- Wasted time, or training essential?
I always finish my run coaching sessions with a static stretch, working - at a minimum - through all the lower body muscle groups. Why? I could offer a number of reasons…because stretching is an essential part of the cooldown. It helps restore muscles to their pre-exercise length. It reduces injury risk in the long-term. It helps flush out waste products and minimises post-exercise soreness. But perhaps the truest reason is ‘because everyone else does.’ Stretching is so much a part of the fabric of exercise protocol that it is only now that its role is being examined and questioned.
A study has just been published showing that stretching has no effect on post-exercise muscle soreness. Other research says, given time, muscles will return to their resting length anyway. And even more importantly, some research suggests that better flexibility does not translate into better performance. Or to put it another way, being more bendy doesn’t make you a better runner. I can certainly vouch for this - take the example of my boyfriend (who just ran 33.17 for a 10km at the weekend). A great runner he may be, but he can barely reach his knees in a forward bend, let alone his toes. In fact, a study conducted last year found that runners who performed the worst in a ’sit and reach’ test had the best running economy - which begs the question ‘is stretching worthwhile at all?’ After all this, you may be surprised to hear that I think it is. It feels good, for one thing. It underlines a training session, providing the transition from being active to carrying on with your day. And while increasing your flexibility may not enhance your performance, allowing it to deteriorate surely isn’t going to help either. One of the biggest factors in runners getting slower as they age is a reduced stride length. And the chances are, tight short muscles contribute to this. I’ll be keeping an eye on emerging science, but in the meantime I’ll still be stretching at the end of my sessions…