Stretching it out

Growing up, I used to think that the warm-up and stretching portions of gym class or soccer, basketball, or softball practice were super lame.  I wanted to be out there playing, running around, and just generally getting down and dirty.  I didn't want to do laps around the field or the court, then do suicides, and then sit around in a circle stretching as a team while we all counted to 30 in unison.

Even pretty recently, I never really warmed up before or stretched after a workout. Warming up just seemed like a waste and adds 10 minutes to your workout.  Same with stretching.

I mean, I guess sometimes I warmed up by default.  Like, if I went for a run, the first few minutes would be maybe a bit slower than my normal pace.  But, that's pretty much the extent of my warm ups.  And stretching only really took place after a long run or when I was already sore and trying to stretch it out. 

It wasn't until this past fall that I really started to stretch on a regular basis.  I now stretch after every workout.  And, even on days when I don't work out, I still try to stretch at night. I started this when my doctor recommended I stretch to help my plantar fasciitis.  I wasn't really sure how stretching my calves and hips was going to help my foot, but stretching feels good, so I went with it.  

Turns out, everything's kind of connected, so stretching everything above my foot actually helps my foot feel better.  Now, I stretch my calves, hamstring, hips, back, and shoulders as often as possible.  Especially when I sit hunched over a computer all day long, it really feels good to stretch everything out when I get home.  

If only it were appropriate to bust out a pigeon in the middle of my office.  I'll have to work on that. 

Ok, so stretching makes sense to me now.  Who knew that about 8 million articles and studies extolling the benefits of stretching would actually be right. 

Although apparently you can overstretch before a workout or sporting event, which can be detrimental to your performance.  Good thing I don't usually stretch before working out.

But, I have recently started warming up before a workout.  And I blame the ridiculous cold spell that we've been under.  I wear a long-sleeve shirt over my workout shirt when I head down to the gym in the morning, and lately it's just been way too cold to take that shirt off right away.  Which means that I can't put on my arm band for my iPhone.  Which means that I can't start my workout right away. 

So, I've started doing a quick warm up.  Usually just 5-10 minutes at a moderate pace on the treadmill or elliptical.  Just to get my blood flowing and my body warm. I'm sure its one of the more lame reasons that anyone has ever started including a warm up in their exercise routine, but whatever.  It got me warming up.  

And, it actually feels good. After a warm up, I feel more ready to jump right into my actual workout.  I'm not still working out the kinks in my joints and working off the sleepiness throughout my body.

Plus, I've started actually factoring the time that it takes to do a quick warm up and a decent stretch into my overall workout time.  So, I know that if my workout itself is, say, 30 minutes, and I add in a warm up and stretch, then I'm going to be in the gym for 40 minutes.  Which is usually well within my gym-going time frame.

I might be a bit late to the party, but I'm a convert.  I can now appreciate how good it feels to get your body moving, especially on a cold morning.  And how relaxing it is after a hard workout (or, you know, a hard day of internet surfing) to stretch your muscles out.