I am well into my Mini Marathon training program, with an 11 mile run on the books for next week.
I absolutely love the challenge of running, but my body definitely takes the toll. In order to keep injuries at bay and minimize muscle soreness I rely on my compression socks:
In addition to my compression gear, I rely on a good foam rolling and stretching routine. It can be a bit overwhelming when attempting to find the perfect stretching routine, but I like to keep it simple and cover the basics: glutes, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors, and the IT band.
Here is a list of 5 of my favorite stretches that I complete after each run, long or short!
Most of these can be completed at home in your living room. No equipment required!
Make sure to hold all stretches for 30-60 seconds for the most benefit.
Piriformis Stretch
This will stretch your booty and hips.
Hamstring Stretch
This will stretch the back of your legs.
Calf Stretch
This will stretch the lower portion of the back of your legs. This stretch really helped me out when I was having bottom of the foot pain!
Hip Flexor Stretch
This will stretch the front of your leg, will open up your hip, and stretch your hip flexors. These muscles tend to be tight on everyone because of all the sitting we do throughout the day, but they also get very tight from walking, running, and biking.
Foam Roller
This will release the fascia (elastic muscle fibers) from their tight and knotted position that occurs when we work our muscles to fatigue. It will be painful during the exercise, but will lessen the delayed onset muscle soreness that usually comes later.
You can read my post here about the different ways to use the foam roller!
I hope these stretches were helpful!
Here are some other great stretching resources:
Based on this post, here are a few similar ones you should check out.
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Great post girl! Very informative =)
Thanks, Jessie!! Stretching so key, but I honestly feel like a never do it enough!
thanks for the link love!