I have stretched lots over my life time but I have never found it to be much use. Apart from various injuries caused by badly fitting running shoes to correct pronation caused by running shoes I've been pretty much injury free. When I have stretched it really doesn't seem to have made much difference one way or another. So now I don't bother.
I'll admit that I don't have much flexibility - touching my toes is beyond me and has been for years (but I can balance upside down on my forearms). My calves are pretty tight and going for a sports massage is usually a studied exercise in agony. As a triathlete that is quite relaxing :)
About the only stretches that seem to be worth doing are calf stretches as I get cramp in my arches when swimming sometimes. Even that though seems to be getting better - mostly due I believe to doing my running barefoot.
There is however a huge difference between stretching and core exercises. Core exercises and building core strength are hugely important. It definitely seems that the stronger ones core is the easier a lot of exercises are. For example getting the right position in the water and the bike both seem to rely on good abs. In the water they allow your head to go down and your legs up. On the bike they protect you from back pain.
I'll admit that I don't have much flexibility - touching my toes is beyond me and has been for years (but I can balance upside down on my forearms). My calves are pretty tight and going for a sports massage is usually a studied exercise in agony. As a triathlete that is quite relaxing :)
About the only stretches that seem to be worth doing are calf stretches as I get cramp in my arches when swimming sometimes. Even that though seems to be getting better - mostly due I believe to doing my running barefoot.
There is however a huge difference between stretching and core exercises. Core exercises and building core strength are hugely important. It definitely seems that the stronger ones core is the easier a lot of exercises are. For example getting the right position in the water and the bike both seem to rely on good abs. In the water they allow your head to go down and your legs up. On the bike they protect you from back pain.
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