neck training! and other questions!

I'll put a good few things into this thread!

First of I'd like to ask if any of you good people train your neck?

reason for this is because your neck helps you to take blows to the head! I've been using a neck sling for about a month and a half now and have added 1.5"

So I'm reccomending purchasing 1 (not advertising it b4 I get banned ).

anyone know any other neck strengthening exercises (The only other 1 I can think of is shrugs).

any comments about the above?



PROBLEM!

I can kick well above my head using my right leg, but when it comes to my left 90 degree job

all I can think of is doing the splits (well practising it) with my left leg infront (which I started yest-).

I have been practising all 3 splits, left leg infront, right leg infront and traditional.



PROBLEM 2!

I have a dam sprained wrist and have had to have a lay off from my weight training!

It's been sprained for 5 long weeks now!

I sort of ignored it when it happened and continued to lift, then I used my puch bag and went kickboxing. Now I'm laying off everything! My wrist has no pain carrying light objects and I can move it all directions pain free. I also have a support on it.

anyone got any idea how long it will take to heal, plz say it will heal (getting paranoid).


thanx for your replies


-MATT

 

also have you ever used kicks in a street fight?

how did that work out?

 

All of your questions have been answered several times on the forum, but anyway:

Neck training: I seem to get good results from holding the back bridge for a while, both on the neck and back. You might want to use your hands for support though while starting out.

Splits: keep on practicing and press yourself a little further every few days and you should be able to do splits within 2 months (I think-not sure about the time, but a short while anyway)

Sprain: beats me. I'd just wait it out if I were you. Do some elbow boxing while you wait for it to heal.

Kicks: No, but I've used knees to some effect. Good at close range fighting.

 

I don't agree with doing the splits "everyday" personaly. I like to have a day off (been doing right leg infront style) other ways I'll get a sprain or pull something!

been doing right leg infront for about 3 weeks and am about 12" from ground.

 

I use kicks almost everytime in fighting...

 

Practise kicks, not splits, I think your flexibility is fine but your left leg has to be used to kicking, I used to have the same exact problem b'fore, try dynamic stretching to get your left leg used to it.

Neck - not as tough as back bridging, lie flat on the floor bring your feet up by half of an inch flexing your stomach, bring your neck up and bob it up/down/left/right etc etc, only one I can think of. *shrug*

On the wrist, consult a doc or Yoda, kickchick, Mike Flanagan, best advice from them.

|Cain|

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence Cain.

There isn't much about sprains I can say. The same applies to the sprained ankle someone mentioned the other day, just as much as it applies to wrists or any other joint.

1. Rest - specifically in the weeks following the trauma. In the following weeks you should ensure you do move the joint (ie. explore its comfortable range of motion) but you want to avoid anything that damages the healing tissues.
2. Good diet - you're body can't heal unless you're eating properly.
3. The tissue most affected by sprains are usually the ligaments. Unlike muscles/tendons they are relatively inelastic. So if you take them beyond their normal range you will likely stretch or tear them. Another feature of ligaments is that they have relatively poor blood supply, so they simply don't heal as well as many other tissues - all the more reason to pay attention to good diet, so that they have the optimum chance of healing.
4. Rehabilitation of sprains requires a twofold approach:
A. strengthening the muscles around the joint - strong muscles can, to some degree, perform the same role as ligaments. The trick is to engage in exercises that strengthen the muscle without placing too much strain on the ligament or joint. Static strengthening exercises are usually best for this, the muscles work with the joint actually moving.
B. Improving proprioception - when a ligament is stretched you lose a little bit of your proprioceptive skills, ie. your ability to tell exactly where the limb is relative to the rest of your body. Decreased proprioception will make a recurrence of the sprain much more likely. There are various control exercises (eg. using a wobble board for ankle sprains) that help to improve proprioception, improving your control over the newly strengthening muscles.

Basically you need to rest initially, then slowly and very gradually increase the amount of work you can do with the affected joint. This can sometimes take months. In my case it has taken years to turn to a badly damaged knee into a strong joint that I can depend on. You may also need to accept some restrictions, at least in the short term. After a bad ankle sprain you may wish to reconsider whether kicking a heavy bag is really appropriate for you. After a wrist sprain then punching a bag may become difficult. But you can work round problems. As someone suggested, you could always work on developing a devilishly powerful elbow strike.

Hope this is of some help.

Mike

 

The neck training exercise I use is if you lie on your back and nod your head up and down, making sure you only use your neck muscles. If you can't kick above a certain (low) height and you're flexible enough, then your problem isn't flexibility. it's strength. Not that your legs are necessarily weak, it's just that the right muscles haven't been developed for high kicks. try raising your straight leg high into the air repeatedly. It's not a kick just a dance-type leg strengthening exercise. That's what I heard and read, anyway.