Before and After Stretching Routine Help
 

Anybody have a good stretching routine before and after you work out? I messed around and messed up my hamstring because I didn't stretch before kick boxing and I totally regret it. I went to bodybuilding.com but they have so many stretches that I don't know which are good ones to do or not. I'm sure that I don't have to stretch every part of my body right??? Help!

Here's what I learned while in dance. Do each for 10-15 seconds (longer if it was a intense workout):

1. Stand straight, bend over, and try to touch your toes.
2. Standing, spread your legs to your own hip comfort and try to touch the floor
3. In the same position as 2 try to touch your right foot. Kinda lean so your stretching your inner thigh. Repeat on the other side.
4. Runner's pose. Each side. Then bounce/roll your foot to stretch your ankle.
5. Sit down, legs together, try to touch your toes
6. Spread your legs and reach through the middle
7. Same position and 6, try to touch each foot, first one then the other
8. Extend one leg out, cross the other leg over and turn towards the crossed leg (stretching your back - it will usually pop). Use your arms to get around as far as you can and get a good stretch. Repeat on the other side
9. Reach your right arm above your head and back towards your left shoulder blade. Put your left hand on your right elbow and stretch the arm. Repeat on the other side
10. Cross one arm over your body using the other arm to pull it to get a good stretch

These work really well for me when getting warmed up. I'll usually just do the leg ones after the workout. Doing this daily for a couple weeks I was able to touch my feet in every position! **Remember to breathe!!!**

Hope this helps!

My favorite stretching routine is based on a Tai-Chi floor routine.

And I just tried to find the book on Amazon and they have umpty-jillion books on Tai-Chi. When I get home tonight I'll get the exact title and post it. The first section of the book has a floor routine that I love. I do it after weights and cardio and I sometimes do a shorter version of it in the morning when I wake up, if I feel stiff.

I'll post tonight, I promise!

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It's mainly just my lower body and back that stiffens up, so that's where I focus my stretching. I also usually only stretch post-workout. I've read that it can be dangerous to do static stretches without warming up first and I'm usually too impatient to warm up and stretch.

Here is my standard post-workout stretch routine (I hold all stretches for a count of 30 and do each once on each leg, unless otherwise noted):

• Standing hamstring stretch: I do this three times on each leg because I have runner's knee and it is supposed to help with that.
• Quadriceps stretch: Same here; this stretch is also supposed to be good for runner's knee so I do it three times on each leg.
• Calf Stretch: I usually just do this one on each leg, unless my calves feel especially tight, then I might do it once or twice extra on each leg.
• Figure Four: I do this on the ballet bar along the wall (I usually stand on a step to do it, because I'm just a little bit short for the bar).
• Seated Hamstring Stretch: I do this on each leg once with my foot flexed and once with my foot pointed. I also do it with both legs together, again once with feet flexed and once with feet pointed. I can really feel the stretch in my lower back when I do it with my legs together.
• Seated Lower Back/Hip Stretch

If my back feels particularly tight, I throw in a kneeling back stretch (extended child's pose in yoga).

On days when I run outdoors, which is particularly hard on my lower body, I add the following stretches:

• Jackknife
• Hamstring stretch with resistance band (I just use a towel)
• Hip and Lower Back Stretch
• Glute Stretch

This routine works quite well for me. If I don't do it, I definitely experience back pain or leg pain later in the day. But when I do it, I have a lot fewer issues with pain.

For kick-boxing, you should definitely be doing some sort of warm-up before hand, maybe a fast walk or a light jog for 5 min or other light cardio exercises. Once you do that, you could also do some stretches to prepare for the workout.