Post ride stretches - Show me some good ones!

[muggah]

I've started doing some minor stretching after each ride - I find it makes my legs feel a lot better during the day, a lot less 'tiredness' in them etc.

I only do basic quad, calf, hamstring and groin stretches thus far, but would love to hear some other ones which would be good to do or a point in the direction of some websites that give a good explanation of the stretches. Furthermore, are there any other key parts of the body (other than the legs) which would benefit from a post-ride stretch?

With the stretches I currently do, I'll hold the stretch for around 5-10 seconds, relax, and then hold the stretch for longer (25-35 seconds). Is this an ok way to go about it or is there a better way? I know there are probably many schools of thought regarding this with no single best way to do it but am interested to hear if there are any other methods which people use.

Cheers,

muggah.

[didge]

More than you'll ever want to know about stretching to be found here. The only thing I don't like about that is it recommends static stretching as part of a warm up, which has not been shown to decrease injury occurrence, and may impair performance in sports that don't require flexibility.

For more information see ExRx's page on stretching, and here for specific stretches. Click on the muscle group you are interested in to find stretches for it. ExRx's page has a list of references down the bottom of the page if you are super keen.

[didge]

With the stretches I currently do, I'll hold the stretch for around 5-10 seconds, relax, and then hold the stretch for longer (25-35 seconds). Is this an ok way to go about it or is there a better way? I know there are probably many schools of thought regarding this with no single best way to do it but am interested to hear if there are any other methods which people use.

Should have mentioned this in the first post. So you don't have to wade through the entire FAQ, from the first linked site:

A good common ground seems to be about 20 seconds.....Many sources also suggest that passive stretches should be performed in sets of 2-5 repetitions with a 15-30 second rest in between each stretch.

ExRx recommends:

Recommendations for the optimal holding time are varied, ranging from 10 seconds to 60 seconds.

[muggah]

Cool, plenty of info there, just what I was looking for, thanks!!