Everything I Know About Stretching
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Stretch-ologists say it’s a good idea.
- I never do it. Because it hurts.
- Even without stretching, I am very limber. For example, I can quite easily touch my fingertips to my kneecaps, without bending my knees.
Today’s weight: 165.4 lbs.
Comment by Unknown | 09.13.2005 | 5:55 pm
Do you have the recipe for Mom’s Impossible Pie?
Comment by Fat Cyclist | 09.13.2005 | 5:59 pm
lori – i sure hope not.
Comment by Fat | 09.13.2005 | 6:50 pm
Hey just checking in again for the day. Just another fan to the "Fat Cyclist",~ Fat Chick
Comment by Zed | 09.13.2005 | 7:55 pm
You sure dropped those three pounds in a hurry. Did you put in a long ride Monday night or something?P.S. Health science students tell me stretching does absolutely nothing to prevent injury. I knew a guy who wrecked his ankles from doing ankle rolls all the time.
Comment by Zed | 09.13.2005 | 7:56 pm
You sure dropped those three pounds in a hurry. Did you put in a long ride Monday night or something?P.S. Health science students tell me stretching does absolutely nothing to prevent injury. I knew a guy who wrecked his ankles from doing ankle rolls all the time.
Comment by Zed | 09.13.2005 | 7:56 pm
Look, ma, two comments!!!
Comment by Nina | 09.13.2005 | 8:54 pm
Stretching always confused me. You’re supposed to stretch before working out to prevent injury but…you shouldn’t stretch while you’re cold so you have to warm up before you do it, which involves working out…what if I injure myself while I’m warming before a stretch…I don’t stretch just in case. These are the useless thoughts that wander around in my head and occupy more time then they should…
Comment by BIg Mike In Oz | 09.13.2005 | 10:11 pm
Opinions vary on stretching. Being a Physics major I don’t pay too much attention to the bio-med stuff myself but… the personal trainers and Phys-ed students all rally around the 123 system of injury prevention.1. warm up properly2. exercise vigorously3. stretch gentlyIn the prescribed order and with the prescribed level of enthusiasm.Anatomical origami is for people who can see and touch their toes. The rest of us can exercise and not bother and the exercise is just as healthy.cheersBIG Mike (skinny on the inside)
Comment by Unknown | 09.13.2005 | 11:05 pm
Congratulations on your weight loss this week!You have probably already heard this lecture from your wife, your sisters, and your mom, as well as assorted friends, but I am concerned about your dieting methods. So I wanted to relate some stuff I read in Shape magazine and elsewhere (and it MUST be true because it was printed, you know?) I have, however, verified it enough times that I believe it to be true.It takes 14 calories a day to maintain a pound, for the averagely (new word) active person. Therefore, if you want to lose weight, you need to reduce your total calories by about 500 calories and lose the weight sensibly (and it’s more likely to stay lost that way). If you get nutsy and stavation-oriented, then your metabolism shuts down. Exercise jacks it up. Your personal metabolism must be screaming, "Whaaaaaaa?????" every day.Your body needs good fats and oils in order to burn up the bad fats and oils. You won’t lose weight if there is not enough fat in your diet.When you starve and exercise and lose weight, you lose muscle, NOT fat, and you neeeeeeed muscle to show off with those shaved legs, so you need to stop burning it up.I think you crave weird stuff to some extent because your body is starving for adequate nutrition. Do you know that Olympic women skiiers eat over 4,000 calories a day and still lose weight?If you crave sweets in general, you may have a B-complex deficiency (there should a good one at Trader Joe’s or Henry’s for around $4 a bottle and when I take mine regularly, I have no craving for sweets); if you crave chocolate in particular, you may have a magnesium deficiency, which isn’t good for your muscles, one of which is your heart.I used these theories when caring for my seriously overweight, diabetic mother-in-law over twenty years ago and it worked. I fed her very generously with healthy food, even healthy desserts that I invented, and she lost weight, lowered her sugar dramatically, lost weight, lowered her blood pressure, etc. Quacamole, by the way, is a good fat.Try the no-sugar-added or low-fat fudgsicles put out by Jello, I think. They are wonderful and just enough to satisfy a sweet craving. Yellow box, colorful print.Pardon me for pontificating, but I really enjoy your blog and I don’t want any unhealthy things to happen to you.
Comment by Ariane | 09.13.2005 | 11:05 pm
I stretch lots, just because I like to. But usually I stretch when I’m bored or stuck at a desk for more than an hour. It’s only coincidence if I happen to stretch prior to a ride. My aunt’s über-fit husband says that stretching to prevent injury is surprisingly pointless, and that a warm-up is better. But then again, neither of us does anything like the endurance rides you do.
Comment by Unknown | 09.14.2005 | 7:35 am
You don’t need to stretch before you go out for ride. It doesn’t do much good, and riding gently for the first 10 to 15 minutes is adequate warm-up. You do however benefit greatly from stretching after a ride, especially if it was a very long one. It greatly speeds up recovery.Secondly (and unsurprisingly), stretching also increases muscle flexibility. What’s less intuitive is that increased muscle flexibility can really increase your power output on a bike, because it improves your pedal stroke, and allows for more muscles to be engaged in pedaling.If you’re serious that you cannot reach beyond your knees, some gentle stretching two to three times a week will do more for your changes for a sub 9 Leadville than a few extra lost pounds will. Which means more food for you. Yay!And finally, it shouldn’t hurt. If it does, you’re overdoing it.
Comment by kris | 09.14.2005 | 11:21 am
Well, it took 4+ months, but the the Fat Cyclist finally mails one in.
Comment by Unknown | 09.14.2005 | 4:12 pm
Some people think stretching is good.
Comment by Fat Cyclist | 09.14.2005 | 4:53 pm
kj – cut me a little slack, would you? Big meanie.Geert Baeyaert – not only do you make sense, but you have a string of five vowels in your last name. that rules.a.toad – i have to admit, i can’t help but looking at your name and thinking that from an object-oriented programming point of view, your name means that "toad" is a property of "a." which is cryptic, but cool. mumo – don’t you worry about me. i’m fit as a fiddle. possibly as fit as a fiddler on the roof. big mike – can i count reaching up to the top shelf of the pantry to grab a bag of chips as "stretching gently?"copyboy – do you always double-post, as a clever way to underscore your name? ‘cuz that would be a clever gimmick, if you did. well, it would be clever once or twice, and then it would get annoying.ninacan – you’re confusing me. cut it out.
Comment by Unknown | 09.15.2005 | 7:39 am
Just curious, how do you think it should be pronounced? I’ll give the correct answer later.
Comment by Unknown | 09.15.2005 | 4:20 pm
My personal belief is that it is not pronounced, it is played… because I believe it to be a representation of the highest note available on a piccolo.If it is,in fact, a mere name, then I think it must be Gairt Bairt, or perhaps Gert Bert to Americans.
Comment by Ariane | 09.15.2005 | 10:46 pm
I cast my vote for Gärt Bärt. (Gehrt Behrt). By the way, highest not on piccolo looks like EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGHGGEEGHEE, and will always, and forever, be ten cents sharp. And it’ll also probably be a beat late. Grr.
Comment by Unknown | 09.16.2005 | 7:30 am
And the anwser is (drumroll…)Gehrt Bye-art (Bye as in goodbye, Art as in art (or fart))