I have been battling run injuries since January ( anterior ankle tendonitis, hip bursitis, medial knee pain and the latest is a popliteal tendonitis) and a consequence of this is what is turning into a very long pre workout (run and bike) stretching routine. So each new injury adds a new stretch and now the routine is like 20 minutes long. Im thinking its not doing any good anyway and want to stop the prework out stretch. I just had a run gait analysis and the PT added more stretches to do a few times per day. Is it completley stupid to have a bunch of injuries and not stretch before a run or bike workout?
I can’t speak for a running part, but even when I am injured, I never stretch before riding. I have only stretched a few times, pre-ride, and I did not feel good on any of those rides. Each ride, for me, starts with a half hour that gradually builds to high-endurance pace, no matter what my routine that day. I include this as part of my total ride time, since only the first 5 minutes are what I would call a recovery pace- <200 watts.
I do stretch quite a bit after, while I have a recovery drink, this normally takes 10-15 minutes, and I will focus more on a certain muscle group if it is giving me problems.
Another idea for you is to warm up at least 10-20 minutes and then get off and stretch the problem area. I know this would screw me up, as far as my training, because I just like to stay in a rhythm and not take breaks. People overestimate the need to stretch pre-ride, IMO.
-Physiojoe
Your excessive pre-workout stretching may be exaserbating your injuries. You should seriously consider toning it down. Do your own research - but you will find plenty of studies showing that stretching before training/racing actually increases likelihood of injury. Try stretching after workouts only. For me I’ve also noticed that limiting stretching to every other day or so also helps. You’ve got to stretch when things are warm ( ie after workout) and give your muscles/tendons/etc an opportunity to recover.
Clearly what you are doing is not working. You’ve got to rethink this. Not just pile on more stretching.
This is helpfull as I have not rode my bike in 2 weeks as it kept tweeking (is that a word) my popliteal issue on the downstroke. I am going to ride tomorrow morning to try it out and I will just do a nice warmup and stretch after. I need to hear from some runners now with similar issues.
The point of this post is because I dont think the pre work out stretching is helping anything…I never thought it could make things worse. I work out early in the morning (no other time is an option unless i want to get divorced) and wake up feeling tight…how do you loosen up before a run? Or are you saying I dont need to loosen up before? I grew up in the 80’s, we stretched before everything! 
Here’s a good article on pre-exercise stretching:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html
It echoes a lot of what I have read about stretching. There have been many, many studies of stretching, and to the best of my knowledge, not one has ever shown that any sort of stretching regime has helped reduce the frequency or severity of injury. In fact, there are some that think increasing your range of motion beyond that which you need for your specific sport only loosens and weakens your joints. FWIW, I never, ever stretch, and would say that I am for the most part, injury free. Most of my injuries that I have had can be attributed to overuse and a stubborn failure to stop when things start to hurt.
Spot
The point of this post is because I dont think the pre work out stretching is helping anything…I never thought it could make things worse. I work out early in the morning (no other time is an option unless i want to get divorced) and wake up feeling tight…how do you loosen up before a run? Or are you saying I dont need to loosen up before? I grew up in the 80’s, we stretched before everything!
Pre-activity stretching = generally BAD.
Stretch after working out, or in the evening before bed (I do the latter). Doesn’t have to be every day, I stretch maybe 2-3x a week, for like 10 mins or so. Feels good, seems to help me keep from getting overly toight.
I train early am too - what I do before running is some ‘looseners’ I got from the Chi Running book (which was about the only really useful thing I got out of it, other than the general concept of midfoot running, w/ a 90+ cadence). I do them before almost every run, and they really help get things all loosened up (as per their name) and ready to go. Takes maybe 5 minutes, which I do while I am walking the dog and he’s doing his bidness. TMI?
back when i was doing different sports, ones that involved changing direction (ultimate frisbee, soccer) I used to do a lot more stretching. And esp. when I was doing karate. I like stretching, and find it does make me feel better over all. but yeah, it’s time consuming, you have to warm up first, and for tris, I’m not sure how much it helps.
what’s been working for me is what other people have been saying: pre-workout, the important thing is to warm up, to start out slowly. post-workout, though, stretching can be really helpful - esp. after a bike ride.
Nice feedback to all, thanks. I will try my new no stretching before a bike workout tomorrow morning…see how I feel.