Stretching before running is a waste of time

....yet almost everyone does it. Why do they do it? I think most people don't even know, they just do so because they have seen other people do it and therefore it must be the right thing to do right? Well as it turns out it is a total waste of time and may actually increase your chances of injury while running.

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This might sound like something I am just making up so I can have something to write about but extensive studies have been done such as this peer-reviewed study conducted in 2004. Warning: It is really long and filled with boring medical talk but it's real and involved real researchers and real double-blind studies.

In a shell, stretching before running actually decreases performance as well because runners actually NEED muscle tension in order to perform. It's likened to taking a spring and then stretching it all the way out and then expecting it to "jump" as much as it would to if you had just left it alone. While the difference is slight, virtually all studies have shown a slight worsening in performance between athletes that stretch pre-run as opposed to after running or even not stretching at all.

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Kinesiologists suggest that if you are concerned about injury, it is a far better idea to simply warm up by running slower than you normally would or if you aren't a seasoned veteran to simply start out with a walk and work your way up.

Being able to touch your toes from a standing position without bending your knees does absolutely nothing for a runner's performance. In fact, even if you can do this studies show that getting your muscles "prepared" for a run by stretching them pre-run can slightly increase the opportunity of injury.

Running is about mobility, not flexibility. This is not to suggest that stretching isn't important in a general sense and yes, for overall fitness you should stretch, and if you are going to do it while engaging in a run, do it afterwards because while this also doesn't show much benefit to running performance, it is a great way to cool down and do something that is probably good for you anyway. Flexibility is important, it just isn't really a factor in running at all just like being able to bench-press 200 lbs in no way would affect your speed and efficiency in a run.

So if you are wasting time stretching before a run just know that your efforts are counter-productive and there is real science behind what I am saying. I'm not just being lazy because I don't like stretching.