and what kind of stretching do you do?

I really need to start stretching as part of my daily routine, as I have been increasing to miles and generally getting in better shape.

My goal is simply to become more flexible to reduce my risk of injury, and simply to be more flexible... also to help my cycling of course.

I found this paper on the net and thought it looked pretty good. So I think I will give it a try and see how it goes.... https://www.lmb.org/mfls/Docs/Stretching.pdf

I know some people don't think stretching is useless and only will increase the risk of injury, I don't want to hear from you. All major athletes have superior flexibility, and increasing my own can only hep me become a better all around athlete.

So how flexible are you and how do you maintain and increase your flexibility?

I am moderately flexible and try to stretch after each ride. I just do the basic "biking" stretches: quads, hamstrings, IT, calves, upper body. I took yoga classes a while back and those stretches really help if you want to get into deep muscle work.

I have all the flexibility of a 2x4. Chiropractors, massage therapists, physiotherapists, etc. all nod and smile when I say I'm not flexible, and then when they try to get me to move in a certain way, they get this look of horror when I absolutely cannot do it. I'm lucky to be able to touch my knees let alone my toes.

I took yoga classes for three winters a number of years ago, and they did help (especially the first two classes). There were noticable improvements ... but it's been a while, and any improvements have gone out the window now.

If you are going to stretch, be sure to do it after you've warmed up a bit ... don't stretch cold. And if you want really effective stretching go with partner stretching. But be sure to communicate with your partner if you go that route.

What kind of warm up should be done? I usually don't do any kind of warm up before stretching.

I don't do stretching before a ride, but i do Bikram yoga up to 6 times a week, especially during the winter. I difference of my body, flexibility, lack of back pain, etc is very noticeable both on and off the bike.

Bikram yoga is the one done in a hot room and is a pretty intensive 90 min workout without all the meditating and spiritual stuff of regular yoga.

I sometimes stretch before a ride, but I've found that spinning for a few minutes helps just as much.

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I ride in the morning before work. I may go against conventional wisdom, but I do stretch when my body has not yet warmed up. Its my hamstrings and upper back and shoulders.

I'm with you on stretching. Can you imagine a track hurdler who doesn't stretch before workouts?

Stretching cold is harmful. Stretching warm is slightly beneficial at best, but usually completely pointless. Unless you're a gymnast. But for a cyclist, pointless.

I do light stretching before I ride and just take it easy for the first few minutes of the ride to warm up. After I ride I like to do some yoga-style stretches/poses and whatnot. I usually feel better the next day when I stretch after a ride...

The linked stretches you're doing look good to me. I do these stretches after a ride of few miles or more:

https://www.cyclingpursuits.com/index1.html

I stretch at other times if I feel tension.

A light but extensive stretch at rest stops and after a ride. A thorough stretch session during a three-mile walk on my active recovery days. I take a walking stick to help as required.

I stretch for the 1st 20 minutes after I wake up in the morning. I think it really helps get over soreness faster.

sometimes I stretch when I wake up. Then I go to the bathroom.

Go for a 5-10 minute walk
Ride your bicycle at a casual pace for 5-10 minutes

Stuff like that.

Cyclo-zen has great stretches as part of it. I'm much more flexible and feel more comfortable on the bike.

I use the cyclozen routines also. But then i also do a 10 minute yoga set in the mornings straight after getting out of bed. In the morning if i find i'm stiff i just take it easy. I can't find the link to the one i now know (been doing it for a while) but googling morning yoga brings back heaps of links...

Does a cyclist need to stretch? Well, my first century ended up with quite a bit of back pain. The next years event after regular yoga/stretching totally eradicated the problem. There were no changes to my bike, seat, handlebars - nothing. So i would say from my experience it does help.

Go for it - give it a try (at least a couple of months) and see how you feel.

Lewis

man, i am so inflexible and tight it should be illegal.

i always feel better and recover faster when spending 15 to 30 minutes stretching post ride. when running i do a brief warm up with some stretching before hand and then the same 15 to 30 afterwards. when racing or on an organized ride i sometimes skip the stretching in favor of hanging out and shooting the breeze AND i always feel it the next day.

i may try some yoga this winter to loosen things up. later.

Stretching is definitely beneficial. I'm a compulsive stretcher. After an Ultimate game (pick-up) I stretch for so long that my friends get impatient if we carpooled. After collegiate games we stretch as a team, and then I do my own in addition to that. I also warm up and stretch a lot before stuff.

For warm ups my routes generally don't start right outside my door. I'll ride 5 minutes down the road or whatever, then get off and stretch, and then start my actual ride.

I can tell when I've been stretching enough and when I haven't. Within a couple weeks I can touch my toes again.

I do hamstrings (lower and upper), achilles, foot, calves, quads, inside of thighs (dunno what they're called) glutes, upper/lower back, neck, abs, side of abs, pecs, triceps, shoulders, groin, hips.

That's about it. Takes me around 10-15 minutes or so to do my full stretching. For riding I'll usually concentrate on the hamstring, achilles, glutes, calves, quads, inside of thighs, neck and back. I still do the rest of it, just not for as long as normal.

It helps me avoid injury as well as not be as sore. Plus I'm more flexible so I fit on the bike better and stuff like that too.

I have been stretching seriously for about five years now and it has made a big difference in my life. I was lucky enough to find the book Stretching and Flexibility by Kit Laughlin at my local library. He emphasizes contract-release to become more flexible. Basically, you contract the muscle group you are stretching and then release and re-stretch it to gain a better range of motion. I can definitely say that I am much more flexible than I was when I started. I now look forward to the days that I do one of the lessons. Laughlin has devoted his life to stretching and does a great job of explaining exactly how each exercise should be done. It's a pretty serious time commitment - each lesson takes about an hour and a half - but the benefits are well worth it, in my opinion.

I stretch 2x/week, only work on hamstrings. This has allowed me to get into a much more aggressive position and continue to build power.

At this point I can get my fists on the ground with straight legs, and I'm riding with nearly 7" of saddle-bar drop on the road bike.

Mrs. Road fan and I just started doing back stretching exercises. I started getting some lower back pain, I think from laying off riding during our 2 week rainstorm, then going out for a hard 40 miles, then nothing, then TYING MY SHOE!!! Big ache, but not a radiating pain.

They help a lot in terms of stabilizing my back. Previous I was doing some back strengthening as part of my rotator cuff rehab, and that helped a lot with maintaining a drop position for a longer time.

Hamstrings, huh? Yes, I have that problem, too!

First, each body has its own needs.

As for me, I've had long periods of years doing yoga many times a week, including one long session. Now, I just do 15-20 min. in the morning to warm up. I find a long set of sit ups gets me nicely warmed up for stretching, maybe some light sun salutations (yoga series), too.

On top of that, I also do intensive stretching and core building which isn't yoga per se, and try to do it every day, especially during intense training periods. Reasons: 1)
It has nearly healed my chondromalacia (knee injury) by fixing my bio-mechanics, and 2) it has made me a stronger rider, using more of my core to pedal, and able to be in a more aerodynamic position for longer with less achiness.

On the other question, I used to NEVER go out for a ride without stretching, but now I'm finding, as my core and general fitness improves over the season, I can go out and just ride moderately for 20 min. or so and that's enough warm-up. I stretch as much as time will allow afterwards, or at night before bed (helps with sleeping too). Try to make at least one session per day a deep, long one. I find that going out with out stretching seems (anecdotally...) to give me greater power more quickly -- less time until I feel powerful in the saddle. Perhaps the old saw about stretching before exercise is actually right; maybe it does make your muscles do the opposite of what you want them to on a hard ride...

Experiment with different approaches. But I can't recommend a good yoga instructor highly enough. Videos are not a good way to get introduced to a very challenging, different way of relating to your body. I personally don't like the Power or Bikram or Vinyasa styles, which are the more popular ones now, because I was trained in old-fashioned, hold-the-pose-a-long-time-and-get-the-benefits school. But that's me -- ymmv.

The more I stretch and strengthen my core, the better I am as an athlete. Yoga classes are a great way to do that. There are others, too.

I might give AIS a try. I've always been non-flexible and more stretching usually leads to tighter muscles. Thanks for the info!

I have to do some sort of stretching before I ride (dislocated hip in the past, and a fractured lumbar vertebrae). I warm up a bit before stretching (walking up and down stairs for a few minutes, or taking a light walk) and usually begin at my feet and move all the way up to my neck, one joint/muscle at a time. This normally only requires about 10-15 minutes to complete...and my muscles definitely feel less sore, less tight, and less achy after riding...and the next day. I'd definitely recommend focusing on - the ankles, calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, groin, and lower back primarily.

I agree entirely. For overall flexibility I do daily yoga. It would probably be most effective after my morning commute, but that's not always possible. Nonetheless, I fing yoga and cycling synergistic, and I'm best at both when I do both daily.