Handbook: Stretching

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Warm up and Stretching

Warm Up

Recent studies suggest that a dynamic warm-up before exercise is better at preventing injuries than static stretching.  For example:

  • 30 secs jog, 30 secs high-knee jog, 30 secs walking lunges
  • 30 secs side-skip, 45 secs jogging leg-curl, 30 secs squat jump
  • 30 secs walking twist, 45 secs can-can walk, 30 secs bounding vertical jumps

Cool Down Stretching

Immediately after a rowing outing can be a good time to improve your flexibility as the muscles are warm.  If necessary a tracksuit or other loose clothing should be worn to maintain the high body temperature.  During the cool down the focus is on improving flexibility by holding the stretches for 45 to 60 seconds.

  • warm up the muscles with at least a few minutes of gentle exercise before stretching
  • push gently until you feel comfortable tension, hold for 15-60 seconds then release
  • never ‘bounce’ on muscle
  • keep breathing!
  • release if muscle starts twitching
  • if a stretch doesn’t feel right, ask your coach to check your technique

Suggested Stretches

The illustrations below give you some suggestions for stretching the major muscle groups; you may want to add extra exercises to target any problem areas, for example, the Concept2 Stretching guide includes a couple of wrist stretches.

 

This video shows a nice sequence that makes use of an erg for post-workout stretching.

 

 

 

 

Flexibility Training

If you find that your flexibility is not as good as it should be then try introducing an extra flexibility session.  Ensure that the muscles are warm by either exercising lightly or having a hot bath then stretch, holding each position for 45 to 60 seconds and repeating each stretch three to five times. This can be done in front of the TV or whilst reading.