Anti-Stretchite!

I am in the final days of training and preparation.  Yesterday, someone asked me how I was changing my game as I got closer to the launch date.  The honest answer is that I am not changing anything.  The goal is to keep the next 25 days consistent.  My motto is to stick with what is working and don't do anything radical that could get me injured, detuned or distracted. 

I get asked a lot about stretching these days...pro/con?  There is ample scientific evidence on both sides of the equation that could lead one to be fervent about a position. 

Me?

I am a confirmed Anti-Stretchite.   I guess I can appreciate it's use for guys like Usiah Bolt or other pro athletes who need loose fast twitch muscles for instant speed.  However, one of my (many, many) character flaws is that I get annoyed when I see someone at a 5K making a show of stretching for the 40 minutes before they turn in 13 minute miles.  You have all seen them, stretching themselves like taffy at a carnival...please, spare me...Oh yeah, will someone please tell them to wear clothes that fit?

Judy, my 80lb stick of dynamite Pilates trainer, has worked diligently the last year to keep me from becoming a human version of a 2X4.  She has managed to keep me able to touch my toes and have some modicum of bendability.   However, there will be no mistaking me for a pretzel any time soon.  She laughs weekly as she tries to loosen my IT bands (tightest IT bands ever she clucks), quads and hamstrings with all the force her 4'8" frame can muster.  It is more work for her than me!

If there was an award for  "Most Tight Muscle Group, Male Athlete" at the Emmy's, I am hands down the winner.

I worry that one day one of two things is going to happen....

1)  I catapult Judy 30 feet into the wall as she winds my leg up to the tension point where it becomes a dangerous weapon if she lets it go.  (Think mash potatoes on a spoon bent back in a food fight!)

2)  My muscles explode in a bloody, stringy mess that would cause a movie producer to have to cut footage to avoid an X rating for gore if it was horror movie.

I know there may be people out there who are "Stetchies"...save your sermon!  I have gone 46 years without stretching...I am beyond saving!

Anti-Stretchite!


25 Days to go!

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