Your gait includes the movements your body makes when you walk or run. Stride is a big part of that movement. Some individuals have a naturally long stride, making it easier to go farther with less effort. Those with a short stride have to take many more steps to reach the same distance and more steps equals more work for the muscles. Stride length is better with stretching. Without it, your stride may shorten over time due to a loss of flexibility.
Warm Up
Warming up is a must prior to any exercise whether it be swimming, cycling, lifting weights or running. It gets the muscles literally warmer, which loosens them up. Having loose muscles will help prevent injury and improve performance. Thrusting the body into motion without this step puts rigid, cold muscles into action causing them to pull and work extra hard making them less effective and sore. A warmup does not have to take very long but at least five to 10 minutes of brisk movement is an appropriate amount. Great exercises for this include jumping jacks, walking, jogging and jumping rope. Warming up should get you moving without taking too much out of you.
Stretching
You should not stretch cold muscles, so once you have warmed up it is time to stretch. Your loosened muscles will stretch more easily, which helps increase range of motion and decrease stiffness. Do not stretch to the point of pain; stop at mild discomfort. Hold still while stretching because bouncing can cause damage. Runners should focus on the legs making sure to encompass all the muscles in the group by stretching both sides evenly. The quadriceps, hamstrings, groin and calves are the main running muscles.
Leg Stretches
Stretch quadriceps by grabbing our ankle with the same side arm and pulling it back toward your butt. The hamstrings benefit from toe reaches, while either sitting or standing with straight legs, feet flat on the ground, one leg at a time. Stretch the calves by placing toes on a stair or bench and hang your heels off the backside. The butterfly stretches the groin area and you complete this one by sitting on the floor, placing the bottoms of your feet together close to the body and pushing gently down on your knees.
Stride Improvement
Accomplishing an improved stride length through stretching is not the only way. There are some drills to assist you. These include high knees and butt kicks while running in place and hopping on one leg for a short distance then coming back on the other. Overstriding often leads to injury, so take caution when lengthening your stride. The ideal place for the foot to land during running is directly below the hip, not out in front of the body.
