Neglecting stretching? Here are seven moves to help increase your flexibility
What runner isn't guilty of prioritising running above all the other stuff – like recovery, strength and conditioning or mobility? And if you have visions of mobility being all about complicated yoga poses, then think again. Mobility is really important for good running form, and it helps prevent injuries and keeps you out running.
By contrast, if you have poor mobility, your joints and muscles won't move through their full range of motion, and that, in turn, will make you less efficient as a runner and also place greater strain on muscles and tendons to pick up the slack. So your injury risk will increase significantly – and no runner wants time on the injury bench if they can avoid it.
Luckily, mobility is something that's very easy and simple to work on and see good progress within a relatively short time. And it doesn't require a lot of time or a lot of equipment. This simple routine has been put together by Alex Dudley, a strength and conditioning coach who is director of development at Pliability, which offers daily mobility routines.
All you need is a few spare minutes and somewhere you can stretch out a bit, like a yoga mat or towel placed on the floor. Try it a few times a week, and you'll soon notice the effects.
7 move mobility flow for runners
Foot Circles
Standing with feet slightly apart, roll your weight to the outside edge of your feet
Slowly transfer your weight to your toes, then the inside edge, heels, and back to the outside edge in a circular motion
Repeat circles five times then switch directions, starting with the weight on the inside edge of your feet
Slowly transfer your weight to your toes, the outside edge, the heels, and back to the inside edge of your feet in a circular motion
Repeat circles five times.
Down Dog to Seal
Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, hinge at the hips, placing your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart
Actively press the hands into the floor, and the heels to the ground – in downward dog – hold for five seconds
Drop your chest and hips to the ground, then press up through the hands, extending the arms, this is also known as 'seal'
Actively hold the seal position for five secs, feeling the stretch in your hips and abs
Repeat five times.
Runners Stretch to Samson
Start in a standing position
Reach one leg behind you, keeping the heel on the ground to stretch the back of the calf in a runner's pose
Now, slowly bend that back knee down to the ground to sink the hips to the ground
Feel a deep stretch in the front of the hip as you sink down to the ground
After a couple of breaths, press through the front heel to 'press' the hips up and back to return to the runner's stretch.
Knee Hug to Lunge
Start in a standing position
Keeping glutes engaged, pull right knee up to the chest, hugging the knee
Hold knee to the chest for five secs
Drop the right knee and step forward into a lunge, sinking the left hip and knee down
Hold for five seconds and push your right leg back to standing
Repeat on the other leg.
Hip Airplanes
Start standing with knees straight
Now, balance on one leg and with one straight line from the head to the opposite toes, lean forward at the hip. Feel a strong stretching sensation through the hamstrings on the down leg, making sure to keep the pelvis parallel to the ground (not opening or closing the hip). To help keep the pelvis square to the ground, think about reaching the pointer finger of the non-working side towards the big toe of the down leg
At the end range of motion, maintain balance and attempt to "rotate" to "open" the entire body on that down leg
Now, slowly control back to the starting position and attempt to "close" the body down to get the chest and pelvis to face the opposite wall
Get back to the starting position and go into full standing
Repeat five times on each side.
Standing Leg Swings
Stand facing a wall with handheld support
Now, stand on one leg, keeping the other leg straight and swing it back and forth pointing the toes towards the direction you are swinging
Feel a strong stretch, no pain in the lower back, hip, or down the leg
Repeat 10 times before switching sides
Now, stand sideways to the wall, once again using handheld support.
Take the leg closest to the wall and swing back and forth with a straight leg to feel a strong stretch in the back of the leg
Repeat 10 times each side.
Fig 4 Pulls
Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, slowly begin to bounce on the toes of each foot, alternating sides
Once you had established a bouncing rhythm, your right toe tap will spring up to a figure four running position, high knee, right foot inline with left knee
This motion is explosive and in time with alternating toe bounces
Repeat five times on the right leg, then switch so the left leg performs five pulls.
Alex Dudley is a strength and conditioning coach who has worked with the Special Olympics Powerlifting Team and is now director of development at Pliability.
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