stretching

I am finally seeing the benefit of stretching. Back is much better when i do it. Question is what stretches to do at launch site. If i launch close to home 10 minutes away I can do it at home. It involves lying on back. Something I would not want at launch site. Any suggestions.

bring a towel
Figure out a way to lie down.

What things are you stretching?
If you are looking for some alternate type of stretch to do which will accomplish the same thing as your usual lying-down stretch, it would help to know what it is that you want to accomplish. I’m a self-taught stretcher who gradually figured out what stretches to do during years of martial arts, and could suggest dozens of stretches (those with formal training could do a better job, since each stretch probably has a name and could be referenced online), but have no idea which ones are applicable in this case.

stretch
What has happened this year is that after paddling I am getting pain in hip. Been using home gym to stretch before paddling close to home & it has helped. Think mainly it is lower back that I am interested in doing stretches for

walk
you should also be doing a fast paced walk just before canoeing to get the heart beating. You can do this at the launch site. A 15 minute walk should do it.


Foam roller
Have you tried using a foam roller? http://tinyurl.com/o4vjsxw



I started using it a few weeks ago on my calves, as sometimes I get calf cramps. Had good success. Was out of town for a week and off the water till yesterday and hadn’t used the roller. And the end of my paddle, I could feel my calves tightening up. I’m now a believer.

roller
the roller looks good. Don’t see using it a launch but guessing it would work doing it at home just before i leave. Thanks

google “Dr. Cox exercises for the lower
back”. These are good for loosening up and particularly for lower back injuries and recovery.

That depends…
Where in the hip is the pain located? Front, side, back of the body?



Stretching the quads deeply can often open up the front of the hip and the PSIS area at the back (that bony protrusion halfway between the body’s edge and the spine). Doing a tailor’s stretch will loosen you up if the pain is in the actual buttock or creating sciatica-like symptoms.

^5 rollers!
These are awesomely powerful. I would recommend using them especially after kayaking.

cardboard
Again, take Walmart’s large box, cut side and unfold.



I use these cardboard’s for exercise, loading yak, and under car crawlers, painting shields both ground and wind… cheap



Situps ended with reaching out to sides. Many have lower back problems due to low heels.



stretch for bracing moves.



Utube has a plethora of warm up exercise stretches. And there are volumes in the library.



I use a daily arm rotation series with arm weights on wrists and hand grippers. Try maintaining shoulder integrity.



The multitude of unworked positions will reveal themselves. One way to go is opposite and unused motion areas that should compliment the strength giving muscles.

stretch at home, then do yoga stances
… at the launch site. This gives your body enough time to “recover” from the stretching to make the yoga easier. Works like a charm. Also strengthening your core with these makes it a LOT easier to get in and out of the kayak.



There’s been a LOT of stupid articles lately in what I call the “frou-frou weekend warrior” health/fitness sections of online newspapers claiming that stretching right before exercise is “unnecessary and harmful.” I read the articles very carefully and that is not really what the studies they were supposedly based on were saying. They were saying that for “Peak Performance” at speed that warm ups with a different style of stretching were more effective. Yet the headlines persist “don’t stretch because it is harmful.” Ignore that crap.



This does not apply to the 99% of us who are not teens/young adults and in a racing competition trying to shave off a few fractions of a section. I really think these idiots are getting their jollies watching those of us who have had a successful physical therapy/maintenance program, over decades of use, try to skip a warmup with a stretch routine, so we end up getting injured.












anything that gets the hip flexors helps
A form of lunge pose you can look up can help and done standing on the beach. I would also do these at times on a rest landing on longer paddles days. On long crossings I would sometimes lay full back to the back deck for a bit to stretch the hip flexors. Helps with a common cause of lower back pain especially for those with desk jobs. For me, ham string stretches are the next priority.

it’s complex

– Last Updated: Aug-29-14 10:19 AM EST –

I read a fitness expert who sides with the "static stretching is unproductive" position but who still advocates dynamic stretching, especially the more it relates to the activity you'll be doing. It's an ongoing debate but her position is basically that if you feel like it helps, keep doing it.

You're right about the science though, most of it comes from analyzing top athletes and not the everyday joe.

Such articles are probably written…
… by people who have no personal experience regarding the difference in range of motion when comparing their situation with and without pre-stretching. Even simple things like running are more difficult when the full range of motion isn’t there (probably not the case for poking along, and maybe that’s what these authors assume), and I always found I’d be more likely to hurt myself in that case than when my muscles and joints felt “lubed and free-moving”. That’s doubly true as I get older.

Get Brent Reitz’s Forward Stroke Video
His stretching routine for kayaking is worth the cost of the tape or cd. Plus you get the forward stroke segment as a bonus.