should you do splits right away after a warm up????

[mostsolid]

some one told me there is no proper way of doin strectching it all

 

depends on how your body feels when doing it. Apparently i have a hard

 

time believing this. Say you could do front split but almost getting der

 

let's say 2 inches of the floor and no wear near a full side split, after a

 

warm up sould you do the front split right away and a side split or should

 

you do lower back stretches then hip streches then inner groin streches

 

ect. then go to a front split and a side split???? what do you guyz/galz

 

think???? or it all depends on how flexible you are

[kbgirl]

Well, it is a good idea to at least warm up your body a little before stretching. Warming up your cardiovascular system means doing a few jumping jacks, skipping rope, running in place or around the block or whatever. This gets the blood circulating to all the capillaries within your muscle fibers. This increased blood flow is what allows you to move your muscles with more ease than you can cold. Having said that, splits use many other connective tissues that may not be fully warmed up after a couple of minutes.

 

I like to do some running in place or jumping jacks or skipping (whatever) for about 5 minutes. Then I do a bunch of light front kicks and then stretch my lower back and hamstrings. Then I'll do a few light round kicks (I mean really light) and then stretch out my inner thighs and hip flexors.... I'll keep alternating a few techniques with a few stretches and usually will get into my first split (not that I'm all the way down yet) after about 15 minutes of warming up and light stretching. My best splits happen at the end of a class, though, so I definitely think there's something to be said for being fully warmed up before practicing them and really pushing to go lower.

 

I am not a professional... this is just MHO.

[markusan]

Sounds pretty professional to me, kbgirl, I'd add maybe calf stretches and glute/rotators early in the stretch routine to free up the top and bottom of the hamstrings.

 

From what I've read, splits at the end of class are going to do more for your long term flexibility, splits at the start of class are going to help your kicks during class.

[ramymensa]

We do the splits (how low we can, nobody's pushing) after some cardio and the entire warm up. We do lots of hip rotations in the process. After the training session (well at the end) we do them again. After a karate class you are really warmed

 

The idea is never push too much. Injuries are a big setback when trying to achieve a goal. Better slow and safe

[Kaos666]

I do some running and jumping, then a full body stretch from neck to toes and then splits for some 5 min, alternating... if possible i'll get a partner to push me down a bit or pull my legs further appart...

[mostsolid]

thansk guyz/galz