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Old Sat Aug 25, 2001, 10:25pm
Just Curious Just Curious is offline
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Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 284
Stretching

Try taking about 10 minutes in the dressing room and go through a series of stretches. Stretching "after" an event is more important than before.
I believe there is little benefit to stretching before an event and can actually cause problems.
A lot of drivers will warm up the engine of their car/truck and give little thought to the other moving parts. I.e. the drivetrain, tires, wheel bearings, transmission, etc. I will start my truck and drive it slowly (until the engine is at normal operating temperature) letting the whole vehicle warmup.
I treat my body the same way. I warmup doing what I'm going to be doing, like running flats, running hills, jumping, quick turns, short sprints.... I start out slow but go through the same motions.
After the workout (game), when you automatically start to cool down, the muscles are immediately starting to tighten or shorten in length. This is when you need to work on them. 1. Try to maintain their length by stretching.
2. Massage afterward is nice (Works much better if you're not the driver). Starting at points furthest form the heart and working the muscles back toward the heart.
3. Put on a pair of tights. This will force the blood vessels closer to the muscles to assist in taking away the lactic acid buildup produced by the muscles as a by-product of your workout. In warmer environments, the blood vessels will move toward the skin's surface to aid in cooling the body by cooling the blood.
4. Have a pen/pencil in hand to sign autographs as you leave the dressing room as you've now also given up enough time for any fans you may have attracted to come cheer you onto your vehicle.
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Ronan, MT

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