The beginner's guide to flexibility

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Van Zandt, Feb 6, 2009.

  1. proteinnerd

    proteinnerd Valued Member

    My advice to Caleb is don't rely on isometrics alone to build enough strength in your adductors and Hamstrings. I did that back in the early 90's and didn't get very far. Now I'm focusing on building strength using adductor pulldowns and Stiff leg deadlifts and leg curls in conjunction with isometrics and am getting much better results. 30 second tensions should be enough if you are doing other resistance exercises as well imo
     
  2. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Thanks for the links, Patrick. There's still a lot of research to be done on creating effective variations to isometric contractions, like developing equivalents of partial and negative reps like you get in standard weight lifting.
     
  3. Caleb Demarais

    Caleb Demarais Valued Member

    Ok Van Zandt I read your blog. You said that if people want to keep doing relaxed stretches it is up to them. I want to keep doing them because I feel more comfrtable with them in my routine. How should I do them? Thanks.
     
  4. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    If you want to do them, stick to the instructions in the original post of this thread.
     
  5. takahura19

    takahura19 Valued Member

    Ok guys me again. Hahah. I finished with cycling season this year, last week on mountain time trial finished 10th place of 40 ppl. As I go probably in februar to korea, now I will just train for taekwondo. My cycling coach gave me workouts for stamina and agility, which consists mix of cycling and running. So I will have them like 3-5 times a week in morning. During week day, I will have from 16 30 with 30 min break to 19 taekwondo, and some days in morning athletics. Weekend one day normal training one day just recovery ride or sth like tht. So I have to fit in my schedule workout for flexibility. I started to listen van Zandt advise so if I do streching I just do isometrics, thats like 2-3 times a week. Prolbem is when I do axe kick I sometimes feel pain in my hip, like it became more flexible, but its never so strong I cant perform kick just once happened to me. Any advise what could tht be, and really I have to put flexibility and most important thing how to prevent injuries. Now my friend, has to take surgery as bone bruised hip.....
    Van Zandt why I train so much. Well I think I should if I wanna practice on one of the best taekwondo universities in korea heheh :D
     
  6. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Do you feel pain in the hip of your kicking leg, or your supporting (standing) leg? Where in the hip do you feel the pain? Can you describe the pain in more detail (dull or sharp, constant or occasional, etc)?
     
  7. takahura19

    takahura19 Valued Member

    Its like occasional, its in groin, between my leg and balls if u know where I mean. I feel in my kicking leg always only with axe kick, or front dollyo chagi. Its like something is pumping like bone cracking. hehe
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2010
  8. Dizzyj

    Dizzyj Valued Member

    A quick question regarding leaving 48 hours between strength workouts:

    Does high intensity work on a rowing machine count? I often find after a short sharp interval session my muscles ache, most notably in my left (weaker) arm. Should I be leaving a day between doing this and doing my isometric stretches?

    Many thanks.
     
  9. cavallin

    cavallin kickin' kitten

    I get that pain at the top of my hips, and keep telling everyone i'll need a hip replacement by the time im 30.
    what do you mean by rotating your hips more? i'd really rather avoid the hip replacement if possible...
     
  10. cavallin

    cavallin kickin' kitten

    Pleeease somebody help me with my hips, they are really bad :( i want to be good and not start a new thread.
     
  11. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Will reply to all unanswered posts later tonight. :)
     
  12. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Hmm... not 100% sure what you mean. The muscle group you indicated is (at a guess) the adductors, but these aren't the primary movers in an axe kick. Is it always the same spot which hurts when you do axe kick and front dollyo chagi*? Is it one leg or both? Is there ever an audible sound?

    * For the non TKD readers, dollyo chagi is a roundhouse kick (maewashi geri in Karate).
     
  13. takahura19

    takahura19 Valued Member

    Ok last week I didnt have any problems only thing I noticed is tht my left leg is now more strecheble, but still my dollyo with left hand is much weaker and suck more than with the right, i dont know why. But my rigt leg in side splet is less streched then my left one, its so funny. I dont know what to do and please van zandt tell me, how to include flexibilty workouts in my taekwondo schedule now next week I have just 3-4 intersive workouts cycle or runnin, and from mon to friday 2hrs of taekwondo. Cyclin coach told me I have to cut cycling a lot and another issue it's possible if I will improve enough I can go to represent my country on world championship as I will be tht time in korea, so no costs for my federation. And I noticed after intesive sparring workouts I can streech the most, but sometimes after pads kicking I can't streech at all I am so fixed, tough hehe. regards
    P.S Otherwise yeah its just on my left leg this pain but really this week no problems,and I really dont know the cause.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2010
  14. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    The rule of thumb re: isometrics is to wait however long it takes to recover from your previous workout (until you're no longer sore).

    A good way to test if you are ready for your next workout, assume one of your usual stretches and tense the target muscles lightly (about 30% max effort). If you feel pain or any other "tingle" which isn't usually there after two weeks of complete rest, then you need to wait a bit longer.

    If you are sore from a previous isometrics session and you proceed with a high intensity rowing session, you will impair your recovery. You shouldn't exercise a muscle in any way (training for skill, speed, strength etc) until the soreness (if any) has gone. If you're not sore, I'd say to still leave a full day between applications to ensure you're getting optimal recovery. If you need to train lots of different attributes in your sport, you should be implementing periodisation strategies into your training schedule, or at the very least, splitting your workouts during the day (i.e. skill in the morning, strength in the evening).

    Do you do isometrics for your shoulders? Generally, these aren't required as the natural mobility of the shoulder joint means that normal strength exercises performed through the full ROM are enough to maintain optimal flexibility standards for most sports.
     
  15. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Do you get the pain only when you kick? Is it one or both sides?

    There are usually 5 reasons people get pain when kicking:

    1) Improper technique.
    2) Insufficiently rotating the pelvis (often caused by #1).
    3) Lack of flexibility.
    4) Lack of strength.
    5) Fatigue, injury or an undiagnosed disorder.

    You've obviously been training in TKD a very long time so I highly doubt it is number 1.

    Not rotating the pelvis enough during kicks, particularly in movements when the kicking leg lifts to the side (yop chagi, goro chagi etc), essentially causes your thigh bone to ramrod into your hip socket. The resulting pain is often felt on the upper-outside side of the joint. It's a common problem in people who start training after puberty. Rotating your pelvis creates space for your thigh bone to move without hindrance. To rotate your pelvis, imagine a cable has been hooked to your tailbone and is attached to a pulley on the ceiling. As the cable lifts your tailbone, your pelvis rotates. It should feel like your hips are rolling in their sockets. If you're wearing your dobok and belt, the knot of your belt should start to descend down between your legs (albeit just a couple of inches). A good way to train this is to stand with your back to a wall, your tailbone resting against your hands and your hands touching the wall (hands on top of each other). Like you're in the relaxed stance when lined up in class and listening to your instructor. Try to move your hands up the wall by moving only your tailbone. Does this help?

    If you try to kick at speed beyond your comfortable ROM you may experience pain in various places, likewise if your leg muscles are not strong enough to support the limb when extended. It will help if you do your full speed kicks within your static flexibility range (i.e. how far you can stretch in the splits) and practice slow kicks often.

    Only a doctor can diagnose your condition if it is an injury. If the above advice does not help, and the problem persists, consult your GP. He or she may refer you to a radiologist for scans. If you have a previous condition which is flaring up again, speak to MAP's own Powchoy. He is a chartered physiotherapist and far more knowledgeable about injury rehabilitation than I.

    On a final note... as a 26 year old who has already had a hip replaced (and is getting the other one done soon), I can tell you it ain't all that bad. And if the pain isn't there when you're walking, you won't need one.
     
  16. cavallin

    cavallin kickin' kitten

    Just want to say thanks before I reply. I'm off to get some pictures to explain fully what I mean. It's difficult to explain stuff in writing so I don't understand all of it, but I'm sure we can remedy that.
    But thanks so much for taking the time out to write!
     
  17. takahura19

    takahura19 Valued Member

    Van zandt can u explain I understand like we stay in line in sql so u r up to wall, but than u move in side split or what. I dont understand what u mean by moving tailbone and hands up the wall. regards. Otherwise I was doing tht day. I had one workout and in between I waas doing holding kicks in air, and than on the another workouts with dollyo chagi and nerjo chagi I felt pain. I think tht was because of sore muscle. all the best enjoy
     
  18. cavallin

    cavallin kickin' kitten

    on that note, i did get really bad pain when i was waiting at the airport. every time i stood up to go from one place to the other, my hips were so stiff and sore i was walking without bending my knees and waddling about. bit awkward explaining why on here Lol, but let's just say i hadn't seen my bf for a few months and went to visit for a few days...i'm sure all that doesn't help.
     
  19. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    What is your "cold" kicking flexibility like?

    Couldn't see any arrows on that pic? :confused: (Nice trophies though :) )

    The symptom you're describing certainly sounds like you're not getting enough rotation in your pelvis. Can't see so much from those pics... can I ask, was that the deepest you could go in a side split? If so, it's certainly indicative of some kind of obstruction, whether you're rotating your pelvis or not. Tell you what - when I get time over the next few days I'll post an instructional video on how to fully rotate the pelvis.
     
  20. Caleb Demarais

    Caleb Demarais Valued Member

    i hope your hips get better soon cavalin
     

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