Few weeks ago I learned on the Nike+ community discussion board about great stretching book – Anatomy of Stretching. It was published only recently and as opposed to other books on this subject this one actually shows graphically which muscle group is being stretched in a particular position. Other books I reviewed showed the graphics of how to perform the stretch, but were not very specific on which muscles are stretched. I prefer format of this book to the others.

It took me few days to force myself to start reading the book – much like it takes me some convincing to stretch after the run or bike ride. As runners say – runner has right to claim that the stretching is over when he/she bends over and ties the laces. Since I started reading it I identified few key stretches that I need to do after each running and bike riding session. I have not yet put much thought into the stretching after swimming. But after each run and each bike ride since my last race I have spent some time stretching the legs and I have incorporated few additional stretches into my day routine. The person who did my bike fit told me to do stretches during the day when I have time – like when making coffee in the morning or while I wait for the sandwich to heat up on the grill. By doing that I can easily do 20–30 minutes of stretching a day without even trying too much. I’m starting with that so we shall see how it goes.