stretching before and or after riding

[Neptunium]

anybody stretch before or after a ride? I never have for the most part. But lately I have had a
lower back strain and a concerned person gave me a flyer about stretching before riding bike ( I
ride road bike) there is all kinds of stretches - leg - neck - arm - crotch - back - calf - etc. I
know this is a good subject. don't screw it up greg

 

[Crystal]

I do "light stretches" before riding (about 5-10 minutes) and during the first 10 minutes of my ride
I spin easily and again do some "on the bike" stretches before my actual training ride. However,
after riding, I spend at least 10 minutes doing stretches... Just be careful on the before stretches
as your muscles are not "warmed" up and stretches can then cause injuries.

Crystal

"NEPTUNIUM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> anybody stretch before or after a ride? I never have for the most part. But lately I have had a
> lower back strain and a concerned person gave me a flyer about stretching before riding bike ( I
> ride road bike) there is all kinds of stretches - leg - neck - arm - crotch - back -
calf -
> etc. I know this is a good subject. don't screw it up greg

 

[Raptor]

NEPTUNIUM wrote:
> anybody stretch before or after a ride? I never have for the most part. But lately I have had a
> lower back strain and a concerned person gave me a flyer about stretching before riding bike ( I
> ride road bike) there is all kinds of stretches - leg - neck - arm - crotch - back - calf - etc. I
> know this is a good subject. don't screw it up greg

Stretching is best done when warmed up. Since I usually hop on the bike cold, I don't stretch before
riding. Mild stretching can be done on the bike but it's hard to hold a stretch long enough to be
truly effective for the muscles (10 seconds minimum, repeated, or 20 seconds once).

I frequently end up stretching after a ride, but rarely as a formal "hop off, stretch for five
minutes" routine.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

 

[Lewdvig]

I waited until I was 32 before starting to stretch (this year). Start stretching ASAP.

Its personal pref whether you do it before or after a ride.

The Lance Armstrong training book (Chris C) has some good basic stretches.

I found that I feel better after rides and muscles hurt less the next day versus not stretching.

"NEPTUNIUM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> anybody stretch before or after a ride? I never have for the most part. But lately I have had a
> lower back strain and a concerned person gave me a flyer about stretching before riding bike ( I
> ride road bike) there is all kinds of stretches - leg - neck - arm - crotch - back -
calf -
> etc. I know this is a good subject. don't screw it up greg

 

[Phantom6]

"stretches can then cause injuries" I agree Crystal, be careful. I start cold and warm up with a
slow spin about 80 rpm then work up to the 110-120 I feel comfortable with. Thats my only
Pre-streach, post ride I incorporate my streach with my leg massage, don't forget the lower back.

Wes

On Thu, 03 Jul 2003 11:56:37 -0400, Crystal wrote:

> I do "light stretches" before riding (about 5-10 minutes) and during the first 10 minutes of my
> ride I spin easily and again do some "on the bike" stretches before my actual training ride.
> However, after riding, I spend at least 10 minutes doing stretches... Just be careful on the
> before stretches as your muscles are not "warmed" up and stretches can then cause injuries.
>
> Crystal
>
> "NEPTUNIUM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> anybody stretch before or after a ride? I never have for the most part. But lately I have had a
>> lower back strain and a concerned person gave me a flyer about stretching before riding bike ( I
>> ride road bike) there is all kinds of stretches - leg - neck - arm - crotch - back -
> calf -
>> etc. I know this is a good subject. don't screw it up greg