The more I stretch the less Flexable I seem to be??

[Horologist]

Can any one point me in the right direction?

I started training back at my old Karate club about a year ago after a very long break (20 yrs!!) back then I was 14. I have progressed very well since the return and Im very dedicated to the training. I have one major problem, my flexibility seems to be going backwards?? I started out ok but it seems the more I try to stretch the tighter I become. I have a muscular pain on the inner thigh of both legs towards the groin area and even just sitting on a chair and opening my legs seems to be painfull and if i try to lay back when doing the box splits the pain is really intense! I can kick to head level after a good warm up and my dynamic stretching seems to be ok. I find this problem is worse in the morning (nearly every morning) and I feel as though Im about 90 years old!! I bought a Century Versaflex stretching machine from ebay a couple of weeks ago (paid £80.00, its like new!) in the hope this might help? Is there anything I might be doing wrong or anything I can do to put this right? Please advise. Cheers, Joe:)

[righty]

What is your stretching routine like currently?

[newy085]

If you have been out of training for a while, I would probably look at strengthening you muscles, before you focus too heavily on stretching. Stick to a light stretching routine, focusing mainly on strengthening your muscles for the first couple of weeks/months. When you reach a good level, flexibility will come alot easier.

Also make sure you warm up before you stretch, get the blood flowing through the muscles so they can breath while you are stretching. Focus mainly on relaxing into the stretch by breathing out as you 'fall' deeper into the stretch. I'm sure SuperFoot will be here in a sec to point you in the right direction so I won't say much more.

[Horologist]

Currently I dont have a routine as such, I think this is what I could do with, but dont know what to do for the best. Can you recomend anything? cheers, Joe

[Horologist]

In reply to newy085, I would agree, I do need to strengthen my legs! Would you say squats and lunges are the best way forward? I keep seeing a lot of this elasticsteel system/Paul Zaichik is this any good I just need a simple routine but dont know where to start.

[Rajveer]

I'd recommend "Tom Kurz's Secrets of Stretching: Exercises for the Lower Body" DVD, it's got great advice on a leg strengthening routine starting from the beginning. It also preps you for isometric stretching.

Also make sure you're getting good recovery between sessions, perhaps you're not allowing your muscles to relax after a heavy session and are going to the next session with sore legs?

[MucKSW]

Can any one point me in the right direction?
I started out ok but it seems the more I try to stretch the tighter I become. I have a muscular pain on the inner thigh of both legs towards the groin area and even just sitting on a chair and opening my legs seems to be painfull and if i try to lay back when doing the box splits the pain is really intense!


That's some pain you tell there! Having pain after stretching is not a good sign anyway. Did you ever had an injury at the muscle where you feel pain? Maybe that injury's pain is coming back because of the stretching. Or maybe you had some pain in the muscle, and just stretched?
I had something similair to that; One muscle in my right leg was hurting, but not so bad. I ignored it and did some stretching, but the pain became bigger.
Result was that I had like 2 days pain in that muscle, and still felt it for a week, and couldn't really do my splits in their maximum.

An other thing could be, that you're muscles are not strong enough, and you're just forcing them too much. That can cause the pain.


Maybe the technique of your stretching is not proper?

Can you tell more about your fhysical state and the way you stretch?

Hope it helped out a bit!
Good luck!

[tophalf69]

I think you are trying too hard too quickly. It sounds like your adductors are very sore and arent recovering prior to your next attempt at stretching. The adductors are just muscles but they have a natural stretch reflex when you open your legs and as you havent trained for a long time they wont be strong enough for what it is you are trying to achieve. The further you stretch the harder the adductors will contract due to this weakness. When your adductors are stronger it is easier to stretch as they dont need to contract as hard in order to do the same work (ie stretch as far).
I had this very problem when I went back to doing mma after a long lay off and it just got worse. Now I do Wing Chun where high kicks arent an issue but now I can stretch deeper in the box splits. I found that working my adductors one at a time using a cross over cable machine in the gym was excellent as you can take each adductor through it's full ranger of motion (when done one at a time of course) using progressively higher weights to increase strength. I did this exercise once every 8 to 11 days depending on soreness and kept my repetitions high-ish (12 to 20) so that I didnt put too much strain on my knee ligaments. Trying to work both adductors at once will always result in the stretch reflex stopping you going through the full range of movement unless of course you can actually do the splits.
If I was you, and I have done this, I would take a break and wait for the soreness to stop completely. Then when you go back you just dont go too deep in your stretching, make sure you are fully warmed up and slowly develope the strength in your adductors. I would still continue dynamic stretching though, but obviously not after performing either static or isometric. You will know when your adductors are stronger as you will be able to sit quite deep in the box xplit position without a warm up, I can do this cold now deeper than when I was younger after a full stretching session purely after I have worked on my adductor strength. Remember that no matter how dedicated you are to the goal if you keep pushing when you arent recovered the gains you are looking for will not happen, as you have already noticed, they go backwards.
Intelligent effort far outways blind effort no matter how hard you work, and that includes rest and recovery :-)

[Van Zandt]

The key to stretching is waiting. Not a lot of people realise this. The biggest mistake most athletes make is timing themselves in a stretch (the favourite length of time at the moment is 30 seconds). To stretch properly you must stretch until you feel tension, then simply wait in the position until the tension disappears. This can take up to several minutes in the beginning stages. Then when the tension has gone, increase the stretch until you feel tension again, and wait it out once more. Repeat this until you're pushing the limits of your mental fortitude, then come out of the stretch. Do a couple of sets. The Versaflex is a fantastic piece of equipment, which is excellent for this type of stretching because it lets you relax properly.

[HoAmPacMan]

Here is a question...
How many times a day should one stretch to gain flexability?
I do it a couple times a day.. I work (cant do it there for the most part) I have a couple kids (makes it challenging) and I take class 3-4 days a week (3-4 TKD, 3 BJJ)
I have gotten a little better, but I have a couple things against me.. A couple deformed vertibrates, and less than an inch between my ribs & hip bone... I am not short wasted, just have unusually low hanging ribs I guess...

ANY SUGGESTIONS????

[Van Zandt]

Here is a question...
How many times a day should one stretch to gain flexability?
I do it a couple times a day.. I work (cant do it there for the most part) I have a couple kids (makes it challenging) and I take class 3-4 days a week (3-4 TKD, 3 BJJ)
I have gotten a little better, but I have a couple things against me.. A couple deformed vertibrates, and less than an inch between my ribs & hip bone... I am not short wasted, just have unusually low hanging ribs I guess...

ANY SUGGESTIONS????

Depends what type of flexibility you want to develop. But, here's a rough guide:

Dynamic - twice per day (once in the morning before breakfast, and again later in the day at the beginning of your main workout. Or, as a standalone workout if you don't plan to do any other form of training)

Static-active - once per day.

Isometric - once per day.

Relaxed - you can do these as many times per day as you wish, and a warm-up beforehand is not necessary. From my research I would say twice per day is optimal, but others will argue that only once per day is required.

Note that if you are doing just relaxed stretches, your progress will be slow. "Safe", but slow. If you throw in strength exercises (through the full range of motion) and isometric stretches, you will accelerate your progress.

If you can hold these poses:

http://www.stadion.com/gif/Lunge2.jpg

and:

http://www.stadion.com/gif/Stest.jpg

then the structure of your joints is not preventing you from achieving maximal flexibility. If you are worried that your existing medical condition will cause you problems, consult your doctor.