Range of motion and flexibility.

Part 2 of preparing for a training cycle

This is the second part in a series I’m doing on some things you may want to consider when getting ready for a hard training cycle.  Last time we talked about what good form is, how to practice it and some drills to help achieve it.  This week I’m going to talk about flexibility and range of motion.

Whenever we talk about running the topic of stretching is going to come up.  Many of us hate stretching and don’t do any on purpose.  Many of us swear by one protocol or another as the secret to keeping us injury free.

What’s the truth?

First the truth is that stretching and mobility in all its forms, like all things, is individual specific.  Your stretching and mobility needs will be different depending what your goals as a runner are.  They will change over time as you go through natural cycles of training.  There is no silver bullet or one size fits all.

Why do you care about stretching and mobility at all?

If you are going to embark on a more serious training campaign stretching and mobility may be something you need to look at.

First for injury prevention and second for performance enhancement.

Most of us come to a stretching routine when we get injured.  Typically this is when we have increased our mileage, our intensity or do something different.  We learn that stretching the offending tendon or working on range of motion in the joint or strengthening a weak area, as part of our routine, keeps the injury bug away.

What about performance?  Does stretching help you run faster?  That’s an interesting question.  The studies that have been done with elite runners actually show an inverse effect of performance and stretching.

What?! That’s right, in the elites that were tested stretching made them slower.  Why?  It is theorized that the tightening of the tendons, joints and muscles caused by running is actually a positive adaption.  When you stretch you counter that running specific adaption.

Does this mean you shouldn’t stretch?  Not really.  Unless you’re an elite the benefit of injury prevention probably outweighs a small decrease in bounciness during hard races.  Especially for longer distances where the snap of speed isn’t that crucial.

What is range of motion and why do you care?

Each one of your joints and muscles has a natural range of motion.  If you are starting a hard training cycle where the goal is to get faster you may have to adapt and improve your range of motion when you change to a faster mechanics.

Watch a video of elite marathoners running.  Look at how open and free-floating their hips are.  Look at how high their leg drive is and how far back their leg kick goes.  They are still running with great form but they have opened up their range of motion to adapt to the speed and effort.  Fast runners have an incredible range of motion, especially in their hips.

Those elites train and stretch and work on their stride every day.  You probably don’t.  You probably do partake in activities that restrict your range of motion.  Like sitting at a desk all day, driving or walking around in bad shoes.  The bottom line is that you may have to adapt your range of motion to fix some of the bad habits your life has given you and help you get to that efficient stride and form.

If you have ever looked into stretching routines you may have found that it’s not as simple as a few toe touches.  There are different types of stretching.

First is the most common – Static Stretching.  This is known as the ‘reach and hold’ stretching that most of us know how to do.  A perfect example would be the hurdler static stretch where you lean forward and grab or touch your toe with a straight leg.  This stretches the hamstring and back of the leg in this instance.

Static stretching is good because it’s well known and easy.  It can be bad because the muscle you are trying to stretch can activate and fight back, preventing the stretch from being effective. When you do a static stretch try to let the muscle you are stretching relax.  Relax into the stretch.

Another common stretching method for runners is Active Stretching.  In active stretching you use muscles to stretch muscles.  This would be things like high kicks or butt kicks or and of those swinging exercises you see people doing at the track.

Active stretching is a great way to warm up for a workout and in many cases mimics a good running form.  Exercises like high knees and exaggerated bounding build strength and enhance your range of motion for running faster and more efficiently.

There is also a form of Static Stretching that is known as Passive Stretching where you use some force or device to enhance the stretch.

There is also a great form of stretching called Dynamic Stretching where you move into the stretch and cycle the stretch.

The best example of dynamic stretching I can think of is when the massage therapist helps me with my hamstring.  If you can picture the therapist putting my leg up on their shoulder and lifting it into a hamstring stretch.  They have me engage the hamstring and release repeatedly, each time the stretch gets deeper.

I’m not a physical therapist and am not going to proscribe a stretching routine for you.  What I am going to tell you to do is to find what works for you.

How do you do this?

First thing I would do is to establish a baseline.  Find a physical therapist, or massage therapist, someone who works with runners and buy an hour of their time to get an evaluation of your flexibility and range of motion.  They should be able to tell you where you need work, where you are at risk and where you are weak.

They should also be able to recommend stretches for those areas, but take that with a grain of salt.  Everyone has their favorite solution protocol.  Do your homework and try different things.  Look on YouTube for examples.

As with the form practice we talked about last time have a good running coach or running PT look at a video of you running and they will be able to spot weaknesses in your range of motion and flexibility.  We all know that you are a one of a kind special snowflake…but there are a number of very common things that will pop right out when they watch you try to run fast!

Once you have some guidance find some simple routines you can work into your daily and weekly practice.  Keep it simple so that you actually do it.  Consistency is the key.  Once you get a routine and you make it habit you can vary it as necessary.

Yoga is a good combination of strength, flexibility and range of motion you can practice.  Just be careful because you’ll have to find the forms and guidance that you can do without hurting yourself.  Ask for help.  Take it slowly.

To summarize:

Get a baseline evaluation.

Find the practice that works for you and is sustainable.

Work it into your practice.

Get help as you need it.

Range of motion is important to a fast and efficient running form.  There are many different flavors of stretching and practice to gain the range of motion you need.  Our modern life constricts our natural range of motion.  Most of us need to work on it.  Flexibility and range of motion can be your key to good running form and injury prevention.