The Princess Tomboy Diaries. Episode 2: Dock Stretching

Jul 1, 2011

by Beth Parsons

Hi Beth Parsons here again. I'd like to see a show of hands of all those who've hurt their shoulder mountain biking.

No? No hands up?

That's because your shoulder separation is stopping you from putting your hand up. And why you haven't gone to the doctor about it yet!

Does this sound familiar? If so then you're probably like me - the only thing you "make time for" in a day is eating, because being hungry is annoying and it gets in the way of a good time. However, I'm here today to remind you that not stretching will also get in the way of your good time.

Stretching? Like yoga? Yeah you know it's super cool right now - just ask any dude with an ironic mustache or one of your girlfriends on a Bali yoga retreat doing "toxin flushing cleanses" between her binge drinking.

But you know you could benefit from a little more mind body connection. Admit it, you got up from your crash, sat back down on your bike, failed to note that your arm not being able to lift itself to the bar as a sign of injury - used your good arm to lift the bad one up to the grip and continued to bike down thinking "It might be time for a beer, or maybe another lap- we'll see how it goes."

This photo belongs to the blog The Princess Tomboy Diaries. Episode 2 Dock Stretching

Capturing a spiritual moment like this one for your facebook profile picture is super sweet and shows off your skills - but stretching isn't going to stop you from breaking bones right?

Wrong. According to Clair Bond, an LMT, stretching could mean the difference between a season stopping injury or not. For example "All bikers need to open the shoulder joint" says Bond " ...[to] release just how tight the pecks can get." By doing so, Bond explains, you will "cut down on your injuries, when falling or getting bashed by a tree".

This sounded good to me, so I sat down with Clair and worked out a realistic stretching regime I can do in one of the only settings I'm likely to take a moment to chill after a ride: The lake side dock. Nothing fancy pants, you've seen em before. Check it out. Then do it. Oh and don't give me a hard time about sucking at stretching- I KNOW ok.

OK start with your neck. Boring I know, but as Bond points out "One of the hardest parts of riding is on your neck."

Take a second and do this...

...and this. Yarrow you are a good friend. I used the one of you in focus because the number of chins I can make made me puke a little bit in my mouth.

Super important to stretch the forearms after a long ride. Keep the shoulders down and note Yarrow's thumb position, facing downwards. Make sure to do both sides.

Relax your lower back all the way to your toes. Get your friend to push your toes down like this. If you are a girl like me then your feet smell like roses and are never sweaty.

When pushing down on the toe beds, make sure that the legs are as straight as possible. If you are on your own, put your legs up against a wall or tree and just breathe. This is better then just reaching for your toes while sitting, explains Bond, "it's a Great way to reduce leg cramps". Relax your back.

This one is not painful at all. Notice how I'm really relaxed and focused on my breathing? You will be too. "When you add the cross over, you add a full hip and glute stretch" says Bond.

Here is another way to get the same stretch. Reach behind your knee and pull the leg forward - try to keep your bent knee flat/open to the side.

I like this one. You sit cross legged and let your hands dangle over the edge. But see how my butt isn't on the dock?

Get your good friend like Yarrow here to help you.

There. I could stay like this for a while - feels great on those uber tight hips we women get from biking.

This is how we hang out normally and talk about the day. This stretch "opens up the quads and hamstrings" says Bond. Focus on relaxing the low back.

Use your sweet Race Face kneepads to protect your kneecap.

By bringing in the leg to the glute, you add an even more effective stretch to the mix.

And then back. You know this one.

Clock stretch. Oh boy this one really is my favorite it feels soooo good. Lie on your side with your top leg bent out in front of your body. Your top arm starts at 9:00 and then you slowly bring it up to 12, and open to 3:00. Does that make sense? You'll feel it, you just let your arm lie out there and your open up your shoulder. Relax, breath mmmm.

This little stretch you can do anywhere you can find a tree or something to hold on to.

this is a sweet rotator cuff stretch and peck stretch. Do it because it will help you not wreck your shoulders when you fall.

Here I am at the pumptrack doing the same stretch. Thumb down one is good for rotator cuff says Bond.

Well there you go!

If you look less like this...

...and more like this

Then these stretches are for you. Do them and I guarantee you'll be way more awesome then you are now.

If you are looking for a really unbelievable massage therapist on a float home look no further. Clair is unreal. You fix your bike when it's not running smooth - now go fix your body too. www.floathousemassage.com

Thanks Matt Walker www.aspectphotography.ca for the photos and Yarrow Reid for being wicked like usual.

About Clair Bond
Claire grew up on the north shore, has extensively traveled and explored the world for work and play. She is back on the shore after doing her training in massage and integrated health in Hawaii. Her combination of massage, stretching, breath work and deep tissue work, comes from her love and background of Mana Lomi, traditional Hawaiian massage and sports therapy.

Her studio is in North Vancouver, on a float house near Lonsdale Quay.

Please contact her at floathousemassage.com or 1-778-868-6516

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whistlerboots
Member since Jun 22, 2011
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46 Comments

18 1

cyrix (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:04)

I'm more flexible than most of my friends, but nowhere near this flexible, I'm sure yoga would be helpful. And it's something I've been meaning to work on for 9 years now. What can I say? I procrastinate. Also, try to be respectful guys, I have a feeling this is going to turn into a comment cesspool.

nwguerilla425 (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:06)

I always forget to stretch before riding....I should take a note from these ladies

cyrix (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:14)

I don't think very many people stretch before riding either. I know I don't, but I do when I'm running, which if you think about it makes no sense at all.

Rasterman (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:57)

On the flipside you have the studies, doctors, and pro athletes who say that stretching is bad for your muscles and weakens them. And there is also a group that says you should only stretch dynamically (eg by kicking your leg up to more extremes).

saso (Jul 1, 2011 at 13:25)

that is the same i heard stretching weakens muscles before any physical strain but helps relax them after strains and helps regeneration... That is wat i heard

BTW i always forget to strech after ride

letsgetit (Jul 1, 2011 at 14:21)

Those reports are referring to pro-longed stretching pre workout. (longer than 10 seconds) My job depends on being in shape, and never heard to never stretch before a workout. Post workout is when you get into the 30-45 second stretches. (15-30 is usually recommended, but 30-45 just feels better IMO) Everybody's different though for sure.

PLC07 (Jul 1, 2011 at 16:55)

Stretching is good. When you do physical efforts you contract your muscle hard. You need to stretch to get them back to their original state. Putting lots of stress on tendons/ligaments leads to fun stuff like tendinitis and the such. This can be chronic (trust me) and the only way to prevent it from hurting, or actually happening at all, is to stretch. Once it's chronic, you can "push" the pain away but when you stop stretching it's not too long it comes back, always.

As for when to do it I've read or been told by experts different things. Some say it's better to stretch when your muscles are still "hot" (when there is still a lot of blood in them after exercising) and some say it's pretty much irrelevant as long as you stretch often. I've never heard/read anywhere that it can be bad to stretch and I highly doubt its true.

PLC07 (Jul 2, 2011 at 18:11)

"Stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific skeletal muscle (or muscle group) is deliberately elongated, often by abduction from the torso, in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feeling of increased muscle control, flexibility and range of motion."

PLC07 (Jul 3, 2011 at 12:19)

That link is just hypothesis of current/future work results and doesn't bring anything concrete to the table. I guess we could say that we stretch a joint or an area more than a muscle/tendon/ligament since its all linked together. Anyway, if you read some on the human body you'll notice that a lot of stuff is in grey areas since for every study out there, you can find 2 that contradict each other. It's the same for training, nutrition and so on.

jtnord (Jul 4, 2011 at 17:53)

Current ESS teaches static (10 sec) stretching before an activity to be bad because it does exactly that, pre stretches muscles so they cannot be used at their maximum potential (unless the activity specifically requires flexibility, think gymnast). Post workout/ride static stretching is perfectly acceptable and recommended though. Prior to activity it is recommended you do an "active warmup" rather than stretch.

10 1

Chairborne (Jul 1, 2011 at 13:23)

Do you ever see a lion stretch before he takes down a gazelle?

12 0

zorba73 (Jul 1, 2011 at 14:20)

Yes actually, lions do stretch. Most legged animals do. Much of Yoga is pretty much based on animal stretches.

Chairborne (Jul 2, 2011 at 3:33)

ill shut up then!

monkey-man (Jul 2, 2011 at 16:20)

awsome film some people just don't get it!

nwguerilla425 (Jul 3, 2011 at 12:09)

Wow, I was totally just gonna use that line but than saw yours...I woulda looked like an idiot.

Chairborne (Jul 5, 2011 at 3:01)

Yeah Zombieland is a awesome film! glad someone got it

theriotact (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:24)

this is actually pretty relevant to me right now, the other day right after my shoulder had healed up a bit from hitting a tree pretty hard on a trail ride, I went down hard at the dirt jumps and messed it right up again. ill take these stretches into consideration..

PLC07 (Jul 1, 2011 at 16:39)

Nice article, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it mentions anywhere how long (seconds) you have to actually stretch and if once is ok or if you have to do multiple repetitions of each exercise. I would really like to hear a professional's take on this as there is a lot of conflicting information from dubious people out there. Thank you very much.

xcjunky (Jul 1, 2011 at 17:37)

Props to Beth and co for a super informative how-to! I have also heard about some conflicting reports about stretching before a workout. However most yoga classes I have taken go straight to demanding (static poses. Maybe adding some dynamic stretching before a static stretch would be ideal as a warmup. Anyhoo great job gals!

PLC07 (Jul 1, 2011 at 18:41)

I noticed that it's easier to stretch when your muscles are hot as you can reach farther with less resistance. I was wondering if you lose some of the benefits if your muscles are hot since you don't tax them as much or the opposite, if it could be dangerous when they're cold since they're not ready to take it.

Sharonb (Jul 2, 2011 at 8:26)

Nice. I started doing bikrams once a week and its pretty much a maintenance thing. I have a short routine I do in the morning, a longer one if i'm really stiff after a ride or a day on the slopes. Mountain bikers are notoriously stiff...

PiroChu (Jul 1, 2011 at 22:19)

Thanks for putting this article together. Great pix & write-up. My wife always stretches after a run, but I never do so after a ride. I'd better get started with it (& regularly), too.

Waldon83 (Jul 1, 2011 at 18:08)

Fantastic write up Beth! I'm sure most people don't do anything like this before they chuck the bike between their legs. The photo's helped out too, but I think they got many a boys heart racing. Lookin' good typically.

dirtyamerican (Jul 1, 2011 at 20:54)

very cool. they make us do some of these stretches at work and I always wondered if it would be beneficial for my riding...now I know!!

gombo8 (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:20)

i think i have something to make them really stretch more.... the reverse cobra...it gets your lower back really good. ill try to link a pic

fullbug (Jul 1, 2011 at 13:13)

would be so relaxed if i had a backdrop like that lake to stretch.

TimBigHitFSRII (Jul 1, 2011 at 17:33)

I stretch, when I hit the ground and roll up like a rag doll I get stretched, and sometimes i have to really stretch to make long gaps!!

Freakhead (Jul 3, 2011 at 13:30)

stretching when muscles are cold before the workout is not such a good idea. warming up is something different. it prepares the joints for the action.

UncleCliffy (Jun 30, 2011 at 0:44)

Great article. At my age, I can never seem to stretch enough...

Eyon (Jul 1, 2011 at 14:08)

I'm pretty lazy and only rarely do I stretch my quads and calves, I really should do more! Good article!

socalshreder (Jul 1, 2011 at 20:48)

Warm up ur muscles first then stretch. U dont want to stretch cold muscles. Do like a 15 min dynamic warmup then stretch,

racer987 (Jul 2, 2011 at 10:56)

after tearing both shoulders twice, not being able to scratch my ears for 8 months, I stretch all the time.

P2-josh (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:41)

i dont stretch i just do a smaller line a few times to warm up

connor-bolivia (Jul 1, 2011 at 18:45)

i only strech before recing!! =)

Twisted1 (Jul 1, 2011 at 19:31)

Girl in the 18th picture with the white shirt got se nice legs

easternshreda (Jul 1, 2011 at 20:51)

wish we had women like this that rode down where we lived !

dkboo (Jul 2, 2011 at 4:24)

yoga？Oh wow w ~Beautiful girl！

apachemauro (Jul 2, 2011 at 14:27)

Beth is absoloutly beautiful!

aliclarkson FL (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:40)

I can't even tough my toes

whitetux (Jul 1, 2011 at 14:59)

Stretching is mint, makes a gym session or riding so much better

ryandale28 (Jul 1, 2011 at 19:32)

that was it..... a bunch of stretches....

Bomber-Man-8825 (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:04)

my turn..

bury (Jul 1, 2011 at 12:05)

stretch. just do it.

pokalface (Jul 1, 2011 at 13:34)

so flexible

liufei1987 (Jul 1, 2011 at 22:52)

衣服好看

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