I am a beginning jogger. What stretches should I do before and after?
by 
robinbird- gone
ANSWERS: 3
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YOu should stretch your calves, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and your glutes. Make sure you do a light jog for 5-10 minutes prior to stretching before you run to warm up your muscles making them easier to stretch. For the cool down, slow down your pace for 5-10 minutes then do the same stretches. After you have a chance to take your running shoes off, don't forget to stretch your feet and toes and give them a good massage as well.
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There's a great book with illustrations called "Stretching", by Bob Anderson that I used when I was running LSD; I highly recommend it. It kept me injury-free, pain-free and able to run the way I wanted to run. Check it out on amazon.com if you want to see it on-line.
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The answer is a little more complicated than you might think. Before running you should do dynamic stretches (see http://www.momentumsports.co.uk/TtDynamicStretches.asp) then afterwards static stretches (see http://www.momentumsports.co.uk/TtStBody.asp) This is because beforehand you are trying to prepare your body for the exercise you are going to do (when you exercise you don't hold positions for long periods, but use muscles all the time in a stretching and contracting way). Afterwards, your muscles will be tight so you need to lengthen them out (with static stretches) to their pre-exercise length. About 5-10 minutes of each should suffice.
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