# Why is it important to stretch or warm down after cycling.



## johnnyb47 (4 Feb 2018)

Hi. 
Please excuse my ignorance on this ,but why is it important to warm down and stretch after a decent ride out. I've been doing some longish rides of late and usually when I get back home I tend to just collapse on the sofa to recover :-) :-). I have noticed though of late that my joints don't feel as flexible as they once where ,or probably a better way of describing it, my muscles feel too tight and inflexible .Would I be right in thinking this is down to not warming down or taking time out ,to stretch after a decent ride out. It's hard to explain but I feel that I've gained some extra muscle build in my legs ,but its not very flexible. 
Many thanks for reading and advice given cycling buddies :-)


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## vickster (4 Feb 2018)

To stop your muscles shortening so they get tight and inflexible 

Get stretching and foam rolling


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## Banjo (4 Feb 2018)

A shorter gentle bike ride the following day can help relieve any stiffnes.


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## Ian H (4 Feb 2018)

Banjo said:


> A shorter gentle bike ride the following day can help relieve any stiffnes.


Oo-er!


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## Profpointy (4 Feb 2018)

johnnyb47 said:


> Hi.
> Please excuse my ignorance on this ,but why is it important to warm down and stretch after a decent ride out. I've been doing some longish rides of late and usually when I get back home I tend to just collapse on the sofa to recover :-) :-). I have noticed though of late that my joints don't feel as flexible as they once where ,or probably a better way of describing it, my muscles feel too tight and inflexible .Would I be right in thinking this is down to not warming down or taking time out ,to stretch after a decent ride out. It's hard to explain but I feel that I've gained some extra muscle build in my legs ,but its not very flexible.
> Many thanks for reading and advice given cycling buddies :-)



I do half remember reading something in somewhere semi respactable like new scientist that there actually wasn't any real evidence that stretching befor excercisr did any particular good.


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## Buck (4 Feb 2018)

Profpointy said:


> I do half remember reading something in somewhere semi respactable like new scientist that there actually wasn't any real evidence that stretching befor excercisr did any particular good.



I’ve read something similar recently as well. 

Stretch8ng before you ride isn’t what’s needed. It’s you warming up - I like to think my first few miles are my warm up. Just don’t go sprinting or push8ng hard in that time. 

At the end of a ride a few stretches or foam rolling can do you the world of good particularly if you have an u derlying issue such as tight tendons or prone to cramps.


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## Tin Pot (4 Feb 2018)

johnnyb47 said:


> Hi.
> Please excuse my ignorance on this ,but why is it important to warm down and stretch after a decent ride out. I've been doing some longish rides of late and usually when I get back home I tend to just collapse on the sofa to recover :-) :-). I have noticed though of late that my joints don't feel as flexible as they once where ,or probably a better way of describing it, my muscles feel too tight and inflexible .Would I be right in thinking this is down to not warming down or taking time out ,to stretch after a decent ride out. It's hard to explain but I feel that I've gained some extra muscle build in my legs ,but its not very flexible.
> Many thanks for reading and advice given cycling buddies :-)



It’s important because it’s “common sense” and “everyone does it”.

Don’t let the absence of facts and relevant, attributable science put you off.

However, I would suggest warming down the last twenty minutes of your rides.


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## ColinJ (4 Feb 2018)

Buck said:


> I’ve read something similar recently as well.
> 
> Stretch8ng before you ride isn’t what’s needed. It’s you warming up - I like to think my first few miles are my warm up. Just don’t go sprinting or push8ng hard in that time.


I've read the same and agree with you.



Buck said:


> At the end of a ride a few stretches or foam rolling can do you the world of good particularly if you have an u derlying issue such as tight tendons or prone to cramps.


I bought a foam roller but only used it once because it bruised me really badly. My post-rolling legs looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to them! (It is the one time that me being on Warfarin has made itself really obvious. I'd read on the drug advisory leaflet that I might bruise easily and that turns out to be true.)


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## hoopdriver (5 Feb 2018)

I use my opening miles as my warm up, and the same, in revese, as I near home and want to warm down. That said, a regular program of stretching at some point in the day is a good idea to keep your muscles supple and reduce the chance of strains or injury.


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## PaulSB (5 Feb 2018)

I have to confess I don’t ride warm up miles as I’m usually late to the meet point and rushing to be there on time. I do use the 6 mile ride home after a club ride to warm down, I think it helps.

I took up daily stretching four months ago. This came about as I had a great deal of discomfort from the base of neck, across the shoulder blade, over the heart, down my left arm and through my hip to foot. I was convinced this all related to a foot issue.

Long story short I got a referral to a podiatrist who quickly fixed hip to foot and referred me to physio for the rest. Physio identified the muscle on the left side base of my neck as much thickened and short. Four months of neck physio has almost eliminated the discomfort, confining it to a small area at the neck base, and the muscle is improving.

My physio says I have a good range of general movement and, at 63, to maintain this I should stretch daily. I’ve a short routine, 20 minutes, of yoga stretches which after four months have definitely made a difference.

My neck issue came about through cycling. The thought is my bike position has always been slightly wrong but as I only rode on Sundays my body had time to recover. Having retired I’m riding around 150 miles a week, less recovery time and increased pressure on the affected area.

So yes stretching works and is worthwhile.


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## hoopdriver (5 Feb 2018)

Dogtrousers said:


> I have a vague idea that I ought to stretch but I tend to slump instead. However, having read above about all this "warm up" (trundle off slowly) and "cool down" (struggle back exhaustedly) I think I should be OK.
> 
> I'm not sure if there's something else I should be doing in between those two, though.


Nah, just four hours of a nice steady 105rpm cadence over the hills in your 53x11 gear ratio.... that ought to do it


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## pawl (5 Feb 2018)

ColinJ said:


> I've read the same and agree with you.
> 
> 
> I bought a foam roller but only used it once because it bruised me really badly. My post-rolling legs looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to them! (It is the one time that me being on Warfarin has made itself really obvious. I'd read on the drug advisory leaflet that I might bruise easily and that turns out to be true.)







Did you take it it of the box befor use


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## Heltor Chasca (5 Feb 2018)

I reckon it takes me at least 15-20km to warm up and I think Audax rides are gentle enough not to need a stretch. I will probably regret this as I get older. I’ve read a little about it being important that your lungs need to warm up before they are more effective. Never thought about it before but I found it interesting.

In the old days you stretched before you exercised. Now, and more sensibly, the thinking is that you warm up before stretching.


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## Racing roadkill (5 Feb 2018)

There are a lot of metabolites around the body, after a long ride, they like to build up in the muscles. If you stretch / warm down properly, the build up is much less pronounced. If you want to reduce the amount of lactic acid ( for example) which settles in your leg muscles ( for example ) after a long ride, a good stretch / warm down will help reduce the amount / concentrations, and you won’t have such a pronounced ‘dead leg’ feel the following day. It’s also worth remembering that your heart, diaphragm, and intercostal muscles, are muscles as well, if they are working to their full potential, your ‘recovery’ after a hard ride will be quicker / easier.


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## ColinJ (5 Feb 2018)

pawl said:


> Did you take it it of the box befor use


Ha ha!

I was actually pretty surprised at the outcome - I wasn't even rolling that vigorously! It felt like it was doing me some good so I would have used it regularly but the bruising put me off. 

Anyway - I just wanted to warn others who bruise easily that there could be problems with rollers.


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## MikeG (5 Feb 2018)

Stretching and warming down are two very different things.

Stretching can be useful after cycling because you tend to hold a very fixed position, and can have quite an achy back, neck and shoulders after a ride. Stretching when you are warm (after exertion) is fine and useful.........don't do it beforehand, though.

Warming down is just a gentle movement to help take lactic acid away from your muscles, to reduce the amount of stiffness you feel in them the following day. Hop off your bike and walk around the garden a couple of times. Don't anticipate marvelous results from any warm-down regime.


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## Tin Pot (5 Feb 2018)

ColinJ said:


> Ha ha!
> 
> I was actually pretty surprised at the outcome - I wasn't even rolling that vigorously! It felt like it was doing me some good so I would have used it regularly but the bruising put me off.
> 
> Anyway - I just wanted to warn others who bruise easily that there could be problems with rollers.



That’s impossible!

Kneel at the altar of Myofascial Release and receive thy blessing.


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## Welsh wheels (5 Feb 2018)

johnnyb47 said:


> Hi.
> Please excuse my ignorance on this ,but why is it important to warm down and stretch after a decent ride out. I've been doing some longish rides of late and usually when I get back home I tend to just collapse on the sofa to recover :-) :-). I have noticed though of late that my joints don't feel as flexible as they once where ,or probably a better way of describing it, my muscles feel too tight and inflexible .Would I be right in thinking this is down to not warming down or taking time out ,to stretch after a decent ride out. It's hard to explain but I feel that I've gained some extra muscle build in my legs ,but its not very flexible.
> Many thanks for reading and advice given cycling buddies :-)


Cycled over 7,000 miles and not done a single stretch. Not that I'm endorsing that though


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## vickster (5 Feb 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> Cycled over 7,000 miles and not done a single stretch. Not that I'm endorsing that though


Super tight muscles don't affect my cycling...just everything else


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## pawl (5 Feb 2018)

ColinJ said:


> Ha ha!
> 
> I was actually pretty surprised at the outcome - I wasn't even rolling that vigorously! It felt like it was doing me some good so I would have used it regularly but the bruising put me off.
> 
> Anyway - I just wanted to warn others who bruise easily that there could be problems with rollers.







How hard in terms of foam density of these rollers.They do seem to be recommended by pysios.


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## ColinJ (5 Feb 2018)

pawl said:


> How hard in terms of foam density of these rollers.They do seem to be recommended by pysios.


The one I got was _very_ firm. In fact, it isn't 'foam' as I understand the term, but a very stiff polystyrene type of material.


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## DanZac (6 Feb 2018)

In my personal opinion foam rolling works wonders as does post exercise stretching. I think that with cycling I tend to naturally ease off as I get close to home (Not that I'm fast anyway) so could get away without a full stretch off, coming in from a run though is a different matter.
I find a good stretch post exercise followed by the foam roller (or tennis ball depending on what I'm trying to free up) in the evening if I start to feel stiff or sore works a treat.
Be warned though on tight stiff muscles it hurts like a hurty thing the first few times as you start to work all the knots out of your muscles. 
Best thing since sliced bread once you get used to it though and well worth using.


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## Ming the Merciless (6 Feb 2018)

It is not important to stretch after cycling. But it is always nicer to retain flexibility rather than lose it.


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## johnnyb47 (6 Feb 2018)

Brilliant advice and comments given :-) :-) :-)


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## Grolsche11976 (6 Feb 2018)

vickster said:


> Super tight muscles don't affect my cycling...just everything else


Likw what? Your sex life?


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## vickster (6 Feb 2018)

Grolsche11976 said:


> Likw what? Your sex life?


Err no


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## mgs315 (13 Feb 2018)

I must admit I don’t stretch often after a ride but I do after my gym or spin sessions on the bike (always warm down). I’ve gone from only just being able to touch my ankles to almost flat hands on the floor, plus I’ve almost slammed my stem (with the added benefit of an extra mph or so) so it’s working I guess..


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## Gravity Aided (17 Feb 2018)

First few times out in the season I stretch before riding and after, using a set of cycling specific stretches found in a book on the subject of stretching, different stretches for mountain biking and road cycling. _Stretching_, by Bob and Jean Anderson. Seems yoga based. Highly recommended.


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## DaveReading (17 Feb 2018)

mgs315 said:


> I must admit I don’t stretch often after a ride but I do after my gym or spin sessions on the bike (always warm down). I’ve gone from only just being able to touch my ankles to almost flat hands on the floor, plus I’ve almost slammed my stem (with the added benefit of an extra mph or so) so it’s working I guess..



Either that, or your legs are getting shorter.


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