Racer X Virtual Trainer

I have read several articles, by most of the contributors to virtual trainer about the importance of pre race/practice stretching and warmup. Most of the articles suggest warming up with a rower or bike. I don't have a rower and at a few of my races will not be able to bring my bike and trainer along. What alternative exercise would you suggest I do to prime my 5 heart rate zones? I thought about jumping rope with static stretching, another thought was maybe running with intervals, if there is a safe place to do so at the track. Would you recommend either of these or suggest something else? The races that I will not have my bike will be quite a few hours away and will be 2-3 hour hare scrambles.
Thanks for all of the help.

You hit the nail on the head....run or jump rope is a great alternative. Jumping rope is actually the best option of all!

And don't static stretch. Use dynamic stretches instead. Some research suggests that static stretching a muscle before activity can increase the likelihood of injury. So to be on the safe side, stretch dynamically. I am in the process of researching the topic need to rewrite a few of the stretching articles on the site.

_________________
Tim Crytser
Your Virtual Trainer
www.racerxVT.com

JJP,
Great question! The idea here is to activate a system in your body referred to as the Lactic Acid Shuffle so that your muscles are not bombarded by lactic acid during the first 2 minutes of your race. I agree with Tim that jump rope - especially for off road racing is ideal. Please keep in mind that your race is two to three hours, you don't need to be redlined during the first 15 minutes. You want to make sure that the blood is distributed into your extremities and that your heart rate is elevated; but not redlined. Focus on negative splitting your races - getting faster as the race transpires. You don't receive any awards for being the fastest guy for the first hour, but rather at the finish line - so race accordingly.

Regarding dynamic stretching - please don't misunderstand the difference between dynamic and ballistic stretching. Ballistic is when you bounce while stretching to deepen the stretch - this has to be avoided at ALL costs; you will definitely tear something. When you look at the characteristics of dynamic stretching where you are using movement (general at first and the progressively more sport specific) will yield the greatest results. Though this may sound obvious, think about what range of motions you will be implementing during your race and duplicate them!

Please post any questions that you may have here and we will get them all answered for you!
-Robb Beams/MotoE

Thanks a lot for the info and thanks for the heads up on stretching correctly.