Show me a runner who stretches religiously and I’ll show you ten who don’t. And me.
My personal trainer (I go once a week for a HIIT session) used to mock my hamstring stretch as being pitiful at best. It was only after taking up the obvious complementary sport for runners; arial hoop, that the hamstrings finally started to return to what are now deemed “normal” stretchy levels.
As brilliant as flinging around on a hoop is for my flexibility; I can’t say my aerial hoop skills are complemented in any way by my running. Each week I turn up with stiff limbs from a run the previous day, and if I’ve forgotten to keep up any kind of stretching for the rest of the week, it takes a good half hour to get anywhere near a straight leg while suspended from the ceiling.
But hoop FORCES me to stretch. You can’t hold on for dear life for a full hour; you have to actually engage your core and stretch your legs as far as is possible in order not to fall off for a good number of moves. It all helps this middle-aged runner and I’ll take anything I can get to help me in the stretchy stakes.
Back to the running though: it’s been improved thanks to more mobility in my hips, a stronger core, and just being fitter all round. I was never the gymnastic one at school, and I don’t foresee myself joining the circus anytime soon, but for me, aerial hoop is a brilliant sideline to running and one that I’d encourage anyone to have a go at.
There are, however, more conventional sports that pair really well with running. Here are a few, in no particular order.
- YOGA
I’m going to come right out and say it “yoga is great for runners” and wait for all those runners to recoil. But SERIOUSLY, it’s great for you. It helps with balance, posture and of course, the all essential stretching.
- ROWING
Say what?! Yep, rowing – it’s so good for strength. That core is getting a severe workout and you have to really work on your posture to get the best technique.
- CYCLING
Runners do give their joints a right pounding. That’s not necessarily a bad thing all the time, but it does make a lot of sense to take the pressure off the joints while maintaining great cardio fitness. Cycling ticks that box well and truly.
- SWIMMING
Another joint-friendly choice. Swimming lets you take the pressure off your body a bit, but you still get the conditioning and all over fitness that complements running so well.
- BARRE CLASS
I’ve never tried this. Come to think of it, I haven’t rowed much either. But Barre is meant to be a really great thing to do if you’re a runner – or anybody really. It takes its principles from dance, and focuses on posture and alignment; something that comes in very handy when you run.
All the above don’t necessarily mean you’re going to be stretching more, but you should be. Trust me. I still don’t do it enough, and when I don’t I really know about it!
Vegan Fitness Runner 