hey, need help w/ flexibility. i haven't started MA as i don't have the money yet to join a good school. i'm gonna be doing Tai Chi probly next month or the month afterwards, but right now i'm gonna incorporate daily stretching in my morning warmup. i've never done flexibility training(i know, thats very dumb.) and was wondering if you guys can recommend a few stretches besides just the toe touch, and the shoulder stretch that you learn early on. this will just be for about a month or 2 till i start training MA, i don't wanna go in there as stiff as a board and injure myself. i especially need help in my knees, hips, and lowerback. i see my upperbody flexibility as not a problem right now. thanks for any help.
28 views and no replies? come on guys, i need help, i've read some stuff on dynamic vs static stretching and i dunno which one would be best for me...and can i overdo stretching(like if i wanted to do it like 2 or 3 times a day?) i've never really studied this topic before and know squat about it.
Not too familiar with stretching information, but I would guess that dynamic would be more important to MA. I could be completely wrong of course. Nothing wrong with both.
There are a few guys on here that are very knowledgeable on stretching, but they're not daily posters (I know very little, I'm afraid, or I'd have posted by now). You might need to be patient for a few days. The only advice I would offer is that if it's a good Tai Chi school then they'll likely have a decent stretching routine as part of their warm up. It might be worth giving them a ring and asking them.
Same here, dont really know alot about trhis stuff, let alone antomy. But then again your best bet would be do search around some mroe and start experimenting. I know for a fact that I've always been stiff around the shoulders, hips and ankles, and not the hamstrings like everyone is obsessed about stretching. Most peoples Hams arent up to standard strength wise anyways, why would you wanna stretch a muscle thats weak as hell on most people anyways? I used what I was taught and modified it some after some experimenting to hit the places I felt were beeing neglected. I do more mobility drilss then stretches and am more flexible then I ever was, might be different for you... Heres the original: (scroll down to daily warmup) http://thepeacefuldragon.com/warmup.shtml Here's what I do now for maintenance: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1275641&postcount=2 Scratch out the Tai Chi and Chu Kung stuff and you got a routine that should get you lose and limber for Tai Chi. Oh and dont do any of the stuff if it aggrevates your kees, the knee circles and circle body might hurt you. If you got questions about how any of those excercises are done just ask. This came up when you type in mobility drills: Good stuff in there: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5323196517535886666&q=mobility+drills&total=25&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 1st are rollbacks (good for deompressing the spine imo) plus lean forwardm stretches the groin and hams and (maybe the hips?) 2nd are dirty dogs, good for losening up the hips 3rd are mountain climbers, they can be used as a conditioing excercise if u carank up the intensity same goes for the mountain jupmers afterwards. On the flexibility stuff, you'd be best off by reading up on Eric Cressey's and Mike Robert's older Articles on T-nation, you want soe parts of the body to be stable not flexible, like the knees for example. Best Book I've read on stretching is Elastic Steel, check it out. +1 what Cosmic said, check out the school and a sample class (including their warmup), then do what they do at home. Good luck with your training.
yeah, thanks for the info. i reinjured my knee about a month ago playin some tackle football and since then i lost alot of the range of motion i had after i got outa rehab. went to the orthopedic, and he said that when the swelling and pain leaves, go back to normal as it might be a strained quad or i might need to have another surgery. so i went back to it and my knee popped while playin ultimate on sunday. i stretched it out some and its just really stiff now, so i'm really looking to strengthen my quad and hamstring, as well as get my range of motion back. it feels good after i stretch it or hop on the bike for a lil bit, but about 3 or 4 hrs later the stiffness comes back. i am thinking that if i stretch consistantly 2 or 3 times a day this'll go away pretty quickly. thanks for the info, i'll look into those.
Hmm, one thing they told me after I tore a ligament in my knee was to do alot of unilateral work. Maybe try some Sinle Leg Deadlifts, Stepups, Pistols, etc, theyre all good for stabilizing the knee, givem a try once the pain fades.
i've never been able to do pistols or much of anything involving single legs(besides stepups) because of my balance(naturally very bad) and flexibility w/ either leg, which is what i'm lookin to improve on at this point in my life. i'm 21 and don't wanna be getting into the 30's w/ no flexibility or anything.
i'm doing it about twice a day, i saw a 10 min video of this korean guy(it looked like a korean flag on his uniform at least) where he slaps and massages his legs for bloodflow and then he does alot of stuff. i've tried the basic stuff there, plus i've started doing more stretching during my cardio warmup(i normally bike about 10 mins before i do anything) where i'd just stretch my shoulders for a bit. and i always stretch as much as possible after a workout or after cardio. last night i did my first ab workout in years(i havent hit the gym seriously since highschool, just went w/ my friends a few times to help them out spotting or routines and stuff) and most of it is cuz of my knee. i've been doing alot of lowerbody stretches and my knee feels 500% better in 2 days. i'm goin on thurs night to the tai chi place i've found and hopefully i'll get more stretches there and be able to watch a class.
Good to go man, just keep at it, persistence is the key. The Tai chi WILL help you with alot of things, not just physicaly. It helped me getting over panic attacks after getting out of the muilitary so there's alot more to it then just physical excercise. Good luck
