  |
|
|
|
Introduction
The content of this article applies to all sportsmen, not just runners. I hope that many of you already do flexibility/mobility stretching exercises and will feel reinvigorated after reading this article. I could write reams but I have tried to extract the main elements, providing some theory and discussion of debatable points, and then the practical advice. But as you can see from the following graphic, I speak from some experience - I am 44 year old now and here I am aged 14 in 1973!
MUSCLE EXTENDIBILITY, MOBILITY OF THE JOINTS, AND FLEXIBILITY Focus Question: In what way do extendibility and mobility interact? For your sport, how flexible do you need to be to practice it? The Italian coach Enrico Arcelli, in his 1989 book "La Maratona: Allenamento e Alimentazione" explains that the aim of stretching is to improve the following aspects of your body's abilities: 1 Muscle Extendibility 2 Mobility of the Joints 3 Flexibility The product of extendibility and mobility is flexibility. When one part of the body flexes a lot in respect of another part of the body, the muscles need to be extendible and the articulation needs to be very mobile. Sports exemplifying flexibility are ballet and gymnastics, but all sports require it. FLEXIBILITY AND THE DANGER OF NEGLECTING IT Focus Question: Why is flexibility often neglected by sportsmen and women? What happens to your body's natural flexibility as you get older? Flexibility, cardiovascular conditioning and resistance training are the three broad objectives to focus on as you maintain your body for the rigors and enjoyment of sports, but it has to be said that those who concentrate on cardio-respiratory fitness often neglect the importance of flexibility in a general training program. The 1987 memory of a guy I saw running a 10 000 metre race in London with a short stride, low knee lift, stiff back, hunched shoulders, and my coach saying to me "He's a typical road runner just doing the track race to help his club. He's no mobility. He doesn't do any stretching." He would have got more pleasure from his running had he taken time out every day to do some stretching exercises. It would have allowed him to exercise aerobically with greater ease. Furthermore, the man I remember so vividly must have been in his mid-thirties. The joints of the body have a natural tendency to lose mobility from adolescence onwards and normal forms of exercise become more difficult to perform, unless you exercise regularly. Putting all the main joints in your body through their full range of movement every day helps maintain their function.
The copyright of the article Overview of Stretching and Warming Up in Training for Running is owned by Clive Maxwell Prestt. Permission to republish Overview of Stretching and Warming Up in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
