Running tips/stretches needed!

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treehugger215
treehugger215 Posts: 97 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey! So I've been running for awhile but my legs recently are feeling sore lately (I've been pushing myself to run faster/longer).

I'm giving myself rest days, and stretching a little after the run and I walk for about 5 minutes before as a warm up. It's mostly my calves that kill after.

Any tips/stretches that you use post run??

Thanks in advance, and happy Valentines Day :D

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  • acballou
    acballou Posts: 6
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    A couple of tips that have worked for me are rolling and stretching.

    Rolling - you can use a foam roller or a PVC pipe (usually a little harder so it hurts a little more during the rolling) - place your leg on the roller and just roll back and forth. Need more pressure? Cross the resting leg over to put more weight on the leg being rolled out. If you feel a place that's a little more knotted up, spend a few extra seconds on that spot.

    Stretch #1: Stand a couple/few feet out from a wall (facing the wall) then lean against the wall keeping one leg straight back (heel on the floor, if you can) and hold for 30-45 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.

    Stretch #2: Sit straight in a chair and bend your ankles so that your toes are being pointed toward the ceiling. You can also bring your legs straight out in front of you and bend your ankles so that your toes are pointing at you.
  • meaganbush
    meaganbush Posts: 6 Member
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    There is a yoga for runners workout in iTunes by Kimberley Fowler. I do it after every run.

    Definitely makes a difference for me.
  • treehugger215
    treehugger215 Posts: 97 Member
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    Thanks! :)
  • BennyLT
    BennyLT Posts: 5
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    yah to the foam roller!!! love it!

    and here is something. believe me or not, and i agree this sounds rediculous!!

    I was told this by my physical therepist/triathelete.

    at the end of your low slow days add in 5 x30 second hill sprints, walking back down the hill. Add this at the END of a workout, it should not substitute for any miles.

    he told me it recruits the fast twitch muscles that "go idle" when working in a lot of lower zone miles. He gave me a bunch of medical terms that i forget. but basically, those fast twitch muscles need to also be functioning well for your muscle to function properly. According to him tightness is a muscle contracting to limit movement in order to protect itself from further injury. So pulling on a tight muscle (stretching) can relax them in minor cases, but if it is continuing, that will only lead to injury. getting the muscle to just relax it's contraction on it's own requires your body to tell it everything is working properly. Hence rev up the muscles to knock the rust off. then they relax.


    anyway it sounds impossible, and you can call me crazy... but i have done it for the past few months and it does work. and the sprints aren't as hard as you would think. I mean yah it sucks at first.

    But now my calves and hamstrings are WAY looser all the time with no additional stretching. And an perk is I now pass a lot of people on the up-hills ha ha.
  • runningwiththepups
    runningwiththepups Posts: 64
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    My favorite stretch is always Pigeon Pose: http://www.active.com/mindandbody/articles/Pose_of_the_Month__Pigeon_Pose

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