As a yoga enthusiast, my answer has always been yes to stretching … I usually stretch before and after my daily bike rides. Before to loosen my muscles and after to relax them. However, I have recently learned that before isn’t necessarily the best time to stretch. Apparently, it disturbs the joints and can hamper performance if you are going all out for speed.
Here is what Web MD has to say:
Do You Need to Stretch at All?
It’s a good idea, says the American College of Sports Medicine. The ACSM recommends stretching each of the major muscle groups at least two times a week for 60 seconds per exercise.
Staying flexible as you age is a good idea. It helps you move better.
For example, regular stretching can help keep your hips and hamstrings flexible later in life, says Lynn Millar, PhD. She’s a physical therapist and professor at Winston-Salem State University.
If your posture or activities are a problem, make it a habit to stretch those muscles regularly. If you have back pain from sitting at a desk all day, stretches that reverse that posture could help.
I see people completing their workout routines and rushing through a few cursory stretches; mainly to appease the trainer, mind elsewhere, in a hurry to get going. Their flexibility does not get any better; they can still barely bend forward to reach for their thighs leave alone their toes, but they see no reason to waste time toiling with “stretches’. They have more important things to do, their cardio, so they can burn an indecent number of calories, push as much weight as they can to gain that well sculpted physique. Flexibility? Yes, well, let’s be done with it as quickly as possible!
