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Sure, it can help extend your range of motion. But will that enhance your running?

No. There's no clear evidence it does much.
By Alex Hutchinson

Some of my best friends stretch after running. That's okay with me — if it makes them supple and brings them pleasure, then I'm happy for them. But it's not for me. I stretched religiously for the first decade of my running career, after every run and sometimes several times a day. I had a lot of injuries, which spurred me to stretch even more. Eventually, I got sick of it. I stopped stretching in 2004. I haven't had any significant injuries since.

Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to accept my anecdote as any sort of evidence about the effects of stretching. The truth is that, while there have been literally hundreds of studies of stretching, runners and their injuries are too diverse and unpredictable to produce nice unambiguous data on whether stretching helps. When the available studies are pooled, there's no clear link between stretching and injury reduction, and no effect of stretching on muscle soreness.

Here's what we do know: Post-run stretching makes you more flexible. That is, it extends your maximum range of motion. That's great, if your goal is to be more flexible. But there's no reason to think that having a greater range of motion will prevent running injuries. Most running injuries occur during the course of your typical running stride, not when you're doing the splits. There may be some specific conditions where tightness in one location is a problem — outer knee soreness from a tight iliotibial band, for example. But in those cases, targeted stretching and strengthening exercises are a cure, not an everyday preventative.

On the hand, we also know that greater flexibility is associated with worse running economy. That's been demonstrated in elite runners and joggers — in general, the farther you can reach past your toes in a sit-and-reach test, the more energy you have to spend to maintain a given running pace. That's because your legs function like coiled springs, storing energy with each stride and releasing it in the next one. Loose springs don't store as much energy.

That difference in efficiency is pretty minor, so most people — including me — would accept a slight decrease in efficiency in exchange for fewer injuries. But with no evidence for stretching's injury-reduction powers, I'm left to decide based on one simple criterion: pleasure. If you like it, carry on. But if you're one of the browbeaten masses who grudgingly stretch because they feel they "should," then free yourself from this onerous delusion. I did, and I feel great.


Yes. It's helped me draw power from more muscles.
By Meghan G. Loftus

Some of my best friends don't stretch after running. That's okay with me — I used to be just like them. I also used to be in pain during and after most of my runs, with a bum hip that bothered me on and off for the better part of two years.
 
I sought professional advice from three physical therapists, all with different recommendations. The one thing they all noticed, though, was the range of motion in my right hip. Namely, that I didn't have much of it. In fact, one of them said, "Are you serious?" when trying to bend my right leg in a way that, apparently, most people's legs will bend. (At last, I know why I'm so bad at yoga!)
 
My current treatment plan involves a series of postrun stretches along with strength work and form drills. My pain has gone away (knock on wood), and I feel like I'm drawing power from muscles I didn't previously use.
 
As my coach told me, running with my previous (godawful) range of motion was like driving a car with a flat tire. My tire pressure isn't what it should be just yet — you can't reverse 10 years of bad habits and tightness in just a few months — but I did knock two minutes off my half-marathon PR this spring.
 
I totally agree with Alex that stretching isn't for everyone. In high school, the kids on the cross-country team with a background in dance or gymnastics (that is, the ones showing us all up during our post-warmup stretches) were the kids at the back of the pack in the actual races. I don't want to be so flexible that it detracts from my performance. But I don't want to be so inflexible and off-balance that it detracts from my performance either.

If you don't need to stretch, I'm jealous. Enjoy all that free time. But if you have aches and pains, stretching might be part of the prescription that gets you healthy.

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Resistance bands, stability balls, hand weights or just your body weight can be used during strength training. Remember to follow the FITT principle when developing your strength-training routine.

Frequency

Exercise each body part two to three times per week, allowing 48 hours between sessions for adequate rest. When you are strength training, you actually are tearing down muscle fibers. You must allow adequate rest for those muscle fibers to grow back stronger. For example, if you are working your quadriceps and hamstrings on Monday, you should not be training those same muscle groups Tuesday.

Intensity

Choose a weight that can be lifted 8-12 times per set. The last 3-4 reps should be quite intense. If the intensity is not great enough, you will be less likely to see results. When you can perform more than 12 repetitions without rest, increase the weight slightly for your next workout.

Time

Beginners typically benefit from exercise sessions of 30-45 minutes. When resting between sets, try not to take longer than 2-3 minutes as a beginner. As you get more fit, try to reduce this time to 1 minute or less.

Type

When performing strength training, it is important to work every major muscle group — arms, chest, back, core, and legs. Make sure you work opposing muscles, not just the ones you see when you look in the mirror — biceps, chest, abs, quads. The opposing muscles work in opposition to those. In this case, it would be the triceps, back, lower back, and hamstrings. Also be sure to work your sides — obliques, hips, abductors and adductors. The idea is to achieve balance. The same goes for the upper and lower body. Don’t neglect one or the other just because one is more important to you. This can create imbalance and set you up for injury and pain.

Sample Exercises

Modified Push-ups

Begin on your hands and knees with your hands shoulders-width apart and slightly forward. Your knees should be directly under your hips, your abdomen tight, and spine neutral. There should be a straight line from your knees to your shoulders — no high hips or glutes in the air! Exhale and bend your elbows to lower your chest to 90 degrees at the elbow. Inhale and press your body back up to the starting position, making sure your elbows don’t lock or completely straighten. If you can’t go to 90 degrees at the elbow, just go to a comfortable position until you can work up to 90 degrees.
Wall Squats

Wall Squats

Stand with your back against a wall. Bring your feet shoulders-width apart and a few inches in front of your body. Slide down the wall until your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Your weight should be in your heels and your knees should not come forward of your toes. Keep your shoulders pressing back into the wall and your abdominals engaged. As you become more proficient, you can increase your hold from 10 seconds to 30-60 seconds. Don’t lock your knees when you extend your legs back to the starting position.

Crunches

Lay on your back, with knees bent, hands resting behind your head, and feet flat on the floor. Keep a space between your chin and chest, looking toward your knees. Exhale and lift your head, neck, and shoulders up until your shoulder blades are off the floor. Inhale and slowly return to starting position. Don’t interlace your fingers; allow them to rest gently behind your ears. Think about drawing your ribs toward your hips while doing the exercise.

Oblique Crunch

Lay on your back, with knees bent, hands resting behind your head, and feet flat on the floor. Keep a space between your chin and chest, looking toward your knees. Exhale and lift your head, neck, and shoulders, rotating your upper torso to the right as if to bring the right shoulder to the right hip. Inhale and return to the starting position. Repeat on the left side. Keep your elbows back and out of your peripheral vision. Don’t interlace your fingers; allow them to rest gently behind your ears. Think about drawing your ribs toward your hips while doing the exercise.

Alternating low and high carbs days prevents the body from reverting to burning mainly carbs for fuel. The higher carb days also allow the body to replenish fuel used during vigorous exercise.

Carb cycling
Carb cycling allows more freedom in scheduling which days are low-to-moderate carb days and which are high carbs; people can match their more intense workout days to their high carb days. Rest days and light workout days lend themselves to eating fewer carbs and lets the body burn fat for fuel.

Fat
A major difference between the two diets is fat intake. Carb cycling suggests followers eat low fat, even as little as possible on high carb days.This is especially beneficial for people who like fatty foods. The anabolic diet allows people to eat 15 to 20 percent of calories from fat on high carb days when the body is geared to burn fat.

Protein
The diets also differ on protein intake. The anabolic diet allows for one-third of calories to come from protein. Carb cycling has specific protein recommendations: between 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight on high carb days and between 1.25 and 1.75 grams per pound on other days. Both eating plans ensure people eat sufficient protein to build and maintain muscle.

Choosing a diet
People with demanding work schedules may prefer the anabolic diet because eating the same on each week day is simpler. People who engage in high-intensity workouts during the week may prefer carb cycling. However, people react differently to low-carbohydrate diets. One of these plans may work better for certain people depending on what their bodies naturally need.

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The anabolic diet and carb cycling program are similar eating plans that naturally burn fat and spare muscle. The main concern for athletes and weightlifters when dieting is that the reduction of calories could cause a loss of muscle because the body needs calories to maintain muscle mass. Both of these plans help achieve weight loss without sacrificing muscle. They also do not involve severe calorie or food restriction, which could lead to unhealthy weight loss or malnutrition, but there are some differences.

Basics
The anabolic diet is based on a book of the same name by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale. It is a low-carbohydrate diet based on alternating low-carb and high-carb days. The diet claims to work by encouraging the body burn fat instead of carbs.

According to The Anabolic Diet book, burning fat may lead to fewer hunger cravings making it easier to adhere to the diet. Carb cycling is different because it involves alternating high carb and low-to-moderate carb days following a workout schedule. High-carb days are for working out hard and replenishing glyocgen stores, a substance the body uses for fuel. Lower carb days burn fat.
 
Anabolic diet
The principal of the anabolic diet is to make the body a fat-burning machine. Followers start with one week of only low carb eating to make the body start burning fat for energy instead of carbs. After week one, the diet recommends eating low carbs during the week and high amounts of carbs on the weekends.