How can I become more flexible to raise my legs higher?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Martial4rtist, Dec 13, 2008.

  1. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    Hey guys!

    Since I started boxing/thai I realised that i'm not very flexible, and it's very important in this sport, so how can I train myself to lift my legs to a height like opponent face?

    basically I need specific exercises to do as much as I can...
    I can train for this every day? or its better do it 2-3 times a week?

    Thank you guys :]
     
  2. Doublejab

    Doublejab formally Snoop

    Theres a guy called Superfoot on here who is very knowledgable about stretching techniques. Search for him on the member seach and look at his past posts and you should learn alot.
     
  3. Al_Bundy

    Al_Bundy Valued Member

    buy a streching machine like jean claude van damme in kickboxer 1. and personal trainer who will tighten the lever on the machine.
     
  4. slacker

    slacker Valued Member

  5. slacker

    slacker Valued Member

  6. MucKSW

    MucKSW Valued Member

    For lifting up your legs higher, you don't really need splits, altought you will have profit of it.

    What you need is Dynamic stretching. You can find a lot information about it on the internet.
    You want to swing you leg to a direction, like to front, side, back. Note that swingen your leg is NOT forcing your leg to go as high as possible, try to relax and swing your leg to the maximum of his range. Don't try to go over the limit(you will do ballistic stretching, which you don't want to do).

    You can do them each day, in reps of 12, like:
    - 3 x 12 front swing(both legs)
    - 3 x 12 side swing(both legs)
    - 3 x 12 back swing(both legs)

    You can do more sets if you want.
    (Never do dynamic stretching after static stretching, like splits, always before).

    Also, the strength in your muscles are also important. Basic thing to start with is doing squats. If you combine them, do strength training(squats) before the dynamic stretching)

    Anyway, you could buy a dvd/book about stretching. They will give you really nice flexibility without injuring yourself, to kick high, with power, . Take a look at the products of Tom kurz at www.stadion.com

    Good luck.


    Hmm, I'm not so sure if everyone could get it in three weeks, but anyways, the writer totally forgets to write about strength training. Split is not only about stretching, leg strength is also important. You could injure your knees when doing splits, the writer should warn about that.
    That's why I advise a dvd/book about stretching, they make sure that you get splits without injuring yourself.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2008
  7. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    do you have a demonstration videos of how to do those things?

    thanks.
     
  8. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Martial4rtist,

    You will need a combination of stretches:

    1. Dynamic stretching (as MucKSW indicated)
    2. Relaxed stretching
    3. Isometric stretching

    Dynamic stretches are most effective when done twice or more a day. You can reach your maximal kicking height without a warm-up within 8-10 weeks of applying dynamic stretches.

    When you wake up in the morning, perform this routine:

    1. Joint rotations
    2. Leg lifts to the front, side and rear (9-12 repetitions per set, for as many sets as necessary to reach your maximum for that stage of training)
    3. Relaxed stretches, e.g. front and side split

    Remember this important fact when doing relaxed stretches: do not time yourself. Go into a position where you feel tension, then remain in that position and wait out the tension. Eventually the tension in your muscles will dissipate and you can move a bit further. Keep going until you reach your maximum for that stage of training. When you hit your maximum, hold the position for 30-60 seconds. You only need to do one or two sets per relaxed stretch for it to be effective. Muscle spasms is a sign to stop.

    You can enhance your gains in flexibility by developing strength in the stretched-out position. You can do this two ways: dynamic strength exercises and isometric stretching.

    Examples of dynamic strength exercises are adductor pull-downs, adductor flies, leg raises to the side. Do these in sets of 30 repetitions for three sets. When you feel comfortably doing 3 x 30, you can then switch to sets of 100 or 200 repetitions.

    Isometric stretching involves adding strong tensions during common static passive stretches, which evoke postcontractive relaxations and ultimately increase the range of motion in a stretch. So, you pretty much just flex your muscles during a stretch - then follow that with an instant relax / increase combo. You should do isometric stretches at least twice a week, at a maximum of about four times a week. They are a strength exercise so treat them as such: rest 24-48 hours between applications and never do them when you are sore. At some stage you will hit a plateau; when this happens, focus on the strength gains. Tense harder, or longer, or both, and eventually this will translate into a greater stretch.

    The sequence of efforts (order of exercises) is very important. Get it right and you can achieve full splits in one or two months. Get it wrong and you will have dismal progress (perhaps even regress worse than you are now) and you will increase the likelihood of injuries. Structure your workouts as so:

    1. Joint rotations
    2. General warm-up
    3. Dynamic stretching
    4. Technical training
    5. Speed training
    6. Strength training
    7. Endurance training
    8. Isometric stretching
    9. Relaxed stretching

    Remove efforts as you see fit, but don't change the order.

    As previous members have stated, buying Stretching Scientifically by Tom Kurz may be of benefit to your program. He also has a free column at www.stadion.com, but you can probably find most of the information for free on MAP.

    If you are interested in using a stretching machine, I would recommend the Versaflex. I created a thread in the Flexibility Training section on Map, which highlights the differences between the various models that are currently available. You can probably find this thread on page 2 or page 3 of the FT section. I also wrote an article highlighting the pros and cons of stretching with a machine. Click the 'My first ever article on MAP' link in my signature to see this article.

    Good luck.

    Regards,

    Dan
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2008
  9. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    First of all thanks alot Dan, I appreciate your comment.

    I still don't understand the kind of routine I will have to do, when, where, how. I've read your post few times already but I got confused.

    There isn't a simple way to understand how to make the routine I need? when? and for how long?

    sorry for being newbie, Its just hard for me to understand in the end, what I have to do...

    Thanks again.
     
  10. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Martial4rtist,

    No worries. Hopefully this post will clear things up a bit.

    When you wake up:

    1. Rotate all of your joints 10-20 times in each direction.
    2. Lift your legs up and down to the front at knee height 12 times on each leg. Repeat to the side and to the rear.
    3. Lift your legs up and down to the front at waist height 12 times on each leg. Repeat to the side and to the rear.
    4. Lift your legs up and down to the front at chest height 12 times on each leg. Repeat to the side and to the rear.
    5. Lift your legs up and down to the front at shoulder height 12 times on each leg. Repeat to the side and to the rear.
    6. Lift your legs up and down to the front at head height 12 times on each leg. Repeat to the side and to the rear.
    7. Slide into a front split until you feel tension. Wait in the position until the tension disappears (may take several seconds to several minutes). When the tension disappears slide further. Repeat this cycle until you can't go any further. Repeat with the other leg forward.
    8. Repeat #7 with the side split stretch.

    When you workout in the evening:

    1. Repeat the joint rotations.
    2. Do your general warm-up.
    3. Repeat the leg raises described above.
    4. Do your main workout.
    5. Repeat the relaxed stretches described above.

    If you need further assistance please don't hesitate to ask.
     
  11. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    So basically 1-8 when I wake up in the morning, next is 1-3 before my gym workout and 5 post workout?

    Thanks alot Dan! I really appreciate your help!
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2008
  12. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Martial4rtist,

    That's it exactly! :happy:

    Write back if you need further assistance.

    Regards,

    Dan
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2008
  13. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    Since im going to gym 3 times a week, 3 times of that routine (of each gym-day) would be enough?

    Thank you.
     
  14. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Yes, I would think so. But the only true way to tell is by observing the results and through trial-and-error. If you find that you are sore for long periods and often, then you will need to reduce the amount you work out. If you are getting minimal gains, you will need to work out more.

    Let us know how you get on.

    Regards,

    Dan
     
  15. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    Thanks alot Dan!
     
  16. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    Hey Dan I tried it for this past 2 weeks seems that I can't do the 1st routine in the morning because I have no enought time in the morning (school... -.- ).

    So, basically im doing the 1-5 pre/post workout, but what about the morning routine, how should I do this?
     
  17. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    The routine takes 15-20 minutes maximum... can you not set your alarm a little earlier? :p
     
  18. Martial4rtist

    Martial4rtist Valued Member

    No other options? :p If there's no other way I will try to wake up earlier, thanks again.
     
  19. Maretti

    Maretti Valued Member

    Hey super Foot, i will try doing this as well.

    But do you have any advice if i want a full body stretch. So far i only do what i think is called static stretching, were i just stand and stretch, hold it for like 30 sec and then im done with it.
     
  20. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    All depends how much you want it. If you really want those high kicks, then you'll find a way to wake up earlier ;)

    Unless you have $40,000 spare for invasive surgery...

    Good luck! That sounds like static stretching. If it feels good and you're getting progress out of it, then don't change what you're doing. But the key to gaining (and keeping) flexibility is isolation. Work the muscles individually so you make it easier on yourself.
     

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