Athletic backgrounds?

[CapitalKarate]

How can you attain shoulder flexibility? I can't for the life of me do certain olympic lifts due to lack of shoulder ROM

[JusticeZero]

The things i've been having him do is just stretches, jumprope with wide swings, etc.. it's tight muscles. He's used to holding his arms in position to block the throw, and his muscles set that as about the limit of his motion because he never had cause to move further... until I started harping at him to get his hands under his CG upsidedown and in line with his spine.

[Aodhan]

How can you attain shoulder flexibility? I can't for the life of me do certain olympic lifts due to lack of shoulder ROM

Couple basic ones:

1) Bring your arm straight across your body (i.e. Raise your arms to level with the floor, bring one over to the other side.) Wrap your other arm around the elbow (For support), and pull in and slightly across. This should stretch the posterior deltoid (Rear shoulder).

2) Raise your arm to level again, place your palm against a pole, door jamb, and start turning your body so your arm goes behind you. This should stretch the front deltoid. Alternatively, you can raise both arms level, palms facing forward, and have someone pull both arms back at the same time. I don't really advocate partner stretches (Too easy to injure someone), but this is a REALLY good stretch. Swimmers do this all the time.

3) Raise your arm straight overhead, then bend it until your hand is behind your head, like you were scratching. Reach up and grasp your arm above your elbow (Closer to your shoulder than your hand), and pull across. Especially if you bend away from that shoulder, you will really stretch the lats, and the rear deltoid again.

Just be careful how much you do stretch. The shoulder is the most easily messed up joint in the body, because it's really only held together by tendons and ligaments, there is almost no supporting bone structure. I can't do olympic presses where my elbows drop below my shoulders because of impingement after swimming for so many years.

Aodhan

P.S. It just occurred to me that if you have a masters swim team in your area, they can also show you some of these stretches and/or others.

[CapitalKarate]

Awesome, thanks aodhan.

[aefibird]

I was into horseriding a lot when I was younger (I still ride). I also played grass hockey when I was at school and swam a lot too (still do swim).

As well as MA I like to ride, swim, walk/hike and play squash. I sometimes play golf too, but only really thr driving range, not the actual full course.

[CapitalKarate]

Does horseback riding help at all for conditioning of any kind?

[aefibird]

Yes, it can do, especially if you ride regularly or do endurance (long distance) riding. Riding can be good for stamina and flexibility too, even cardio (cantering and galloping over long distances give good work-outs).

[CapitalKarate]

How? You're just sitting there. Isn't it the horse that's getting a workout?

[AnonymousOne]

Absolutely none for me. In fact I find sports rather boring

[pineapple]

I was terrible in all sports untill I tried martial arts. I finally found something that I felt that I could do well.