway.. so that probably counts as my warm up)

vorsprung

ICBA googling for it but there is research that shows for marathon runners, stretching beforehand led to an increase in injuries.

I usually stretch after a ride, seems to help with leg soreness

Flexisurfer

I remember a few years ago stretching prior to a game of hockey, I lasted 5 minutes before I pulled my right hamstring, ouch!! It did hurt. To warm up on the bike I just ride at a higher cadence in a lower gear or about 10-15 minutes and then some stretches after the ride then before going to bed. This is what I find helps me and is no way scientifically proven.

poynedexter

i believe its very impt to warm and stretch before and after a race or event. cycling is no different to every other sport, contrary to what some would have you believe.

i strectch lightly before and moreso after. i believe it helps me feel less sore during and the next day. i'm stiff as a poker generally so i could use the help.

a month ago i did a kirkistown race with little warmup and no strectch. after 1 lap, my legs were full of lactic acid and i got dropped. last wed night, i did a 10 mile warm up and strectched. my legs were 100% better and i felt great the next day.

go figure.

porker33

Stretch before and after, always have done, so I don't know if it makes any difference. It does make me laugh when I see comments about things about cycling being different to other sports in this respect.

thiscocks

porker33 wrote:

Stretch before and after, always have done, so I don't know if it makes any difference. It does make me laugh when I see comments about things about cycling being different to other sports in this respect.

Why? It's a lot easier to gently warm up on a bike than eg running or football. That's why you don't really need to stretch beforehand.

I find it really helps to stretch afterwards though.

porker33

thiscocks wrote:

porker33 wrote:

Stretch before and after, always have done, so I don't know if it makes any difference. It does make me laugh when I see comments about things about cycling being different to other sports in this respect.

Why? It's a lot easier to gently warm up on a bike than eg running or football. That's why you don't really need to stretch beforehand.

I find it really helps to stretch afterwards though.

If you don't notice the difference with stretching, you are clearly not doing it right!

ianbar

i have had a bit of a stretch after my ride today then drank my choc milk then same stretches again so will see how that goes!

ShutUpLegs

What muscles are you actually stretching :?:

scoobymacdoo2

Yes you should stretch before and after your session,but you really need to warm up first to avoid pulling any mussels.

t.m.h.n.e.t

scoobymacdoo2 wrote:

Yes you should stretch before and after your session,but you really need to warm up first to avoid pulling any mussels.

These ones?

dw300

Lol ^

Anyway .. I never stretch a cold muscle beforehand, i simply warmup at low intensity, and I've never hurt a muscle. There is no difference in stretching a cold muscle and not warming or stretching in the first place.

Cycling is the same as other sports in that respect, as all stretching is recommended to be done after a warm up. Your body takes a while to start mobilising fat to burn anyway so you never have instant performance without a warmup, so 15-20 mins warmup at the start of or before a ride kills 2 birds with one stone.

You can then stretch afterwards, but it's more for comfort and recovery than increasing range of motion as in other sports. Let's face it, cycling is different in that way, as you don't need to be particularly flexible anyway since the RoM is small. Running is different, good RoM in your hip flexors and hamstring can increase your stride length .. there's nothing like this in cycling.