vidret wrote:i think it was I who misread your comment actually, i thought you meant he wasn't supposed to dive into stretching after waking up - my bad!

you shouldn't try to elongate the muscles you're activating with stretching before an exercise, but warming them up is a great idea.
For example: stretching your calves and hip flexor to make them relax and if possible make them longer, even if for a while, before doing squats is a great idea. stretching your ass or quads (to some extent this may be the hip flexor) isn't a good idea because that's what you want to use, like making a rubber band longer and then hoping for it to still be elastic.
Ahh, I see. I didn't know that. Good advice.
vidret wrote:it's a weird example, since the hip flexors are partially quads, but yeah look at it this way for when doing the squat:
if you stretch your calves your back won't ass-tilt/lose it's proper form as early because your calves are elongated
if you stretch your hip flexors you'll activate your ass better since your hip flexors won't be working against it
I had one client who i always put in the leg press before we got started, his toes on the edge just sitting there for a while with some weight on and stretching the calves, completely noticeable difference before he lost his back on his way down in the squat.
stretching for warming up should be more dynamic, i think that's been noted by everyone on these pages somewhere

Harry_Manback wrote:Finished my 10k in 49:19. Was hoping for 48 mins. I bonked hard and had apocalyptic post run shits. I was fighting a cold last week and felt pretty weak.
Damn dem red shorts.

I'm joining cross fit if that's what the scenery is like.
I use a foam roller pretty frequently on my legs and hips. If I don't stretch my IT bands daily my back gets all fucked up.
almost there man haha, that's frustrating though. nice job, i think you know you've got it so it should be alright though, right - still frustrating

you should take a second to google around on your IT band problems, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it's not really what you think it is, since the IT bands are barely stretchable even if I know i've given the same advice myself to people before - it's probably something else benefiting from the stretching - and if it is you should find out and focus on what would be the best solution for that particular problem

Damn, you would be fucking awesome as a personal trainer (I don't know if you like being called that or not

). It's these little details that the rest of us don't have the experience to procure in each given situation or understand in each given situation. I know basic things and can troubleshoot certain scenarios, but I don't know enough. The theory really is fascinating to me, even more so than the actual act of lifting weights and keeping fit.
And on that point, I think I've theorized something: I really need to be in a community environment to work at my best. Otherwise I go too easy on myself or just simply never get off the computer and do anything. I thought about working on some sprinting today. The road outside my house is perfect for it. A car passes every hour, roughly, depending on the time of day, and it's flat (though I used to do up hill training when I was a cross-country runner). But I never did it. I just slapped the PS3 on and finished Hitman.
