29 yr old male needs help with flexibility [TORONTO, CANADA]

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by CoolChrys, May 22, 2012.

  1. CoolChrys

    CoolChrys New Member

    I am 29 year old male, 5 feet 10 inches height, living a very sedentary lifestyle. Don't play any sports (didn't play any growing up either). I recently started going to the gym and I noticed that I am among the least flexible person out there in the gym

    For example:
    1. My hamstrings are so tight that I am unable to touch my toes. Neither seated nor standing. I can bring my hands near my ankle but that's the max.
    2. My groin and hips are so tight that I am still 2 feet off the ground while trying to perform splits.
    3. My ankle is so tight that when I do squats, I am unable to stay grouded. My heels are lifted up and I end up on my toes.

    So, I really need help in making my body more flexible. Ideally, I'd like to be able to:
    -> do full-splits (actually, I'd be happy even if I can get to a level where I am still 6 inches off the ground)
    -> do/perform hamstring stretches (such as bending and touching the ground with my palms, not just toes, without feeling a lot of strain). I see some people do seated hamstring stretches. Not only are they able to touch their toes but they also put their head on their knees!
    -> I would like to be able to kick higher than waist level. I tried Kickboxing classes. And most folks kick to their opponent's "chest" height. I kick to opponent's waist height. If I use a lot of force/momentum, I am able to increase the height of my kick but my kick becomes very "powerless". So even if I hit the bag with a higher kick, the bag barely moves.

    Questions:
    1. Is it something Thomas Kurz's DVD/Book can help with? I haven't purchased the book/video yet. I want to know if it's the right product in the first place.
    2. How many minutes of daily exercises would I be required to do? I have access to gym and I guess I could take DVD in a portable DVD player and just watch it and follow the instructions there. Is it like a P90X guided training video?
    3. How long before I see noticeable gains? The website says 2 days to couple of weeks. But that sounds ambitious.
    4. Are there any more DVD/Books (other than Thomas Kurz) for this as well?
    **5. Is there an actual "instructor"/teacher in Toronto (Canada) that I can go to and exercise with everyday for this? I am not a big fan of "do it yourself" or "follow the video". I prefer exercising with a good teacher/supervisor/instructor.


    Will appreciate your help and comments!
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2012
  2. Allers

    Allers tricking, kicking

    First of all, welcome to MAP!

    To answer some of your questions;
    2) however long you need to in order to fully warm up and complete all of your stretching exercises. I spend an hour daily on stretching and preparing to stretch, and I have achieved full splits from being relatively unflexible in about a year. The key is consistency - by doing every single stretch at least once per two days, you will improve. Other people may tell you this is too often or whatever, but I have seen great gains and would recommend doing this right from the get-go.

    3) you should see noticeable gains in your own pace. It may not seem noticeable to you at first, but every time you stretch, you are stretching. Hence, you are improving every time, even if you do not see it. The more you stretch, the more you improve. You must, absolutely must, however, not stop for more than 5 days. If you do not practice more often than once every 5 days, you will get worse slowly. If you have never stretched before, you may not have much to fall back to, but by failing to regularly stretch, you will be hindering your own progress, and getting frustrated in the process.
    Basically, as long as you will keep doing it, you will see gain. It will come in many forms such as going further in the actual stretch, less pain in other excercises, etc. you must have the willpower to tell yourself to do it often, or you will fail.

    4) although DVDs and books can be useful, they are definitely not necessary in flexibility training. Simply stretching by yourself is all you have to do. If you are struck without knowing where to start, try searching "taekwondwoo stretching" - taekwonwoo is a great guy and he has some solid advice on flexibility training. I will not link to him, because there is a series of about 6 videos made by him, but deinitely check them out.

    5) you do not really need a trainer to tell you how to stretch. Just do it at home daily, and you will progress. If you really want to seek professional help with flexibilty training, perhaps signing up for personal training at the gym would also allow you to train stretching with your instructor.

    Either way, stretching daily at home is all you need to do to get better. The more effort you put in, the more you will get out of it.

    PS, check out kwonkicker's tutorials on stretching for beginners too, it is a gold mine of advice!
     
  3. CoolChrys

    CoolChrys New Member

    Thank you :)
    Okay, could you give me a list of 4-5 stretches (links to stretches with photos would be awesome) that you'd recommend for me? I will do these 4-5 stretches everyday for next several months.

    I am getting very confused by terminology Isometric, PNF, Active, Passive, Static, Static Active, Static Passive. If you tell me just 4 or 5 stretches to do, I'd do it everyday. The only catch is that I should be able to do them myself though.

    By the way, I don't think I can take out 1 hour for stretching. What I can do is, I can stretch for 15-20 mins twice a day. So, total of 40 mins daily. If you give me 4 stretches to do, I can do 2 in the morning and 2 at night, I guess. And then repeat next day and so on.


    Also, have you guys heard of "fascial stretch therapy"? It seems like the therapist first lays you on a massage-table. Ties you up with bands. And then manually takes one leg out and stretches it. Now, I don't know what kind of stretching is this (active, passive, static, dynamic, pnf, isometric) but is it something worth looking into? That is, having a therapist "stretch" me out! lol.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2012
  4. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

  5. Allers

    Allers tricking, kicking

    Yeah, the terminology isn't too important until you start getting to higher levels or find one method is not working for you.
    So, 5 basic stretches to help your flexibility!
    1. Front split. Pretty self explanatory. Always hold a stretch for at least 30 seconds, and at least 3 progressions in which you increase the intensity.
    2. The side split. This can be done by sitting down upright, and pushing your legs outwards as far as they will go, or by standing up with your feet parallel and by using your body weight to push you down. In the first method, your feet must always point to the sky.
    3. Standing up, feet one shoulder width apart, reaching for your toes. 30 seconds feet reaching down, then 30 reaching for left, then to the right, then again reaching down as far as you can. This is a stretch which you can see easy progression in if you put lots of effort in.
    4. Frog stretch. Or something. Not sure of the exact name, but you sit upright against a wall with your soles of your feet touching. Your knees point outwards. You push down on your knees for 30 seconds with your hands, maintaining a light stretch on the groin. Then you push as hard as you can for 10 seconds upwards, trying to bring your legs together. Repeat twice.
    5. One leg against your thigh, the other pointing forwards. Your legs should look like this;
    l
    l >
    with your toes pointing upwards. You lean forwards, attempting to reach to your toes or ankle. You then attempt to lie down on your leg. Stretch for both legs.

    I am really sorry for not providing pictures, but I am on my phone at the moment and I cant copy and paste. Nng. I will upload some pics later on, when i can access the laptop.
     
  6. CoolChrys

    CoolChrys New Member

    No problems! Thanks a lot for providing text. You can add links to photos (and/or videos) whenever you are on a computer. Nothing urgent.

    From the 5 stretches you gave me, it seems like a lot of these stretches are similar to what you can do in a Yoga class. Do you think it might be a good idea to just take a Yoga class (say Bikram Yoga) every alternate day for few months? the class is usually 1 hour to 90 mins long.

    Or do you think it's just better to do these basic 5 stretches every day (20 minutes in the morning, 20 mins in the evening)?

    Thanks again for detailed response! Very helpful.
     
  7. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    specifically for the hamstring issue: romanian deadlifts. just make sure you keep your back completely straight when you do them, and descend until you can feel a mild stretch in the middle of the hamstring, but not until you feel a pull on the back of your knee (try going a little lower each set, though).

    examples:

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnBREGM7pE0"]Romanian Deadlift form tutorial RDL - YouTube[/ame]

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xz4YwWcYj4&feature=related"]Stiffleg or Romanian Deadlift.m4v - YouTube[/ame]
     
  8. SyDiko

    SyDiko New Member

    I'm not sure if this guy is still posting, but I would like to add a bit to the dicussion for anyone else around the same age, weight, and build.

    As stated above, the key to flexibility is consitency!

    In my early years I trained in Martial Arts from the age of 6, until I was roughly 16. So you can imagine how flexible I might have been when I stopped! Fast forward 12 years, include poor eating, poor habits, and nearly no physical activity - how badly my physical shape detriorated.

    Last year, at 28-years old, one of my aunts pinched my cheeks and said, " look at those puggie cheeks, they're so cute! " Devestated by this, I took up martial arts once more. Spefically Tae-Kwon-Do this time around. Now if you've ever experienced TKD, then you know many techniques can call for flexibility. This isn't so important in the beginner classes, but none the less, having decent flexibility early on will make the classes a lot easier.

    Anyway, When I first started I experienced all the symptons of the original poster:

    1) Tight hips
    2) Tight Hamstrings
    3) Pitiful front/side split attempts
    4) Could barely do squats
    5) Lack of physical prowness.

    and this was hugely disappointing, because at one point in my life, I was flexibile enough to achieve a full front and side split, kick targets held by individuals standing on chairs, and quite literally place my head on my knees as I touched my toes. Yet, I had to suck in my belly to barely grab my ankles. But, I knew not to give up as it would return over time!

    and it has!

    I can now touch my toes.
    I'm about 7 inches from a full front split.
    I can kick well over my head.

    The main thing is to stick with it! But, just remember that you won't see noticable changes, but others will!
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2012
  9. stretchman

    stretchman New Member

    Resources in Toronto

    Hey,

    I realize this is a late reply.

    If you're looking for flexibility resources in Toronto I would recommend looking into some of the circus schools. Depending on your location, Cirque-Ability (Landsdowne and Bloor) or the Toronto School of Circus Arts (Downsview Station). I've never been to TSCA, but I know Cirque-Ability has a good focus on safe progressions and could help you get your splits.

    Usually they have a couple of classes scheduled during the week, and you can use what you learn to stretch at home as well to make more progress.

    Hope this helps.
     

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