Originally Posted by
david58
As stated above, stretching AFTER the activity is very beneficial. A great cooldown activity, and it does help flexibility to stretch afterward. But before the activity, I have been taught NOT to include stretching.
+10 on this. It took me years of still thinking like what my high school gym teacher taught us (35 yrs ago) to finally realize that pre stretching was bad for me, and that on long rides (or cross country skiing at -15c for that matter) mid ride stretches for a bit worked wonders for loosening up tightness from the activity, but especially as mentioned-POST ride stretches are soooo important for helping flexibility and getting leg muscles stronger as we train more and harder throughout the season.
I purposely try to watch something on tv or whtever so that I take my time and stretch carefully and gradually for a good 20 mins and I really notice a diff.
prestretching is an old outdated, dangerous idea and bad for your muscles. Taking it easy at first is the best thing I have found.
you gotta listen to your body and not what people say is good to do.