Stretching and flexibility

[chillindan]

Thanks all for all your tips. Im gonna work out a new training plan to incorporate more stretching in between classes.

Thanks again.

[Enter the Spaz]

Not to take away from other advice given, but it you want to improve the height of your kicks you need to perform more dynamic type stretches.

Tom Kurz's program is really effective in improving your flexibility and most of the info is free here...

http://www.stadion.com/column.html

And no, I'm no shill for Tom : )

[bushido_man96]

Not to take away from other advice given, but it you want to improve the height of your kicks you need to perform more dynamic type stretches.

Tom Kurz's program is really effective in improving your flexibility and most of the info is free here...

http://www.stadion.com/column.html

And no, I'm no shill for Tom : )

I had heard of Thomas Kurz before. He had all kinds of ads in Black Belt Magazine. He was always showed "kicking cold." I had never checked his stuff, but I figured he was fairly legit.

[chillindan]

I have really noticed the difference since I have been stretching pretty much 5 or 6 times a week now, using the techniques you recommended bushido_man96, thanks. Who knows maybe I'll be able to do the splits one day yet?

[bushido_man96]

I have really noticed the difference since I have been stretching pretty much 5 or 6 times a week now, using the techniques you recommended bushido_man96, thanks. Who knows maybe I'll be able to do the splits one day yet?

Keep at it, and maybe!

I'll tell you a secret....I can't do the full splits. So if you get there, you will be one better than me!

[baronbvp]

Two great books:

The Genius of Flexibility, 2005, by Robert Donald Cooley at https://www.meridianstretching.com. His key tip: resistance stretching, where you use muscles to resist the stretch, is safer and more effective. Go slowly at first.

Ultimate Flexibility: A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts, 2004, by Sang H. Kim at http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Flexibility-Complete-Stretching-Martial/dp/1880336839 is very well respected. I just noticed he also has one called Martial Arts after 40 that I will look into.

[bushido_man96]

Ultimate Flexibility: A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts, 2004, by Sang H. Kim at http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Flexibility-Complete-Stretching-Martial/dp/1880336839 is very well respected. I just noticed he also has one called Martial Arts after 40 that I will look into.

I have read both, and both are good.

[Havoc88]

A question.

I would like to stretch 5 times a week, but how do you guy's warm up before it. I mean, I would like to spend about 15 minutes stretching before going to sleep for example, but I do not see myself working out 15 minutes in advance. So how do you guy's quickly warm up before stretching? Doing 50 jumping jack's or something? Probably really quick, like a minute and a half, but it does wear you down.

So some advice would be helpfull

Thanks.

Tom

[bushido_man96]

A question.

I would like to stretch 5 times a week, but how do you guy's warm up before it. I mean, I would like to spend about 15 minutes stretching before going to sleep for example, but I do not see myself working out 15 minutes in advance. So how do you guy's quickly warm up before stretching? Doing 50 jumping jack's or something? Probably really quick, like a minute and a half, but it does wear you down.

So some advice would be helpfull

Thanks.

Tom

You don't want to cheat yourself on the warm-up. The amount of warm-up you do will relate to how far you will be able to stretch. That said, if you hop on the treadmill for 2 minutes, and then try to stretch, you may not get as good a stretch as you do after 2 hours at the Thai gym.

[Havoc88]

Yeah, I understand your point. Problem is, I do not have the time (/energy) to go to the thai gym five times a week. So I will have to warm up in much less time. How would you for example do it?

I'm not the guy who sports every day for two hours. So I can't stretch every day after a two hour work out. I know you said two hours just for the example to get your point accross, but hope you get mine. I would like to know how to get warmed up really quickly.

Stretching is a good thing, and I think a lot of people will have the same 'problem' as I have.

Tom