The importance of stretching 🙆‍♀️
 

Two days ago I pushed myself hard on a 5 mile TT. The day after did 20 trainer miles Zone 2 and 3 with a quick sprint up to 5. My quads felt tight after yesterday’s session and did about a minute of quad stretches to help loosen them. Today I was out raking leaves and while bending down to pick them up - twang! Got a sharp pain in the right quad (it was 50* today) which has diminished a bit. Haven’t had a muscle pull in decades but now this. Kept off the bike today and probably will tomorrow and to an easy exploratory ride Monday.

So, in the future I will be more attentive to tightness and spend much more time on easy stretches the day of, the night of and the next morning. No doubt need to start stretching on a regular basis regardless.

I'm really bad about not stretching enough before or after my exercise too.

We grew up during a time when we were told to stretch and stretch before exercise and games. But the current science says that stretching makes ou more injury prone and weakens your muscles:
https://alo-physiotherapy.co.uk/why-...%20of%20injury.
It's better to ease into the exercise and gradually warm up your muscles.

From the sites I am reading, they recommend stretching after cycling with warm muscles.

I don't follow any stretching routines, simply because I I believe that it's unnecessary and doesn't do anything beneficial for the body. If it works for you that's great, but that doesn't mean that other people will benefit from it.

Active humans have known about the benefits of regular stretching for centuries. Bicycle riders who never stretch are just lazy.

Yoga ftw. Stretching before exercise is over rated, just warm up lightly and get the body loose. Stretch after.

Before and after can be beneficial given you know your bodies limitations.
Stretching like weight training both warm up and allow the body to work better, like warming up before you sprint or hill climb. They both need to worked gradually otherwise you may injure yourself by doing more than your body is use to.

Same applies to yoga and many other cross training routines.
When I started yoga many years/decades ago, I was still too competitive and pushed my body too far and caused injuries.

Bottom line, its good to add cross training routines, especially stretching, to your cycling but do so gradually based on your age and and current capabilities.

I never ever stretched for bicycling although I did stretch my core before hockey games. Only did it in hockey because coaches make you, the skating action is rather violent to the core and tendons thererin

I am starting a stretching thing for left side proximal hamstring tendinopathy, a real pain in the butt. I got a fit. A new bike. 4 different saddles. My problem started after an accident and lots of broken bones. At this point, figure nothing to lose. I use a roller and/or ball of the left hamstring just below where it attaches to the ischial tuberosity. If that does not work, I might buy 160 mm cranks.

Thanks for the link. I've probably stretched a total of about 5 minutes in the 71 years I've been alive. Of course I've wondered at times whether there's something I'm missing by never stretching (other than when yawning, of course). Then I realize that I'm as flexible as I need to be without stretching, so what would the point be? (Cycling over 10,000 miles a year is probably what has kept me from becoming inflexible, coincidentally.)

Confirmed by the link above: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I do not do much stretching. I find gradual warm up and cool down works fine. I used to stretch on a daily basis, but, I found some stretches caused some aches, I likely was not doing them proper. I know whenever I have done PT for injury or rehab, many times, I have a tendency to get into bad form with the exercises, more so with stretches. The therapists notice it and make corrections. I really think yoga would be a good practice to take up, but, same thing, need to have a knowledgeable person look at, and correct form as needed. I am having an increase in spinal issues, especially the cervical area, my on bike time and miles has been limited, and I have had to raise the handlebars significantly, and shorten the reach a bit. It seems to me that yoga would be beneficial for both range of motion and strength.

I don't really subscribe to the gym-class "stretch for 10 minutes before exercising," I typically try to do a 30-45 minute session of focused, opposed full-body stretching (yoga) at least 3x weekly. I'm a multi -sport guy, and my job has some particular physical requirements, so I can stay more ready for whatever I get up to on a particular day.

As I hit my 40's, I definitely started to recognize the benefits of a progressive (interval) warm-up as well; especially when I'm transitioning from cycling to running, or when I'm starting to ramp up a training plan for an event.

It's not because they're lazy, it's because stretching is a waste of time and provides no benefits to most people and can actually cause injuries....It is far more beneficial for cyclists to cross- train and strength train than waste time stretching.

Are there lazy bicycle riders?

Bushwaa! If some one stretches, but never does any other activity, what adjective do you use for them? Maybe you should work on stretching your mind. But, just my OPINION.

me!

I yam what I yam. Nailed it! But the lazy daze are over since injuries suck. But is riding 60 miles truly lazy? To the average non-cyclist it almost seems super human.

I read that dynamic stretching before a workout is more beneficial than static, which makes sense since dynamic is warming up the muscles at the same time.

Well if they also use controlled relaxed breathing and meditation then this would be a classic yogi or yoga practitioner. Perhaps stretching the mind is meditation or trying to reach a zen state?

This site covers both dynamic (pre-ride) and static (post) with good explanations: https://velosurance.com/blog/10-stre...-should-doing/

If you are prone to chrondomalacia (CP) patella (it's got a new name now but I'm an old dog), keep your hamstrings loose! If you don't and ride with cold knees or come back from injury too fast, you may trigger it. And it's a lifetime deal.

How do you know if you are prone? I don't know. I just know if you are and break enough rules, hamstrings being #1, you might get the call that you are one of the chosen ones. I lived my life and rode my first two racing seasons reasoning as several above have. Since I never straightened my knees fully riding, why do I need to bother with stretches? When I was 24 I broke enough of the CP "rules" that I now have to adhere to them closely or check myself into the shop to get those 3rd party knees.

My stretching routine now is to do them as I grind my coffee with a small steel hand grind that takes about a thousand turns. So a nice, slooooow stretch that can be done stone cold with no risk at all. I rarely have to do anything else though I do keep my awareness up and do stop if needed for more stretching is needed. (The clue? I can feel my knees grinding.)

I find warming up for a couple/three miles and then pushing it like there's no tomorrow till I hit the 20 mile mark, stopping, doing a couple toe touches while I throw in fresh batteries, and I'm off again for another 5 to 10 miles. Then a couple toe ;touches after putting the bike away and a hot shower. At 73 this works great for me. I feel invigorated for the rest of the day and sleep great.

So although I am well aware of the latest science, I still stretch before I start out on the bike but mostly for flexibility. I stretch the lower back and hamstring so I can get into the drop bar position easier.

Coffee is bad for you. No, wait! Coffee is actually good for you. Moderate alcohol consumption is good for your heart especially red wine. No, wait! Any alcohol is bad! Stretching is pointless! No, wait...

Whatever the "science" says at the moment, I believe in yoga and regular stretching. Have practiced for decades. Probably just a placebo effect. YMMV.

I've never stretched or done yoga in over 50 years of training on the bike. Never suffered for lack of stretching. The placebo effect on me has been powerful.

And the coffee bad/coffee good, etc., thing---I've been told that that's how science works.