Stretching is basically one of the most important elements of each workout. They are used primarily to compensate for injury and increase mobility. How should it stretch after running? What muscles should I focus on during stretching? How to properly stretch your leg muscles? You will find answers to the questions in the article.
Stretching after running
Running is one of the most popular sports. No wonder - you can now run both in the fitness club and gym on the treadmill and outside.
Running is primarily the work of the lower muscle part, that is, thighs (quadriceps and double-headed muscles), buttocks, calves (the gastrocnemius muscle, soleus and Achilles tendon) and the feet. It is quite a traumatic sport, because we put a strong emphasis on the knee joint, which is a small joint, susceptible to load.
To prevent such injuries, several stretching and strengthening exercises should be used.
What gives stretching after running? For example for:
- a bigger range of movement
- better mobility
- eliminates injuries
- promotes better muscle blood supply
- strengthens both ligaments and tendons
- reduces general fatigue
Stretching exercises
For stretching to make sense, we should feel the currently stretched muscle. Do not make pulsatory movements. It is better to keep the muscle at the moment of maximum stretching.
Stretching the leg muscles
You should pay attention to stretching leg muscles. Quadriceps are located at the front of the thigh, while the two-headed muscles are at the back. Both of these muscles greatly affect the strength of the run.
Due to their dimensions, they require more time for regeneration. Exercises below can also be used when stretching the gluteal muscle.
Quadriceps
1. Upright position, bending one leg in the knee joint, we draw the foot to the buttock. We hold the foot for the ankle. Make sure that your knees are even and your stomach is tight.
2. Lying back, one leg is straightened, the other is bending in the knee joint and we are attracted to the chest. The head lies flat.
Double-headed muscle of the thigh
1. We extend one foot forward and put it on the heel, the second foot is entirely based on the ground. The leg in the front is straightened in the knee joint, the other one slightly bending. It should be remembered that the knees of both legs are equally. Then, we make a slope to the straight leg while keeping your back straight.
2. Slope forward - we make a slow forward slope on straight legs. Try to touch the floor with your hands. We are holding the body during the slope.
Stretching the calf muscles
The calf is often a problematic muscle for expansion. It is made of triceps muscle, which includes the gastrocnemius muscle, soleus muscle and muscle of the plantar. The triceps muscle is connected to the achilles tendon. Tendon is often exposed to injuries when running. You should stretch them carefully!
Calf muscles
1, With the hands on the wall, extend one leg back while straightening it, the other leg in the front bent in the knee joint. Both feet should be entirely based on the substrate. Hip push forward, thanks to which we increase the stretching force. Do not pulsate, keep in this position.
2. Supporting the front with raised back. One leg is based on a straight floor, the other is bent, based on the first one - it is used to weight the leg resting on the ground. Do not make pulsatory movement. The foot of the leg stretched completely based on the ground.
3. Feet on the platform so that the heel is outside the platform. Silhouette straight. The movement consists in lowering the heels (it should be able to withstand this position) and return.
Other stretching exercises
After running, it is also worth stretching the gluteal and pear-shaped muscles. With each exercise, we should feel the stretching of a particular muscle.
An example of an exercise is standing on the left bent leg, on which we base the right ankle.
We keep our back straight, we try to keep our balance. If we can not keep up, we can stand nearby something. We keep this 20-30s, repeating 3 times on each leg.
The next exercise is to put one straight leg forward, put it on the heel, and bend the other backwards.
Keeping your back straight, we slowly lean towards the leg in the front. At the moment of maximum voltage, 20 seconds should be kept - then we change the leg. Repeat 3 times for each leg.
Lying down with one back, one leg resting on the floor straight, the other straight up.
With both hands, we grab the leg up under the knee, while pulling it to the chest. It is necessary to make sure that the leg is upright all the time.
Stretching exercises after running - is it worth it?
After each type of training, it is worth performing stretching exercises. This is the easiest way to save yourself a lot of health problems. Just 5-10 minutes of stretching after the main exercises, to be able to feel lighter and more relaxed. It will also perfectly affect the regeneration of the body after training. You should not make pulsatory movements, but keep your muscles in maximum tension.
