Equipment to help stretching

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Sandy, Jan 1, 2016.

  1. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    Hi, could anybody recommend any equipment to aid stretching? E.g. 'leg splitters' to help with side/box splits?
     
  2. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    A couple of glossy magazines under your feet, a chair to hold on to. That's all you need.
     
  3. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    You can get away with that when you're 32. Unfortunately I'm too old to get away with that sort of stretching anymore. Us older athletes need to stretch with a lot more care to avoid injury.
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2016
  4. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    How old are you? I am 50, have knee issues, have never been particularly agile, but I use very little equipment to stretch. (I use the rail at my school for a couple of stretches sometimes.

    I don't think age has anything to do with needing equipment or not. :)
     
  5. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    I'm a similar age, albeit fairly flexible thanks to yoga.

    I went from sceptic to equipment convert thanks to a ProStretch calf stretcher. It's been absolutely fantastic for calf stretching, so I wondered if there was anything as good for box splits.
     
  6. Xue Sheng

    Xue Sheng All weight is underside

  7. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    Thanks, that's exactly the sort of thing I was wondering about. However, how good is it? Amazon seems to give it mixed reviews :confused:
     
  8. raaeoh

    raaeoh never tell me the odds

  9. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    You might want to re-think your statement.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4v2ZHDaL_8[/ame]
     
  10. Petson

    Petson New Member

    Van Zandt, that's amazing. However sometimes our physique (individual construction of bons, hips for example) don't allow to do a full split... But it not depends on age.
    I try with plastic bags on my feet :D That's cheap equipement and it helps!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 7, 2016
  11. icefield

    icefield Valued Member

    this guy has had knee and hip operation

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq4vjqiwNT0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq4vjqiwNT0[/ame]
     
  12. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    I'm always a bit dubious of stories featuring very flexible people returning to flexibility after an injury or operation. Not because I don't believe they really do it, but because it's hard to judge whether they're just exceptional people and that is the reason why they're able to do it.

    It's like those videos of Bill Wallace teaching you how to improve your kicks by holding your leg vertically above your head. Unless you're already super-flexible, you can't even do the exercises that are meant to improve your flexibility.
     
  13. icefield

    icefield Valued Member

    always good to be dubious, the guy in my video Hartzell made his name ensuring college athletes under his care never had a knee or ankle sprain, and being able to rehab people back from knee and ankle and back injuries very quickly.

    His methods have been copied by the likes of kelly starrett and the the crossfit crowd and sold as their own lol (to be fair starrett has given props to him)
     
  14. KevFen

    KevFen New Member

    Sorry for being a complete newbie and i have been reading your many articles with great interest. But i have a quick question based on the above quote with regards to side and front splits. Is it more a question of i.e stucking up the pain and really really pushing it or can you actually do damage this way? I have no issue pushing through the pain barrier if it will give me faster gains, but on the same note I don't mind taking it slowly if i'm going to tear something?
     

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