Training & Nutrition - How much stretching do you do?

I was just curious to know what kind of stretcing everyone does before or after riding, if any at all.

I'm ashamed to say I do very very little. None usually.

None. And I haven't felt any after effects of not doing so. But I do a fair bit of walking before and after the ride. ;)

None. Even when I hit the gym hard. I don't because of laziness. :)

Nope, none. Never have when I go for a ride. When I lift weights I've never really done stretching, just let the weight stretch me out at the bottom of the stroke if possible. If I actually have the desire to go jogging then I stretch a little since I'm almost always sore when I finish.

So far, it sounds like I'm doing things right because I've never really stretched and I've also never really felt the need to. I was just making sure I wasn't missing out on a good way to recover and be fresh for the next day or something of that nature. :)

none, but i stretch for a solid 10-15 mins every gym workout, 4 days a week. helps recovery by 50% I swear....

If you do much touring or long rides you will find stretching becomes more important particularly after 4 or 5 days of riding when your legs start to give out.I tend to do stretching but on a fairly informal/limited basis because it makes the muscles feel looser and is actually fun to do.During weight training I will do some stretching between sets while resting and while cycling I will stretch sometimes while stopped at lights or while stopped for a break.At a light if I see some loose change lying around I will reach down to pick it up keeping my legs relatively straight giving the hams and calves in particular a good stretch(so you see streching can be profitable as well as help with injury prevention/recovery lol).At a rest break I will sometimes do some jogger type stretches where you put your foot up on a wall or something with your leg stretched and bent and go through some stretching which seems to focus more on the quads. Both of these also help with the knees which are often first to act up on a long ride.So I guess I stretch as much to remain loose/flexible on a ride as to aid in recovery which I guess is an added benefit.

Lots of stretching daily, you get the time to do them all through the day. Every advertisement, you get some time to do what little stretching that you can do. You can get up to 30 mins of stretching everyday if you just do that. Adding to the stretching you do before and after your ride, you might just hit an hour.

An hour of stretching is healthy, provided you don't bounce and pull your muscles.

How can you notice a difference or not if you're NOT stretching? Silly wabbits :D Stretch regularly for a few weeks/a month then stop doing it. THEN you'll notice a difference! It's mostly an injury prevention thing, but it sure is pretty darn cool to be able to turn light switches on and off with your feet when you're hands are full! Lessens overall tension n stress, too.
One day I'll actually post some pics of good stretches for cyclists like I said I'd do months ago!

When I wake up in the morning, I am way too stiff to stretch, so I wait until after my morning commute. I spend no more than 5 minutes stretching, but I can definitely tell the difference.

Not enough. My goal is twice daily + before and after every ride. I am pretty good about doing the post-ride stretch, and I probably am averaging once a day on the routine one.

But, I would like to offer a caution to those who don't stretch. I have ended up with what may be a chronic problem with my achilles tendon. The original source of the injury was severe cramping in my calf muscles combined with falling center of my foot (due to aging). Had I been better about stretching at the time, I would likely have not damaged my achilles through the calf-cramps. Lesson learned. And stretching is now one of the best things that I can do to stay pain free.

Stretching will also make you more comfortable on the bike.

Stretch early, stretch often.

Cheers,
Jamie

P.S. I do mostly leg and back stretches of the usual kind--calves, hamstrings, quads, groin, etc.

I dont stretch befor a ride, when my old muscles are cold they dont like to stretch. BUT after a ride i will allways at least stretch the quads. hams, calf, and back sometimes I do more.

I strech when I feel I have worked pretty hard, or if I am finishing up a routine at the gym. On an average take-it-easy day, I don't do much stretching. I probably should though.

I do know that when I do strech, I feel much better the next day.

I stretch -- touch my toes -- 4 to 5 days a week for about 5 minutes as part of my "roll out of bed" routine Monday through Friday. I don't regularly stretch before, during, or after a ride 'tho. Sometimes I stretch during a rest stop in the middle of a ride. Can't say that I notice a difference between when I stretch and when I don't.

Because I train 7 days a week, and need to be on top of things going into the next day, I stretch. I stretch before (with a warm-up always, of course) and after (with a cool-down always, of course) every lifting/plyos session. I stretch before every track session, and road race. I stretch after every track session and any road ride or race. I don't usually stretch before road rides because usually, I have more than adequate time to warm up on the ride, and where we take off from, there really isn't any good place to do it. I go about 10 minutes worth.

You notice when you're not doing it.