Are you stretching enough?

Cyclists always have the same excuse when it comes to stretching or any form of flexibility training, they don’t have the time. Well, like just about everything else in life that time limits are an excuse for, it is not really about not having enough time, it is more about not prioritising it.

So, why should you make the time for stretching or some form of flexibility training?

The benefits are clear but not immediate.

• You will recover faster from on bike training sessions
• You will be less prone to injury
• If you crash you will be less likely to do serious damage
• You can get into a more aerodynamic position
• You will feel a lot better

David Goggins, recognised as one of the fittest men on earth has a two hour stretching regime built into his daily regime. That means if he is travelling all day and gets into a hotel room at 2am he stays up until 4am stretching.

What stretching should you do? The choices are many and varied so there is something to suit everybody. Pilates and Yoga classes are available in almost every town and village in the country nowadays and are a great way to learn how to stretch and improve flexibility and fitness.

If you are doing it at home this routine devised by Gerard Hartmann has been used by many of the Worlds top athletes : https://www.outsideonline.com/running/training/injury-prevention/best-running-stretches/

This is another great routine by Ian Purcell : https://youtu.be/GOnPdNY3svM?feature=shared

If you are still unconvinced about making the time to stretch then doing it at night just before going to bed can be a great way to feel like you are not using up any time that you could be using for other things and also something that will help you to sleep a lot better. This is probably the easiest way to incorporate a stretching routine into your lifestyle and a good place to start is Yoga by Adrienne on youtube and this video clip in particular : https://youtu.be/v7SN-d4qXx0?feature=shared

Find whatever suits you best but it really is worth the effort to incorporate some form of stretching or flexibility into not just your training routine but your general lifestyle too.

Barry