Hello forum, first post on here so be gentle... Just getting into MA been doing kickboxing for around 3-4 months, about 2-3 times a week at my local gym studio.. Really enjoying it at the moment and I have improved a lot since my first session, my only problem is my flexibility, I play football and that has decreased the flexibility in both hamstrings and my groin. Today though I bought myself a leg stretcher in hope that I can gradually get my flexibility back (good idea or not?) Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to be reading your words of wisdom for years to come. Dominic.
Hi Dominic, welcome to MAP I'm sure the guys over in the Health & Fitness area can help your flexibility
Since you said you "play" football, not "played", I can assume you're in high school or college? I say this because I don't know the effects of a leg stretcher on an adult, though I am thinking about getting one myself. My experience with a leg stretcher was as a teenager, and it worked very well. Approach it just as another training tool. Make sure you push yourself just a little bit, have time for muscle repair, and do it regularly. I was able to attain a full split that I could do cold, but it wasn't overnight.
Hi still play football 2-3 times a week at senior level. How many times a week should I be doing the stretches... Also, how long did it take you to achieve a noticable improvement in your flexibility?
I would stretch lightly every single day. I did notice improved flexibility early on, but the thing to remember about stretching, is it's a dual purpose. On the one hand, you want to increase range of motion, maybe kick higher. On the other hand, you want to prevent injury. Big picture wise, you want to be able to use a decent height of a kick in a street application, which will mean flexibility without a warmup, and be able to do so without pulling a muscle in the process. I say all this to make the point that even if you don't see a higher kick right away, you may feel more limber in the range you have now. So I said light stretching every day, and what I did was made sure I was watching TV at night while stretching. Sit on the floor instead of the couch and stretch, very lightly, the whole time. As far as the stretching machine, this is going to be a 2 -3 times a week think I believe. You also will have to listen to your body. Just like lifting weights, you are going to tear down and rebuild your muscles. And another one you need to remember is to stretch after running. You might remember right away, but a few hours after practice you will feel tight again, and then the next day you will feel that burn in your hamstrings. So just make sure you have light stretching later in the same day you've been running. I never played ball, but was able to squat twice my body weight and maintain a full split, in my earlier 20's. However I could kick at my own head level since I was 15, without the full split, so that's just and added bonus. I would say within a few weeks of of dedicated time and you will likely get to a level you are comfortable with, probably plateau at six months. Maybe we should move this thread to a public area and get more opinions...
Hey, welcome to MAP . It IS a large board but it's pretty well mapped out (see what I did there? Map...) thanks to the super dooper mods on this forum... cheers guys . It's pretty easy to find any info you want... friendly bunch, honest...
Thanks for all your comments, really looking forward to getting real into this... i am here on my laptop and got my legs on the leg stretcher, its slightly uncomfortable but not painful... its the thought of what its doing that makes me cringe hehe... Any idea how long I should be using the leg stretcher for?
Hello and welcome. As long as you are warmed up, you can stretch as often as you like as long as you dont hold the stretch for any extended periods of time as it has been mentioned on past threads that there is no benefit after a certain time period. That number escapes me but its probably in the Health and Fitness section of this board.
I had an instructor tell me you shouldn't spend more than 15-20 minutes on it at a go. And welcome to MAP and martial arts! May they both be good to you.
