Stretching - The Harriers' Stretch Set

At this disrupted time, don't neglect your post-run stretches. In fact the 3 month hamstring injury I am presently working around started after missing my stretches for the 5 weeks before Christmas when I was out of action with a chest infection. So I have certainly learned the lesson the hard way by letting my muscles shorten and de-condition during a period of inactivity. If you don't usually stretch after the club runs due to lack of time, take this home training regime as an opportunity to start before getting showered and changed.

Below are videos of the stretches we have been doing for a good few years at the club under the leadership of Eddie. I have missed out the activation exercises (clam shells and leg raises) as we will do a separate series of videos on those. The  videos below are in real time, so do the stretches for the full duration of each video. Each video contains both right and left stretches where appropriate.

Most runners do not hold stretches for long enough. Ideally we are looking for 40 to 45 seconds per stretch. This is to allow the muscles time to relax into the stretch. If you imagine lining up for the start of a race, when we hear "on your marks" we stretch our leg muscles ready to fire into action. This is what your muscles do when you first enter a stretch position, the muscles get tensed and ready to fire. Therefore, you need to hold onto the stretch for a long time for the muscles to realise that they are not  going to be required to fire into action and to relax and lengthen. After about 30 seconds, try to extend the stretch a little bit more for the final 10 or 15 seconds, taking advantage of that relaxation in the muscles. NEVER STRETCH TO THE POINT OF PAIN. ALWAYS STOP SHORT OF ANY PAIN. The notes below give some further detail on each stretch. There are of course alternative stretches to those shown which you can use if you prefer. There are also of course better exponents of the stretches than me, so use the videos only as a rough guide!

All the stretch videos can be run through automatically in this Harriers Stretch Set playlist or you can choose each video individually using the links below.

Stretch 01 - Trunk Side & Glute Stretch
Keep the forward leg bent at 90 degrees at the knee. Stretch through the buttock and hamstring of the rear leg and lean over to the side of the forward leg, stretching from the hip all the way along the side. A side view of the stretch position is here.

Stretch 02 - Deep Glute Stretch
Sit with your backside right under a vertical spine. Don't hunch, keep your back straight.

Stretch 03 - Twisting Glute Stretch
Lying on your back with arms outstretched in a  crucifix, place both feet flat on ground with knees bent. Flop both knees over to one side; take the lower leg and place the foot on top of the other knee. Press the knee down to the ground using the foot. Keep both shoulders and arms flat on the ground.

Stretch 04 - Straight Glute Stretch
Lying flat on back, pull one knee to the chest whilst pushing the heel of the straight leg as far away as possible.

Stretch 05 - Hamstring Stretch
Raise one leg, bent at the knee slightly; grab the leg wherever you can (e.g. behind knee or on calf if you can reach) and gently pull the leg back until a gentle stretch is felt in the middle of the hamstring (you don't want to feel any stretch on the ends of the hamstring at the backside or behind the knee). Push the heel of the leg that is on the ground as far away as possible.

Stretch 06 - Figure of Four Piriformis Stretch
Watch the video! Too difficult to describe in words.

Stretch 07 - Shin & Plantar Facia Stretch
A particularly important one for reducing the risk of shin splints and plantar facia injuries. With the tops of the feet and toes flat on the ground, sit back onto your feet. It may take some weeks of gradual progression before you can sit back on your feet. To put a stretch into the plantar facia, tuck the toes under.

Stretch 08 - Spine Rotations
Kneeling on all fours with as flat a back as possible, take one hand off the ground and place it on the ear of the same side with the elbow out. Rotate the back, neck and head as one complete unit through 90 degrees. 6 reps per side.

Stretch 09 - Quad Stretch
Preferably do this standing free on one leg without holding on to anything for support as there are secondary benefits in proprioception (perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body) and ankle strength. Keep both legs parallel and together.

Stretch 10 - Lower Calf Stretch
Straight back leg. Both feet flat on the ground and pointing straight forward. Press the back foot heel into the ground.

Stretch 11 - Upper Calf Stretch
Both feet flat on the ground and pointing forward, bend the back knee and "sit" back with all the weight on the back foot (the front foot can almost be lifted off the ground there is so little weight on it). The stretch should be felt higher up the calf than in the previous stretch (also quite a high load on the quads in this stretch, but that is not the stretch).

Stretch 12 - Wide Chest Stretch
Feet shoulder width apart, raise arms to shoulder height, palms together and swing back, keeping the rest of the body as still as possible, trying to bring the shoulder blades together and stretching across the chest. Do 10 reps.

Stretch 13 - Upper Back Stretch
Feet shoulder width apart, arms at shoulder height, elbows bent, drive elbows back and down to form a "W" shape, drawing the shoulder blades together. Do 10 reps.

Director of Photography - F Ferguson
Location Manager - F Ferguson
Wardrope - F Ferguson
Background Music - Birds of the Algarve
Filmed on Location at Jardins da Falésia

A Maxwell Ferguson Production for Calderglen Harriers

Alan