December: Agility

   The bar brawl over stretching clamors away, no truce in sight. It's been splendid entertainment for those of us who relish a good scientific fight, especially because otherwise coolheaded coaches, orthopedists, exercise physiologists, and Olympic athletes have joined the melee. The bad news for runners is that no matter what your personal beliefs are about stretching, ample evidence proves you wrong. The good news is that regardless of whether and when you stretch, you needn't change your ways. Everyone can now find places of agreement. There are ways to be smarter about it.

   For starters, abandon the notion that stretching before a workout prevents injury. Scores of studies now put the kibosh on this notion. Tugging on cold muscles is akin to tugging on a cold lump of clay; rather than making it pliable for the potter's wheel, you're more likely to simply pull it apart. It's better to begin workouts with slow, extended warm-ups, letting your muscles rehearse the range of motion they'll use at your anaerobic threshold. A good warm-up raises your core body temperature and pipes blood into malleable tissue, flushing oxygen into deep recesses.

   Once you're primed for hard work, should you stretch? Here opinions diverge. Pro-stretchers argue that minor strains and injuries that result from daily workouts inflame muscles, which can be eased with stretching. You'll get the greatest benefits between warm-up and workout, they'll argue. Anti-stretchers argue that extending muscles beyond their normal range of motion before a hard run invites injury and actually zaps performance.

   If you stretch, avoid ballistic moves of any kind: jumping, bobbing, rocking, and so forth. These beg for pulled muscles. Just as bad is any arbitrary range of movement: touching your nose to your knee, reaching the floor with the flat of your hands, raising a leg to shoulder level, and so forth. Your perfect body is unique in its architecture; sensation alone should guide you through any stretch. Gently pull the muscles until you feel that exquisite threshold between pleasure and pain, never mind how far your various body parts extend. Hold it there for a few seconds. And keep in mind there are Olympic marathoners who can't touch their toes.

   The post-workout stretch has long been prescribed as an antidote to lactic-acid soreness from a hard workout and to prevent future injury. There isn't a shard of evidence to support this. But several studies now tie after-workout stretching to faster running performance. This only makes sense. When you work any muscle, it grows stronger. To reap the performance benefits from stretching you have to do it on a regular - that is, daily - basis. In essence, it becomes a form of cross training.

   Yes, a performance kick is welcome, but let's not kid ourselves about the reasons stretching truly seduces us. A supple body moves with greater agility, poise, and response. All runners intimately understand and cherish the limits of their performance, the fine edges of what their bodies can do. Stretching helps expand some of those edges.