Front/Side split

[Kante]

Last night in my karate lesson, I decided to see how low I can go (I wish I didn't have to say this) and to my surprise I got all the way down in the front split, and I could stay there for a pretty long time.

I haven't been stretching since a long time and lost my flexibility since a while, I didn't feel anything at the time but now my thighs are all sore.

Usually I get about half way through and just stop, why do you think this happened?

And while we're on the subject, is it okay to stretch each day before weight lifting? Not just basic stretching but like working on the split to improve it.

[bushido_man96]

You should stretch until you feel minor discomfort, and then hold the stretch. Holding for 1 minute per rep should be plenty. If you hold it for a long time, that may be why you get so sore.

Stretching before lifting is ok, but I would recommend a good warm-up before lifting, then lift and stay warm, and then have a good stretch afterwards. That is just me, though.

[Kante]

You should stretch until you feel minor discomfort, and then hold the stretch. Holding for 1 minute per rep should be plenty. If you hold it for a long time, that may be why you get so sore.

Stretching before lifting is ok, but I would recommend a good warm-up before lifting, then lift and stay warm, and then have a good stretch afterwards. That is just me, though.

With that said, I assume that cardio is preferred after stretching? But since I will be lifting after stretching, should the cardio be done in an independent time line with a prior warm up?

[bushido_man96]

Really, you can stretch at anytime, as long as you do it right. You can stretch cold, but you just have to be careful, and realize that you won't get as far as you do when warmed up.

If it were me, I would warm-up, lift, cardio, then do a really good stretch afterwards. Your body will be warm, and the stretch will help to act as a cool down session as well. However, if you wanted to stretch, lift, stretch, cardio, stretch, you could do that as well. I am not sure how much difference it would make, but you could try it.

[ninjanurse]

I do not stretch before cardio-only after a cool down period. During class a warm-up period is sufficient to do moderate stretching but be careful not to overstretch areas that you have not used in a while to avoid tears and soreness. I would work on those at home when you don't have to kick after stretching.

[turbo wrx]

I read that one should do dynamic stretching prior to working out, and then static stretches afterwards. You can do warm-up exercises to loosen up joints and prepare your muscles for weight-lifting. Then after weight-lifting, like bushido man said, your body will be nice and warm, a ripe time to do static stretches (i.e. where you hold the stretch position for a longer period).

Bushido, I like the idea of holding the stretch for 1 minute, but how many reps is good to do?

[bushido_man96]

Bushido, I like the idea of holding the stretch for 1 minute, but how many reps is good to do?

Anywhere from 3 to 5 reps is what I have read.

[Kante]

Bushido, I like the idea of holding the stretch for 1 minute, but how many reps is good to do?

Anywhere from 3 to 5 reps is what I have read.

Thanks a bunch bushido_man, as weird as it might seem I never actually stayed at my maximum while doing the split, unless I got all the way to the ground. I used to get up instantly. You can really feel your muscles adapting and getting more flexed.

[bushido_man96]

Bushido, I like the idea of holding the stretch for 1 minute, but how many reps is good to do?

Anywhere from 3 to 5 reps is what I have read.

Thanks a bunch bushido_man, as weird as it might seem I never actually stayed at my maximum while doing the split, unless I got all the way to the ground. I used to get up instantly. You can really feel your muscles adapting and getting more flexed.

You are welcome! Happy stretching!

[TigerDude]

According to Thomas Kurz, the only time you should stretch before activites is when you need your full range of motion for the activity (like martial arts, kicks in particular). For this, you should do dynamic stretches (not the strech & hold thing, which he generally disdains anyway).

For all other activities (like lifting, running, cycling), you should warm up before the activity, but not stretch. Stretching before an activity weakens the muscles, leading to increased risk of injury. The time to stretch is after an activity, when your muscles are warm.

I would expect that the original poster was able to do the split because he (or she) was already warmed up & therefore more flexible than normal. The reason he hurt the next day is because he injured the muscles stretching them too much.

The best stretches to increase your range of motion are "isometric stretches." These involve tensing & relaxing the muscles being stretched, and work wonderfully, but are quite difficult to do (at least for me).