Flexibility exercises are good for your body, but the question when considering stretching for sprinters is a matter of timing. As a sprinter, you need flexibility in your hamstrings to avoid pulling the muscle. Daily stretching exercises can keep your muscles loose, but if you include the wrong type of stretch in your warmup, you may hamper and not help your performance.
Static
Many flexibility exercises are static, meaning you do not move when you are in the stretch. These stretches include sitting on the floor with your legs straight in front of you and folding your upper body over your legs to stretch your hamstrings. You can use static stretching to improve your flexibility on a daily basis after your body is warm.
Dynamic
Other flexibility exercises are dynamic, meaning you move at the same time you stretch your muscles and joints. "IDEA Fitness Journal" recommends dynamic stretching before a sprint. You can include high-knee running, side shuffles, straight-leg march, heel touches and leg swings in your dynamic warmup. Dynamic stretches combine your warmup and your stretching into one movement.
Pre-sprint
A pre-sprint stretch may hinder your performance. A study presented in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" in September of 2010 reported the effects of static stretching on collegiate male sprinters in the 60 m and 100 m sprint. The sprinters who participated in pre-run static stretching slowed down in the second 20 m of their run and never regained the lost time.
Post-sprint
Your muscles can be likened to plastic. If you bend plastic when it is cold, it will snap. If you warm up plastic, it will bend more easily. The same is true when you are stretching your muscles. A warm muscle will stretch easier than a cold muscle. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommend static stretching after your sprint event when your muscles are warm.
References
- "IDEA Fitness Journal"; Pre-Run Stretch Hampers Endurance; January 2011
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Effects of Static Stretching on the Sprint Performance of Collegiate Men in the 60- and 100-m Dash After a Dynamic Warmup; Brandon M. Kistler, et al.; September 2010
- National Strength and Conditioning Association; Eccentric Training to Reduce Hamstring Injuries in Sprinters; Jason Brumitt, MSPT
