Stretch.....Yeah!

I recently read an article on flexibility and how it helps your running, which reminded me of the Lil' Jon song lyric, "bend over to the front and touch your toes," which reminded me I can't touch my toes, which brought to light the fact I should probably become more flexible. You'd think a guy with monkey arms could touch his toes, but its a long way down there, okay?

While there is some debate on whether being flexible has a direct correction to running faster, the point of the article was stretching and having good joint and limb mobility will help prevent injuries and allow for a full range of motion...which could increase speed.

When should you stretch? Before or after? While there is some debate on flexibility's correlation to speed, there's an all out war on when to stretch, before or after a run. Runners will swear by either point in time. I tend to stretch after a run or workout, but do what works best for you. Do some experimenting and try stretching before workouts for a week, then try stretching after workouts for a week. Determine which one worked best.

What's great about stretching is that it can be done anytime and anywhere. So on those days where you don't feel like working out or you're feeling guilty you haven't stuck with your training regimen, throw in a quick 20-minute stretching session and at least you'll be contributing to your marathon or triathlon success.

Benefits of stretching include increased flexibility, improved range of joint motion, improved circulation, and stress relief. So, let's all pledge to really concentrate on stretching and stretching correctly.

Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to say, "Shorty got low, low, low, low" and ran faster!