Did I read somewhere that doing stretching exercises when you're not warmed up is counter-productive?
At present I do a series of leg exercises and stretches in front of the TV on an evening for maybe 45 mins, but progress is very slow. I still can't touch my toes!
Is being 78 yrs old anything to do with it?
Yes, stretching when you're cold is generally considered a bad idea. It's actually best to stretch AFTER a session of exercise for most people.
If you're doing an explosive, twisty sport like rugby, football, squash, etc. then stretching beforehand (after a good warm-up) can be beneficial in preventing injuries, but even that seems to be up for debate among the experts these days.
Stretching should ideally be carried out after gentle exercise so the muscles are warmed up but not suffering from any damage caused by strain. But then some schools of thought suggest that stretching is bad, full stop.
Indeed. Confirmed by my physio.
mtbfix - what schools of thought are they? I can't see how stretching would be bad - half my posture problems come from not stretching after exercise (apparently).
Some feel that a gentle warm up is more beneficial than a static stretch routine. I know there is no absolute answer on this but here are a couple of articles -
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/stretch-injury.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html
Streching when cold it not bad. You won't reach as far as when hot but that's all.
Funnily enough a lot of warming up in japan for judo training is streching.
Obviously when you strech you do it gently without giving any bump and hump...
Last time I had any proper coaching (about 2004) the warm up activity was based around taking joints through there full range of movement and gentle cardio before building it to whateve we were going to do. Stretched at the end of a session. I've found some good leg stretches can really improve recovery after a ride.
Stretching is Voodoo.
How and when to stretch really depends on what you are trying to achieve.
There is also a lot of misinformed pish written above this post.
mtbfix is probably referring to the school of thought that says that static stretching reduces muscle power.
Stretching when cold is definitely bad.
I used to do stretches before football because i thought it was the done thing, always used to pull my groin.
Now I generally run a few laps round the pitch to warm up then do some sstretches and no more groin strains.
I never stretch before riding my bike though
Here's a bit of guidance that I was given recently about stretching: If you dont do it and get injured, start doing stretches. If you do stretch and get injured, stop stretching. Sounds like good advice to me.
I had a few issues and went to a sports physio in early 2009.
I'm fairly religious when it comes to these things as I was experiencing issues when mtn biking.
At the time it seemed to work, but the more I do, the less effect I'm witnessing.
Ergo the question.
At 45 I expect a degredation in many things and so I was prepared to accept that it would take me all year to get some real stretch, but it's not really happened.
In the shower (solo), I can reach to the toes etc, which prompted the warmed-up thoughts and question.
I believe this is one where the advice has changed and the addvice is now - warm up then stretch then do your exercise whatever it is.
General advice for cyclists is to do dynamic stretching. Swing your leg back and forward and gently increase the range until you get close to your limits. Got to keep control of it and keep balance though.
Interestingly enough a guick warm shower b4 stretchingy achieves the same result as a warm up.Its all about blood flow.