Stretching is an important part of staying injury free when running. The energy utilized by muscles is converted into lactic acid when sprinting or running log distances. This causes a burning sensation in the muscle during the workout and leads to muscle soreness the day after due in part to muscle breakdown by the lactic acid. Stretching is a great way to get the lactic acid out of the muscle and thus prevent muscle soreness. Stretching will also make your muscles more flexible and can improve performance.

It is very important to stretch the right way. Stretching should be done slowly and with a controlled movement. Rapid movement will cause the muscle to contract instead of extend. Stretches should be done slowly and be held for 20-40 seconds once the maximal extension point has been reached. Do not stretch beyond the point where you begin to feel tightness in the muscle. Do not push through muscle resistance, and never stretch to the point of discomfort or pain.

Yoga is a great way to stretch and gain flexibility. There are a variety of yoga poses that stretches parts of the legs and torso that are important for running. The following set of yoga poses will stretch all the muscles involved in running. The pictures have been kindly provided by our good friends at Cloud9Fitness.com.

Yoga Poses

I have ordered these poses in the order that I usually do them. I start standing up doing the tree and then the star and triangle poses. Then I take a big step forward and do the warrior pose in both directions. I then get on all four and cycle through the dog then cat and finally the downward dog about 3 times. Then I sit down and do the bound angle and finally the half lord of the fishes pose. I find that this sequence stretches almost all the muscles used in running. The only one that is missing from the program is the quadriceps. For that I usually do the standard heel to rear end stretch.

Tree Pose: Stand straight with both feet parallel. Lift up one foot and place it on the inside of your other leg as high as it can get. Hold this position and put the palms of your hands together. Release and repeat using the other leg.

Tree Yoga Pose

Star and Triangle Pose

Star and Triangle Pose: Stand straight with more than shoulder with between your feet. Raise your arms to shoulder height with your palms up. This is the star pose. As you exhale twist your torso, while keeping your arms out, until your arms are vertical. This is the triangle pose.

Warrior Pose: Stand up straight. Take on big step forward and bend the knee of your outstretched leg until your knee is directly over your foot. This is the base position. As you inhale lift your arms up towards the sky and move your knee back until you have a 90 degree angle in your outstretched leg. Hold this position with your arms over your head. As you exhale lower your arms and return your front knee to the base position.

Warrior Yoga Pose

Cat Dog Yoga Pose

Cat and Dog Pose: Staying on the floor on all four, as you inhale slowly lift your back towards the sky and hold. This is the cat position. As you exhale lower your back towards the floor and hold. This is the dog position.

Downward Dog Pose: Get down on all four. Keeping arms straight, and straightening your legs, move your rear end to point towards the sky. Try to keep the heels on the ground in this position. Hold and release.

Downward Dog Yoga Pose

Bound Angle Yoga Pose

Bound Angle Pose: Sit on the floor with your legs straight. Move your feet as close to your body as possible with the soles of your feet towards each other. Keep your back straight and hold this position for a couple of minutes. At the end bend forward as you exhale and then return to the original position. Release one leg at a time.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose: Sit on the ground and bend one knee and put your leg flat against the ground. Put your other foot behind the knee of the bent leg or if you are not flexible enough just bend your knee and keep your leg vertical. Move your torso so it is parallel with the horizontal leg. Hold this position and repeat, switching legs.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose