No! You should only go down far enough that your muscles tense up, hold for 30 seconds and then get out of the stretch. These aren't like isometrics; they should not hurt. You should do relaxed stretches to cool down after an exercise session. The first post in this thread shows a bunch of great relaxed stretches, so take a look at them.
To add to the excellent posts by PatrickSmith, you might want to look at how you are scheduling your fitness activities. I personally wouldn't do cycling training so soon before a Taekwondo session, or even on the same day. Improper sequence of exercises is a major contributer to chronic inflexibility.
Question about dynamic stretching in the morning - "Begin within 15 minutes after waking up": If I (which happens a lot) wake up at 8:00 pm and then choose to snooze until 8:30 pm, when do I "wake up" according to dynamic stretching-routine (counting 15 minutes from when?) ? Silly question maybe - "Do dynamic stretching twice a day": If either I forget, lack time or if I ruin the morning stretch by waking up but simply not getting up for a long time; What stretch (morning or pre-workout later on the day) is more important, i.e. more decisive on future development? Of course I aim to to them both but is one of them slightly more important than the other? Thanks
1) Fifteen minutes from 8:00am in your example. 2) The morning stretch is more important as this resets your level of nervous tension for the rest of the day.
I'm not going to lie...I hate the morning dynamic stretches. Once I did them and felt a strain in my leg, and my knee hurt for a few days. When I stretch at class in the evening I can get to FULL extension, foot pointing to the roof etc. when I try in the AM I have alot more diffuculty getting height.
I woke up just now, before my alarm went off, and I forced myself up just do not ruin my dynamic stretching Saying good bye to sweet sleepy mornings Regarding the above post about not getting full stretch in the morning, my input: I feel very stiff in the first set of 12 reps ( I can seriously just get ti waist height with the FORWARD stretch!), but I can get a bit higher on the 2nd set, yet a bit higher on the 3rd. On the 4th set of 12 reps I think* I am at my max height (forward stretch: ankle at chin height) Just don't overdo it the first set, move slowly. Just to the point where you feel a stretch, don't get anything strained. The minute from where you have completed 12 reps of forward-stretches to your next set of forward stretches (side stretches and back stretches in between), hopefully the flexibility in that movement have had time to increase. This is how it works for me at least. * Regarding "max height": I usually do no more than 3-4 sets in the morning, and I assume I get to somewhere near my maximum in those sets. In this threads first post it says that one should stop if one gets fatigued and get tired muscles beacuse this can slow down your progress. I do get tired in those last sets so therefore I stop but I can't be sure whether or not I reached my maximum height (maybe I wold reach it in set#5 if I was not tired). What I am curious about is the following; - In the morning dynamic stretch, how does it affect my progress if I never get to full 100% height but only 80-90%? Does it help my progress at all or does it just help me to stay at the same level? It feels like when I think I am at my full height, I would need to put in an extra set just to see if I can get higher - but the downside with this is that I am likely already fatigued at that time. I could try to take it easier with the intensity... By the way, "skip a day and you're back to square one" - is that a little exaggerated? I have no problems doing relaxed stretching every day strictly but sometimes I will not be able to/not have the discipline to do dynamic stretching twice a day (morning+evening). Will I then really lose all flexibility in a day? Would you say that I might lose 20% or so? I read somewhere (flashmavi wushu site, something...) that dynamic stretching should be done 4-5 times so of course I have the amibiton to them 7 days a week, twice a day, but I will still see progress if I happen to neglect 1-3 sessions* a week? * 1 session = either one morning or one evening stretch This happened to get a too long post, questions just popped out of the surface
Your body remembers movements that were done the most times, or most intense, or both. This is the reason why cyclists (who regularly move through a narrow ROM) complain of tight hamstrings. If you only hit 80-90% consistently, then that 80-90% will become your new 100%. In basic terms, it will reverse your progress! This is why trial and error is so important. If say, today, you were tired by your fourth set but felt you could go a bit higher on the next set, adjust your effort % in tomorrow's sets. So take it easier in the first few sets that you have been doing. Note that your first set of stretches in the morning (whether dynamic, active or static) will always be crap Just don't skip a day and you'll never have to worry about it Consistency is key to great flexibility. One of the reasons so few people are able to slap someone in the head without a warm-up is because so many people skip on training.
Just wanted to stop by and remind people about some of the proper form rules when doing adductor flyes and pull downs. Do them slowly and carefully! I can tell you from experience that you should not treat these as high intensity ballistic movements. They are not. I repeat, do them slowly and carefully or suffer the very likely consequences. In both adductor flyes and adductor pull downs, your legs and hips should all be in line with each other. In doing adductor pull downs, be sure not to let your foot (that you're going to pull down) go any higher then your hips/waist. If you do, you will be engaging other muscles not necessary for the movement. Important! In adductor flyes, if you're using a lot of ankle weights or iron boots, you should spot yourself by keeping your hands ready to help support your legs. Just lock your elbows at your sides (with the back of your arm resting on the floor) and keep your hands on the floor side of your thighs. Believe me, it's well worth it. Also make double sure your iron boots or ankle weights are well attached while doing adductor flyes. When done properly, adductor flyes bring the weight right above your lower abdomen and you don't weight falling loose in that position! You should also remember that it's very important to keep the lower back pressed to the floor while doing adductor flyes. It makes it harder to do, but resist the urge to sit on your hands.
If this thread has been helpful to anyone, please go cast your vote in the MAP Awards 2009 forum and help make this thread win the award for Most Informative Thread. It's not me who gets the award but the thread, so PLEASE go and make your vote count. This thread is a collaborative effort so please give the contributors (not just me) the recognition they deserve. Thanks guys. Regards, President Van Zandt
It's possible (though not for us fanatics) for some here to suffer from a lack of motivation to wake up early and do dynamic stretches. Here is a video that I found that should motivate you! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvWSXQqDOzg"]YouTube- Mark Drozdzowski Tribute[/ame]
Well hey, let's just put a question in both threads. Would you say there is any danger or cause for concern having different levels of flexibility in your legs. For example, I've had a pile of injuries all focused on my right leg, some resulting in extended lengths of immobility. As a result bits and pieces of my legs are noticeable more or less flexible. For example for me hamstrings - the right is noticeably more flexible (to me anyway), and with quads the left is more flexible. Would you suggest training each muscle to increase flexibility separately regardless or leg? OR Stretch certain muscles of each leg more than others to even out the imbalance? As far as my knowledge goes you would normally use the second option if you had a strength imbalance (substituting streching for strength training) but not sure about flexibility.
If its just from sprains and muscle stress then stretch them equally assuming you have adequate recovery time from the injury. I recently pulled a muscle doing an axe kick, 2nd week of January. I took it easy for 2 weeks and eased back into training. There is still some tension in this leg so I focus on my left leg more and i make sure I limit my stretching on the right leg so as to not aggrevate the injury. If your injuries are more permanent such that they require major surgery or stretching would damage them, then of course steer clear of doing exercises to that leg. Im sure there is a professional kickboxer who was quite successful on the pro circut using only one leg... The name escapes me
Righty, You're not a dominantly left-legged kicker are you? It's just that I am a right-legged kicker, and my left hamstring is the most flexible. This is because it is my left hamstring which is stressed (placed under a stretch) every time I kick due to the biomechanical alignment. This is a common trait in people who kick mostly with one side, and I thought it might be the case with you too. Is it problematic? Yes and no. Strategy-wise... no, because like that famous pro kickboxer who shall not be named (Amen), you can adjust your fight game to make it work for you. Problems arise however when the flexibility imbalance throws off your posture, which in turn can lead to chronic fatigue and injuries (just like a strength imbalance). Work doubly hard on your least flexible side to keep your long term health in the green.
It kind of wierd. My right leg in dominant but I notice I tend to kick with the left more often, even though it's less powerful. I'm pretty sure it's quicker though. I'm not sure I really want to be like that Kickboxer dude though. I want to be superfeet, not superfoot.
Your left leg may be more flexible because you use it more, then. Your body remembers the actions you do more times. Your left leg probably has more quickness as a result of the extra flexibility compared to the right.
I train both legs equally, but in sparring I tend to kick with my left leg (front leg) more. I would not want to be a one leg kicker.
I would advise everyone to train both legs equally, which is ironic coming from me. But I only kick with my right leg now out of necessity due to my hip op last year. It's a real shame because I miss my wicked left leg axe kick. I could score head shots for days with that beast. You have to seriously look at your physical strengths and limitations and develop a strategy that will work for you. I was fortunate because my idol just happened to have a ready-made strategy that works great for me!
