I need help with FLEXABILITY!!!!

[hybrid_TKD]

I must be the least flexible person alive! I am willing to try anything to gain flexablilty. Mostly in my legs! If anyone knows of anything like certin foods, medicine, drugs, drinks, exercises, topical applications, rubs, lotions, electric shock treatment, heat, ice, yoga, meditation or anything else any of you may think of or know to help. I am desparate!

Joe

[Joe karate]

Stretch

[Cain]

ROFL!

But seriously that's the best advice you can get, but keep a routine, I mean stretch normally through the week, but keep the heavy stretching routines something like three days a week, for your body to recover, remember stretching 'heavily' only three days a week, the rest normal stretching - do it everyday

I got the very same advice on this very forum, works for me :D

|Cain|

[JediMasterChris]

If your legs aren't flexible do alot of groin and hamstring stretches,etc. :D

[Sean O]

Try to stretch every day just after you wake up. Your muscles are more relaxed and will stretch more easily.

[hybrid_TKD]

thanks.

[darlph]

At 46 I can do a front split from a cold stance. No problem. Wha I have learned from alot of years of trying to do the side split, is that you never jump into a split or stretch totally cold. You should do a light warm up. Being that I have access to Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, it is coming along slowly but coming. Try finding a copy of his stretching book. Pretty helpful. Also John Chung suggests stretch all the time, esapecially when watching t.v.
If you need places to help your heighth, a chair, table, kitchen counter, back edge of a pickup truck ect. And the most important thing is do not bounce! My neighbors love it when I'm facing my truck with my foot on the side of its bed. Then I slowly turn my hips and face 90 degrees and push my heels into sidekick blade. Then I work the fold bringing my foot back and then back out. My right side is easier then the left.
Good luck.

[Bon]

Do dynamic stretches in the morning and before your workout as part of your wormup. Compilment that with isometric stretching and you should see gains.

A quick search on google would have found you the following:

http://users.rcn.com/bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/

[KickChick]

STRETCH EVERDAY AFTER A GOOD WARM UP!
Most injuries in any sport or martial art are due to failure to warmup properly. As with any exercise, the appropriate warm of for whatever activity you are going to be doing, is that same activity in a slower and more controlled manner. Keep in mind that the warm up should be some sort of cardiovascular movement that will gradually elevate your heart rate (dynamic stretching will offer you this as Bon suggested), while increasing your body's core temperature. For the dynamic flexibility used in high kicks (which is separate from static flexibility), you will just have to practice quick/fast/stretches/kicks that involve a quick burst of power (such as high kicks/drop splits/etc.) at least 6-7 times a week for 15 minutes at a minimum. Just practice your kicks after martial arts practice or your exercise work outs when your muscles are already warm.

A misconception is that one should stretch before he/she warms up. I don't know if any of you know about the "spaghetti theory" but here is is:

Let’s say you pull a box of spaghetti out of the cabinet and pull out a few strands. What would happen if you immediately tried to bend the pasta? It would break. So what would happen if you put that same pasta in a pot of warm water for five minutes and tried to bend it? It would give a bit, but if you tried to bend it all the way ... it would still break. So what if we left that same pasta in the pot to boil for ten minutes and then tried to bend it? It would be all over the place right? Totally flexible. Well, that is exactly the way your body works. If you attempt to stretch out before an appropriate warm up, you are very likely to pull or tear something. Once you do warm-up however, keep in mind that the preliminary stretching is for injury prevention only. It is not a time to try and gain flexibility. Just like the spaghetti, if you go too far ... you may break! Once you have completed your workout (boiled), then you will want to stretch for the purposes of gaining added flexibility.
A good stretching exercise.....
Sit on the floor with your feet extended. Secure an elastic band(resistance tubing), or something similar around a heavy object or have a partner hold the other end. Set the band so its tension helps pull your chest down toward your legs as you push your heels forward at the same time. Relax. Don't try to pull yourself down. Let the band do the work for you. Next use the elastic band in a similar manner while bringing your feet together and in close to your pelvis in the butterfly position. Then try the same feeling to stretch with both legs spread in the splits.

No vitamin can magically bring you flexibility..... but glucosamine/chondroitin (supplement) does speed repair of joints and may reduce joint inflammation and damage (which older folks might experience with constant overstretching and overworking of their muscles).

[Cain]

Ouch! That was quite an article :eek:

Do I sense another 'YODA' here? :D

|Cain|

[YODA]

Originally posted by cain_charlie
Ouch! That was quite an article :eek:

Do I sense another 'YODA' here? :D

|Cain|

Believe it Cain - I know Deb and she knows her stuff :D

[Cain]

Gotcha! :D

|Cain|

[KickChick]

Originally posted by YODA


Believe it Cain - I know Deb and she knows her stuff :D

thank you Yoda :)

... I wasn't aware that I exceeded the word quota on posts here.
I'll keep it to a minimum in future and save the rest for future "articles".

[YODA]

Word quota?

[KickChick]

LOL ....I guess I mean't word "limit"....
... I do have a habit of making long posts.... I was assuming that was what cain was referring to....
If I go on an on ... just shoot me:woo: ... (I'm used to it);)

[Cain]

Nah! I was'nt reffering to the length of your post more like the quality, and you were'nt boring either.

You see Yoda is the 'Yoda' of the health and fitness forums, and looking at your post I thought I sensed another 'Yoda' :D

That was quite informative and detailed, don't worry about it being too long Deb.

PS - I guess we can add Deb in the line of gurus for the health and fitness stuff :D

|Cain|

[KickChick]

:)

... what? Me a guru? Cool!http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/xerx/happyspoonboy.gif

OK .... when I do get boring... you can shoot me then!;)

One thing I do know much about is "flexibility" and "stretching" because I have researched, read, and incorporate it daily into my training and I am a firm believer that everyone can achieve their goals in this area with consistency and with a correct stretching routine.

[YODA]

Hey Deb

Any advice for an ageing (40) chappie with reasonable hamstring flexibility (can touch floor with palms from standing with legs straight) but poor lateral flexibility (About 110 degrees in box split at best).????

[KickChick]

LOL ... ok here is some advice from a mid-40 chick.
I suggest stretching your hamstrings first then on to hip stretches, and finish with some basic side split stretches. Also focus on strengthening the adductors (inside of thigh muscles).

If you read T. Kurz's book he contends that anyone can perform "splits" and that you also need to train your brain... don't think that just because you are older and less flexible in that area that you can never learn to do splits.

When trying to do a split your brain tells you to tighten the muscles to counteract the possibility of pulling a muscle or feeling pain. (If sufficently warmed up prior you should not!) So, your muscles tighten and that is when you feel pain and if you should force the stretch, you will pull a muscle.
So what we also need to do is to train our brains to release those muscles, relax & breathe and allow them to stretch and elongate.
In stretching for flexibility, the rule is that "frequency beats intensity". Just do those seated or lying "V" stretches everyday and you'll gradually notice an increase in that 110 deg split.

eh, I hope this helped somewhat!

[KickChick]

If you need adductor exercises I can post some for you! :D