Whats the best way to Stretch your legs

[Co_Co]

Hi ive have tryed a lot of ways of stretch my legs but i really dont see no change does anyone have any good ways.

Thanks for reading this

[NidaninNJ]

Hi ive have tryed a lot of ways of stretch my legs but i really dont see no change does anyone have any good ways.

Thanks for reading this

What is your goal? Are you trying to prevent injury, make yourself more flexible, reduce soreness or all of the above? I have been reading that some pros are saying stretching before a workout can be BAD for you! I've been trying to do more calisthenics before the workout and stretching only after. I'm not sure yet if this is really the best way to do it but it seems like it is better than the traditional way I first learned with all the slow stretches before class and then let the body cool down between training sets. You gotta keep the body warm during the training.

[Co_Co]

Um i would like to basicli get my kicks higher and more powerfull i have tryed most of them is there any perticular type of streching or a perticular activity that will help ?

[Hobbes]

There are several thoughts about flexibility in the exercise physiology world and its generally felt that a combination of things works best.

PNF is the best overall techique ( proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) look it up with google. Problem is that it fails 90% of the time because people don't max the contraction. You also need to just do your techniques to thier maximum range or near maximum range such that they can be executed safely. Passive static stretching is also another technigue.

Personally I really enjoy the feeling of statically stretching on the floor, but I intermix it with pnf. The passive static is more like a rest.

The true key is consistancy. 10 to 15 mintues every day. The muscles need to "learn" how to relax as well as attain the conditioning to stretch to their max.

10% of something is better than 100% of nothing (victor navarsky 1933~2004)

Some people will not attain the flexibility of a gymnast...

[Co_Co]

thanks for the reply m8 thats helpfull it look it up and give it a go

[Hobbes]

I had the opportunity to speak with Thomas Kurz back when I was doing my undergrad with regards to pnf and dynamic stretching. His book, "stretching scientifically seems sound and its a step by step guide.. I guess in the scheme of things it wouldn't do much harm. Thomas sent me two of his books at the time and I conducted trials at the university using myself and two others in one group and three others in another group using static passive stretching Vs what he outlined in the book. After six weeks we all improved in our flexibility. I saw the least improvement because I was already very flexible using his method, but the group using pnf showed significant improvements. The techniqes aren't new, Thomas just packaged them better than most. Frankly, I haven't seen pnf used outside of high performance sport.

[NidaninNJ]

When you stretch you should make sure you hold the stretch long enough to make it work. Some people say that less than 30 seconds for a stretch is useless but I disagree. It's like somebody else already said about a little being better than nothing. Stretch as much as you have time for. If you can do each stretch for 30 sec's that's great but 10 to 15 sec's is still going to be good for something. For some stretches, I like to hold for about 5 secs while I breath out and then breath in as you relax and ease off. Then stretch a little further and breath out again. Do this a few times until you feel you have improved your flexibility but aren't gaining much by the 4th or 5th time - after about 1 minute. Try it. Maybe it'll work for you or not. I think they important thing is to try different things and see what works for you. I know some people are really stiff in some areas and loose in others but other people are the other way around.

[Hobbes]

While we all differ and our bodies respond to training at differnt rates, by and large we all go though the same stress adaptation cycles. While holding a static stretch is not, useless ( I would never say such a thing), it must be coupled with other co-operative training methods that combine to produce real results. A key ingredient is patience and the other is persistance. It was once believed that a gymnast stretched and then performed but as it turns out the performace has as much to do with the attainment of flexibility.

[Co_Co]

thaks for all your replys guys and girls

[Menjo]

Breifly mentioned above, some people are not built to be flexible, such as myself(i think). Is there an answer to that?