Introduction
A great way for triathletes to work on flexibility is through yoga. When done in a calm style, typical say of Iyengar, you get a two for one; joint mobility and elevation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Our swim, bike, and run training provides plenty of stress, flooding our body with hormones related to the sympathetic nervous system. We ought to spend at a little time every day balancing it out, but once or twice a week we should invest in at least thirty minutes of yoga.
To be clear, the goal is to reduce stress. As athletes we get enough aerobic exercise from our sport-specific workouts. We do not need to add any more while working on flexibility. If you see anything like "Power Yoga," run ... no walk the other way.
The ideal way to do yoga is in a class led by a qualified instructor. Be sure to explain ahead of time that you are looking for a slow, relaxed style of practice. If you cannot get to a class there some useful videos available on YouTube. One series I like is Yoga with Adriene. She has many sessions there -- below I present a few that seem to be specifically related to our needs.
You will need a block and belt. Iyengar yoga goes much farther, using a variety of aides such as bolsters and folding chairs. The reason for these is an inability to get safely into a desired pose. We athletes usually fall into this category. Use your imagination to come up with ways to do the work without overdoing it.
One last word of caution. Running benefits from tight leg muscles. We do not want to do beautiful, perfect poses. We use yoga to ward off overuse injury. If you cannot touch your toes, consider it a good thing. But do enjoy the stretch.
Yoga with Adriene
Email: Coach Gary