Stretches before/after/at all?

[Zigg]

About to do w1r2 (newbie 🙂) should I be be doing Stretches before/after/at all? And if so what ones are best? I want to give myself the best start. Thanks

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate]

Hi Zigg, good luck with W1 R2..

Have a drink of water afterwards and do some leg stretches while your muscles are still warm. I do hamstrings, the front of my thighs and calf streches. Take a look on the NHS healthunlocked website to see how to do them or there is a link to then on the pinned post below nhs how to run correctly and stretch.

I think the warm up walk is enough at the beginning but stretching after the warm down walk is beneficial.

Good luck😊

[Claireisrunning]

Hey! How did the run go? Hope it was fun 😊 Well done for starting! I did too, last week, not regretting it yet 😊

I do these stretches after every session - they definitely stop me from getting achey and stiff for the next couple of days!

nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/...

Hope you have a great end to your first week!

[Dhiny]

I sometimes do stretches after the warm up but not always, it depends if my calf muscles are feeling tight but if I am stretching then I do hamstrings, quads, leg adductors & abductors, calf muscles, and loosen up my ankles too. Make sure you are hydrated too and only stretch when your muscles have warmed up. Happy running x

[Zigg]

I did it and it felt great! Hoping it keeps going that way. I did some stretches inbetween the cool down and drank plenty of water. I then walked for another 5 mins after that and feel that's helped. Thanks for the support! 😊😊

[MarkyD Graduate]

I'm using the 'Performance Stretching' app from company LoLo on my iPhone. OK, it cost me £2.99 but it talks me through which stretches to do (and for how long) after a run, and even plays my 'cooling down' playlist whilst doing so.

I'm too inflexible to do some of the stretches correctly, but I'm hoping that stretching regularly and effectively will increase my suppleness.

[Zigg in reply to MarkyD]

Sounds like a good app, can't find it on android though 😞 found one that gives you 17 differnt ones yo do - A bit excessive I think.