Five Favorite Stretches For Runners
These are my five favorite stretches for runners. I call them the Fab Five because if I’m pinched for time and only have five minutes- these are my go to stretches to get the most out of it.
Why these five??? Think of the leg as a chain. As the foot hits the ground it’s job is to absorb the impact of 5x your body weight and then transmit that force up the chain. If the lower leg is tight, weak, or unable to do it’s job, other areas in the chain will have to pick up the slack. These stretches cover all the major areas of the chain.
If you break your stride down into phases it looks like this:
1) Foot Strike- the first part of your shock absorption comes when the foot lands and then flattens to the ground (that little roll from outside edge to the inside arch is huge for this). whether your 2nd toe is longer (mortons toe), etc doesn’t matter. coming all the way over to the big toe is huge as it centers your weight over your foot and keeps the large gastroc muscles engaged. if you come in too much or too little on your arch during this process, that’s when the little muscles get in trouble (plantar fascia, post tib, peroneals).
2) Mid Stance- as you stand fully on your leg through the stance portion you want your knee to go from bent at the front half to straight at the back half. This allows you to use the quad both for shock absorption but also propulsion. more importantly, it also allows the quad to RELAX as it will fully contract as you push off (muscles must contract to relax). if you have a shortened back half of the stride, you never get to that point and you lose out on that free energy ( the elastic recoil of the muscle as it swings through versus you pulling it through with your hip muscles).
3) Push Off- the big toe is a power joint. it has it’s own army of muscles to move it (5+ to be exact) and two little “knee caps” (your sesamoids) to act as fulcrums over the bone. None of your other toes do. everything else down there is running off one skinny little tendon. as you come through the back half of your stride, the emphasis should be on pushing your knee straight (not pulling through with your hamstring). As the leg continues to come back it’s all glute and hip (which is what you want! without it, the hamstrings are in overdrive trying to pick up the slack). by coming over the big toe and then pushing off with that knee straight, the calf is able to contract fully and then more importantly, relax.
The relax part is huge in the running stride and its super easy to get comfortable in that middle ground and just pound away. It’s a big part of the reason why people feel better at speed than running slow. Increased speed typically translates into a more forceful push off. In other words- the muscles are being stretched and then contracted and then relaxed versus being pounded step after step without releasing that stored up energy.
Stretching
Guidelines:
1) Stretching should NEVER hurt. The goal is to only go as far as you can comfortably. Once you feel a pull or “stretching sensation” stop there. This way you can build on each stretch without risking injury.
2) You will always get more out of frequency (meaning daily or multiple times per week) instead of one killer session one time per week.
3) Shoot for 20-30 second holds and 3-4 repetitions.
#1 The Gastroc (large calf muscle)
Rationale: The gastroc (large calf muscle) runs from the back of your heel where the achilles inserts up the back of your leg and behind the knee joint. It crosses the knee joint. Why is this important?? You need to stretch both the ankle and knee joints to fully lengthen this muscle.
What you will need: a step or stool that you can step on and drop your heel off of.
Key points: 1) you want to keep your knee straight as a board (this means no bending at all at any point during the stretch; for most people this will limit how far you can bend forward and that is normal), 2) drop your heel off of the step, 3) bend forward at the waist , 4) only go as low as you can without bending your knee, 5) once you feel a light pull, hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel it: in the back of the calf (upper part), behind the knee joint and in the back of your thigh. If the muscles in the back of the leg are tight, you may also feel a pull in the back of your hip and buttock.
#2 Soleus
Rationale: While the larger gastroc muscle works while the knee is STRAIGHT, the smaller soleus muscle works while the knee is BENT. That’s why this lower calf muscle can get cranky with hill running and cycling. For this reason, to fully stretch this muscle, the knee needs to be bent.
What you will need: nothing at all.
Key points: 1) get into a lunge position with one leg forward and one leg back, 2) lean forward over the front foot with your body weight primarily over the big toe and your heel flat on the ground, 3) if you feel pressure in your ankle joint- stop and hold there. As the joint loosens, you will start to feel the muscular stretch in the lower part of your calf, 4) hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel it: in the lower part of your calf between the large calf bulge and your heel. as stated earlier, if your ankle joint is tight, you may feel pressure there before you feel a stretch in the muscle. stick with it. as the joint loosens you will feel it.
#3 Hamstring 3-way Stretch
Rationale: The hamstring is actually made up of three different muscles. All three start at your sit bone and run down the back of your thigh before inserting on either side of the back of the knee. Two of these muscles insert on the inside of your knee and the third, larger muscle, inserts on the outside. With two different end points, it’s important to full stretch out the hamstring muscles as a group. This means adding in a rotation component to the stretch.
What you will need: a step stool or something to prop your foot up on. Ideally you want something that is below waist height (this will place a LARGE amount of strain on the muscle and will be too much for most people).
Key points: 1) while performing this stretch you want to stand with one foot propped up and the knee straight (the ankle is relaxed during this), 2) you also want the knee of the leg you are standing on to remain straight with your toes pointed forward (it’s very common for people to rotate this foot out for comfort; try to keep it straight!!), 3) the goal of this stretch is to feel it directly behind the knee….to do so place both hands on your knee cap and push straight down towards the floor, 4) most people assume that the goal of this stretch is to lean forward while trying to touch your head to your knee. this is incorrect. try to remember this- pressure on the knee first. forward lean second if at all., 5) hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel it: directly behind your knee. initially, you may feel this in the back of your calf all the way to your hip. If you do, ease up on your forward lean and then push down with your hands without leaning.
Key points: 1) in this stretch, we are adding rotation to the previous stretch, 2) the starting point is exactly the same- knees straight, toes forward on both feet and ankle relaxed, 3) add downward pressure to your knee with your outside hand, 4) with you inside hand rotate your upper body like you are trying to touch the outside of your knee, or if you can, the outside of your ankle, 5) try not to rotate your hips; upper body only should be moving, 6) hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel it: initially, you will feel this in a few places and that’s normal. as the muscles start to loosen, you will feel this in the outer part of your hamstrings and lower leg. You may also feel it directly behind your knee.
Key points: 1) in this stretch, we are adding rotation to the first hamstring stretch, 2) the starting point is exactly the same- knees straight, toes forward on both feet and ankle relaxed, 3) add downward pressure to your knee with your inside hand, 4) with you outside hand rotate your upper body like you are trying to touch the inside of your knee, or if you can, the inside of your ankle, 5) try not to rotate your hips; upper body only should be moving, 6) hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel this: initially, you will feel this in a few places and that’s normal. as the muscles start to loosen, you will feel this in the inner part of your hamstrings and lower leg. You may also feel it directly behind your knee.
#4 Quad/Hip Flexor/TFL Combo Stretch
Rationale: The hip flexors originate on the lumbar spine, pass through the abdominal cavity and insert into the top of the femur (your long thigh bone). The quad muscles begin at the upper femur and then travel the rest of the way down the upper leg to the knee cap. Due to this proximity, both muscle groups work closely together. Like the gastroc muscle, the quadricep muscles cross two joints (the hip and knee). This means that to fully lengthen the muscle you must stretch both joints. As an added bonus, doing so will also stretch out your hip flexors.
What you’ll need: nothing at all. you can do this one on the floor (preferable to your bed so that your back is fully supported).
Key points: 1) start by laying on your back with both of your knees bent and feet flat on the floor (hips and knees should be together at the start), 2) next rotate both your knees over to one side (keep your shoulders flat and both feet together), 3) then pull the top leg back and try to bring your heel towards your butt (try to keep your knee on the ground if you can but it’s okay if it stays in the air), 4) lastly push your hip up and away to increase the stretch (red arrow), 5) hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel it: You may feel this stretch in a few places. Ideally, you want to feel it in the front of you hip and down the entire length of your quad.
#5 Outer Hip
Rationale: The outer hip is a big intersection area between the rotator muscles (they rotate the whole leg in and out). The goal of this stretch is subsequently to “open” the hip up and stretch them out.
What you’ll need: nothing at all. you can do this one on the floor (preferable to your bed so that your back is fully supported).
Key points: 1) start by laying flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, 2) cross one leg over so that your ankle is on your other knee, 3) tuck the other leg in as tight as you can (slide that heel towards your butt), 4) push your other knee down, 5) hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 4 times.
Where you should feel it: Ideally, you will feel this on the outside of your hip. This is a deeper stretch and may feel like it’s actually in the joint versus the normal muscle pull you feel with the others.
