Do you stretch before riding?
 

I read this article in the New York Times magazine this past Sunday. It states: "In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all." It goes on to describe the current thinking about warm up as "a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups." It also has a few pictures.

I used to run and if I didn't stretch my calves before running, they would tighten up and hurt. I neither run any more nor have the calf problems when I bike. But, I've always done static stretching before riding. After reading the article, I skipped the stretching today and I did a minute or so on an aerobic trainer before getting on my bike. I can't say it made any difference.

Do you have any special warm-ups you do before getting on your bike?

Ray

Your right here, this is the current thinking, im a personal trainer and i use dynamic or functional warm ups instead of stretching. Stretching acutally damages the muscle microscopically a bit like doing a set of weights which obviously reduces the muscles capability striaght after. I always recommend stretching after to return your muscles to their original length as the will shorten and tighten slightly during exercise when they become engorged. a turbo trainer is a perfect warm up tool as is some dynamic stretches like lunge walking, the hamstring walk and some sumo walks. I always foam roll my IT bands and hips before cycling as they are my tightest area, this might help for your calves.

I've found no real benefit to a lot of stretching. I just get on the bike and start out slowly and ride in a low gear for a little while until my heart rate gets up and then I step up the pace.

No, I don't stretch before my rides ... it's not a good idea to stretch your muscles while they are cold. Instead it is a better idea to ride easy and spin lightly for the first few minutes, and then to ease into the ride.

Later, at a rest stop or at the end of the day, when your muscles are warmed up, then stretching is more effective and less harmful.

I've been practicing yoga since 97 and I have found huge benefits to proper stretching.

Warm up easy, stop, do a few stretches, then get on and hammer!

I stretch throughout the day, while off the bike. It's fun to stretch while standing in line at the store, people step back and frown. Sometimes I can even elicit a behind-the-hand comment or two.

On a TOUR**********

I stopped doing pre-ride static stretches earlier this year, and so far it seems like I have less DOMS. Basically I just take it easy for the first 10 minutes or so.

I may go back to post-ride stretches, but I just never enjoyed stretching in the first place, so maybe not. ;)

I'd take articles like that with a grain of salt though. It was just last year when the NYT said "there isn't enough evidence yet to be sure if stretching helps...."

Nope, not at all. I just start riding. Things warm up in a mile or so.

Hi,

after you woke up: Do you stretch before going to the bath room? No I don't stretch or warm up. I just sit on the bike and tour (On tour I'm not an athlet)

Thomas

My warm-up is a 20 minute walk with my dog to make sure he gets his business out of the way before we head out. Embarrassing when he 'drops' things in the middle of the road (cough, cough):o.

Even if I'm not taking him on the long ride, I have to give him a short (3 mile) run, or he'll howl and annoy the neighbors that his favourite toy went out the door without giving him at least the quick sprint. Both together seem to make the perfect warm-up.

No.

I never stretch before riding. I often stretch before going to bed, though; helps me sleep.

Including my hands and other extremities that may have gotten cold when packing the tent (especially if it's raining or cold (or... shudder both))
When I used to commute by bike I would use my gloves for the first few minutes, then would have gotten so warm I'd need to take them off to cool myself off.

Why not? Especially when riding with a group it is fun to hammer some days or parts of some days whether on tour or not. This is especially true if the tour is months long. When riding on fun terrain like shortish rolling hills a hammerfest can be very pleasant. Why skip it just because you are on tour. Touring does not mean you have to adopt a plodding pace, merely that you can when and if you want to.

Back on the original topic...
Around home I never stretch before a ride. On tour my need to stretch is variable. I can usually judge if or how much I need to stretch by whether I can place my palms on the ground without bending my knees. In most cases i don't need to, but when I do I usually ride for 10-20 miles and then stretch when I stop for second breakfast. Sometimes I might stretch at the end of the day. In all cases I avoid stretching too aggressively. I find it better to be a bit timid with the stretching and if the desired result isn't achieved to try again after some more miles.

I just get on the bike and ride.I do stretch while riding and after riding though.

I have stretching that I do to help my posture, but it's specifically for scoliosis, and not for cycling. Stretching beforehand helps me recover from cycling, however, since I have less pain from being hunched over.

whole body stretching is good for general health and ability to reduce injury in crashes, it's not a practice for warming up. Warming up is warming up. Stretching is stretching. One can be incorporated in the other to some degree but I'd save stretching for recovery periods. Getting ligaments warmed up and circulation around non-meaty parts like joints so bursas are lubricating correctly will happen from a warm body, stretching is something that's better with a body that's already warm not for warming it up.

I was doing long distance riding and light touring for years then got into a skiing accident at 23yrs old that whacked my left knee and hurt the bursa below it. A year after that I started riding with the racing club and learned the difference between riding hard and riding fast. If I didn't warm up easy for 30 minutes that left knee would get a twinge of pain and I was screwed for hours and hours unable to put out more than 50% without risking more pain. If I warmed up EASY for 15minutes then moderately for another 15 I was ready to really crank it up, on cold days I might not be warmed up for 45minutes to an hour. Stretching didin't do it. I tried. So I stretched on recovery days or after cooling down hikes, especially torso muscles as they didn't move much.

I've found that I really need to do stretching (and hydrating) to avoid/defer injury, which is not to say that dynamic stretching couldn't do it better. And I did have a problem w/ my achilles that my physical therapist associated w/ too much flex around my ankle, which is consistent w/ the article homing in on static stretching as leading to weakening. More of that is to do w/ weird posture while sitting at my desk, but I pretty much never stretch my calves anymore to avoid adding to that problem. Stretch my hamstrings and quads to get indirect stretch on calves w/o affecting achilles (much).

I only do a "warm up" when it's cold and I literally want to be warm by the time I'm riding. Usually jogging on the spot for a minute or two, but I might switch to pushups.

Not that this has anything to do with touring. On a tour, by the time I'm ready to ride, by definition the tent is packed away and I'm standing around outside, so it's too late to do anything about warming up beside just getting on the damn bike.

But stretches? No.

Steve

I usually ride for about a mile or two, stop, stretch for a couple minutes, hydrate and by then I'm ready to get into it. Seems to work for me. I actually had no idea so many of you didn't stretch! Guess it makes sense though, my roommates' dogs don't seem to need to stretch before tearing off after tennis balls.

I guess if you start off slow, it works fine?

I usually ride about 2-3 miles, pull over and get a good stretch in.

I've found that a few simple 10 minute stretches (in the AM and at lunch) really pay off big later in the day.

That said, every body is different, ymmv.

I start to stretch before I get out of bed in the morning and keep it up all day long. My goal is to maintain a constant awareness of my entire body and to optimize performance through balanced exercise.

This is an interesting article from the New York Times which suggests that static stretching is detrimental to performance:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sp...=1&oref=slogin

I have to be honest, I don't stretch prior to any physical activity. What I do do is just simply start off very slowly, and wait until my body tells me it's OK to go harder. Granted it might not be the right way to do it, but it seems to have worked for me -I'm in my early 40's with no real injuries I can recall, and I have been fairly active too. Of course, it might mean I've just been lucky, or that until an injury happens I'll just keep living in ignorance. However, is stretching the same as warming up?