Stretching and running go hand-in-hand and while i wouldn;t ever tell a runner that they stretch too much, there are 3 go-to stretches that i believe every level of runner should be doing daily. The high volume of repetitions that we endure as runners means that we experience tightness in specific muscles due to heavy usage while also experiencing tightness do to imbalance of muscle develppment. The muscles that get under-utilized during running will experience the same shortening patterns as those that are heavily used, but they are not getting stronger. For those muscles, the gluteus medius, dorsiflexors, and pectoralis group, I prescribe mobility work. Mobility is the ability of a muscle and joint complex to move through a range of motion. For the heavily used muscle group, hamstrings, calf muscles and hip flexors need stretching to reduce the tightening effect created by the extensive load of running.
All that being said, my podium of stretches for runners go as follows:
Bronze Medal: Standing Calf Stretch
The calf muscles, when running with a proper forefoot strike, are responsible for much of our forward propulsion. These muscles are essential for creating thrust and thus, speed. If you want to run faster we need these musckes developed which also means they are going to endure residual tightness. Stretching these muscles can help stave off achilles tendinitis, shin splints, and what can eventually become runners knee. When done in combination with foot strengthening exerises such as “short foot”, towels scrunches, and dorsiflexion, we can build a highly stable ankle joint.
Silver Medal: Kneeling Hip flexor Stretch
I love this stretch for runners because it is so easy. Many people hate stretching because it feel like a lot of work to get such little relief. If i can get my runners to achieve looser muscles with minimal work, they are more likely to do the stretch, For that reason, i love this stretch. It can also be adapted to target the quadriceps, by placing the rear foot on an elevated surface, serving as a 2-for-1 stretch. Most runners have overdelopment of the quadriceps muscles, leading to discomfort or even pain the knee cap (runners knee.) While this might not fix the runner knee, which can be done by strengthening he hamstrings and glutes, it often does eleviate pain enough to perform a training session. I prescribe this sretch as a daily exercise, to be done for 2 minutes per leg, for 2 to 3 sets. Each round you should be getting deeper, feeling the lengthening of both the hip flexor and quadricep groups.
Gold Medal: Pretzel Stretch
It should come as no surprise by my previous two medalists that my gold medal is going to be efficient. The pretzel stretch allows us to stretch not just the lower body, but also the back, the shoulders, and chest all at once. We as runners want to spend our timegetting faster and improving our endurance, so any time I can expedite my recovery, I will. The pretzel will stretch out 2 of the 3 muscle groupds that get heavily used during running, while also stretching the lower back and hip flexors, which when shortened, can cintribute to discomfort while running. This is also one of those stretches that for the “super tight” crowd, you can easily feel your improvement. This can be a stretch that for some, is difficult to even get into. You might not even feel like you are doing it correctly because it requires so many joints to have the flexibility to achieve correct positioning. Do this stretch on a daily basis for 90-120 seconds per side and you will feel a drastice difference in your stride length, knee drive, and overall ability to recover.