I've been really sore lately because of my lack of paddling fitness and my ramping up the paddling and the deck rebuilding at my home. Am so articles about stretching have been catching my eye. I found it very interesting to read that stretch before exercise is now considered counter productive. I am really baffled by this because often I need to stretch just to get moving again after a long drive to a paddling place.
I don't do the static stretching they taught me in in high school team sports, but I do stretch through my easy range of motion for any joints or muscles that I expect might be stiff. For example, I reach slowly down to the floor and then slowly stand up. On the first pass I cannot touch my feet, but many days on the sixth pass I can touch the floor without discomfort.
I've also noticed that stretching before paddling reduces or eliminates the foot going to sleep problems I sometimes have had. This problem has become a non problem for me so long as I take the Wonderful Epic V7, but sometimes I use boats that are not so wonderfully comfortable.
When I was had problems with my shoulder doctors, therapists, and even my chiropractor told me to stretch and showed me stretches to try.
I find stretch really improves my range of motion and my comfort for the long haul.
What's your experience with pre paddle stretching?
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