The Best Stretching Exercises for Marathoners
There are not many activities more physically exerting and challenging than running a marathon. Training for a marathon is the most important process of all, because if you are not properly trained and prepared then you are not going to have much success.
There are certain stretching exercises that are specifically aimed at marathoners and which will help them to loosen and limber up their body before the big event. Warming up before a competition, such as a marathon, is an almost universal practice, and it helps to decrease the risk of injury and increase the ability to perform at a high level.
Benefits
Stretching exercises for marathoners offer numerous benefits, including helping to prevent muscle aches and pains, cramping, reducing the possibility of muscle soreness and fatigue over the days following the marathon, decreasing the possibility of causing a muscular injury, increasing the muscles efficiency, and lengthening stride.
There are many different exercises that are considered as being good and proper stretching exercises for marathoners, and a few tips about stretching exercises for marathoners in particular that are important to be aware of.
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to stretching exercises for marathoners is that you need to stretch each muscle to the point of its greatest range of motion and yet without overextending. This is because if you overextend the muscle you are risking straining or pulling it and you can tell when you are reaching this point because rather than a slight tightness you will feel discomfort.
You should only stretch a muscle until you begin to feel a tightening in the area, and then stop and hold.
Also remember that it is important to stretch all of the major muscle groups in the leg, which would include the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and the groin. Never overstretch an injured area because this will not help but rather will most likely just cause additional damage. Instead you should avoid this area and just stretch the rest of your body until this area has healed.
Stretching exercises for marathoners are incredibly important and will really make the difference in how fast and how far a marathoner goes in their race. By not performing these exercises, a racer is not only putting themselves at risk of losing the race but also at causing serious injury to their body. The body needs to be warmed up properly before any sort of physical activity, especially that as stressful and intense as a marathon.
