It has come to my attention that I am really tight to the point of being detrimental. Does anyone have a suggestion of a good stretching book or program.
Looking to be more comfortable,
Neal Dunn
What do you mean detrimental? A recent research report showed that flexibility was more of a liability for distance runners than inflexibility. Moreover, people keep saying that flexibility improves performance and reduces injury, but I haven’t seen any evidence of that for marathoners and triathletes. At least one study showed that those who stretch more have higher incidence of injury.
Having said that, I still stretch regularly. But I make sure that (a) I am warmed up before I stretch (I usually stop at the one mile mark during a run or the half way mark during a long bike ride or after a long swim), (b) I do static stretches, and (c) I do standard stretches that you can find in most running or triathlon books. I’d be happy to give you a list and description (or a reference) to these stretches if you’d like, but I don’t have that info at my fingertips right now.
Stretching by Bob Anderson
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Runner’s Yoga Book by Jean Couch
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Stretching Scientifically - Thomas Kurtz
www.stadion.com
Awesome!
2nd the Runner’s Yoga Book. I bought it on Gordo’s recommendation, and it is an excellent resource. Essential material for the library of any multisport athlete.
I’ve been using Rodney Yee’s “Yoga Conditioning for Athletes” for a couple months and think it’s great. Get the DVD version because it’s easy to navigate around the disc using the “top menu” feature on your remote.
The “Opening” and “Integration” Sections are good for warm ups or cool down or just general stretching. The “conditioning” section is good for general fitness and flexability. The DVD also offers various “mini-workouts”. These are 10 minute sport specific workouts. Swim, bike and run are included. The DVD also features 3 different versions of the poses depending on your strength and flexability goals.
Richard
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