Many folk are taking up running for cardio-vascular fitness or as weight reduction/maintenance program. This is generally a good thing but many forget that a stretching regime is the other side of this coin if one is to stay injury free and be able to continue running for as long as they desire rather than be sidelined with an injury.
An assessment of ones gait is an excellent aid to understanding where you might be at risk of injury and thus help you to understand why and what you need to stretch . Many of the running shoe stores now offer a gait analysis by trained personnel, using an in-shop treadmill and video. You can see yourself run or walk !!! Not something you can do while you are out there doing it ! They will offer advice on the shoe that will give support where you need it pointing out what they see so you can understand it also. It is all a daunting thing these days - so this professional help in sorting out the correct shoe goes a long way, in my opinion.
And then the stretching sequence.. this will complete the loop to a healthy and balanced approach to your fitness regime. I prefer to stretch after running rather than before but if you have time and enjoy it then do it both before and after.. but definitely after running. There are differing schools of thought on this. Warm up before running by starting out walking or a very light jog.
View or Download Yoga Sequence For Runners
Always be safe.
