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Hi Everyone,
I hope that you have been enjoying this week’s workouts. When I woke up this morning I felt all of the work that we have been doing on our glutes. I decided to work some of the lactic acid out of my muscles by going for a nice long run outside. It was in the upper 30s today, so it’s a lot warmer (relatively speaking!) than it has been. I ran 5.65 miles on a VERY hilly route.
According to our GPS watch the total ascent for this run was 1138 feet. That’s a lot of uphill! For today’s workout I recommend getting in 30-45 minutes of cardio. That can be running, jump rope, dancing, or anything that gets your heart rate up for the duration of the exercise. J
For today’s video Jesse and I filmed a full body stretching routine. This routine is great for runners, or anyone, who wants to increase their flexibility. There are a lot of stretches in this video for areas that are difficult to get with traditional stretching. We spend a lot of time stretching the IT band, back, and quads.
Many people ask me why stretching is important. Think of a piece of leather. It starts out supple and soft, but if you leave it out in the sun to dry it shrinks and hardens, until it is stiff, tough, and inflexible. This is what happens to your muscles when you don’t stretch. It leaves them much more vulnerable to injury. The good news is that your muscles can be slowly re-lubricated and stretched out over time. You can regain your flexibility through practice. This will help keep you healthy and able bodied throughout your life.
I don’t want there to be a day when I can no longer do these stretches or workouts. I firmly believe that the best medicine is prevention. It is much easier to maintain your health and fitness through life than it is to regain it (although that is possible too!) I hope you enjoy this video, and find it useful to your practice.
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
That’s a great stretching routine, I really enjoy doing it once or twice a week. And today i had my first long run, – 20 minutes in a forest up and down hill. It was great! Thank you so much for it!
I love this stretching routine, it’s really relaxing 🙂
Do you stretch before you run? I didn’t see an indication of when you perform the stretch. There is a lot of evidence that static stretching is not good before you run but should be applied after a run/workout once the muscles have been warmed up. There is a lot of collected data that stretching before certain exercises actually reduces your effectiveness including running.
Great stretching routine! Make sure to keep legs straight when doing stretches in the straddle position though so there is a better stretch all along the hamstrings. Also, it’s a good idea to alternate between pointed and flexed feet in certain positions to stretch not only the back of the hamstring but also the front part of your shin/foot.
Ah that feels goooood! Thank you : )
I love this! I have cranky, tight IT bands (thou I am not a runner). I make the same noises jesse does!
This was great! I started training for a 1/2 marathon this week and these stretches really hit all my tights muscles.. You really know what you’re doing and I’m so glad I found this blog!! Thank you! 🙂
Thanks a lot, Melissa! I did 45 minutes of skipping (it was brutal!) and than this awesome stretching routine. It’s very enjoyable and relaxing, it will be one of my favorite stretching routines, I’m sure that I will be doing it regularly after hard workouts 🙂