Stretching

[Goozeer]

Can anybody tell me how to learn to stretch this way.
I don't know what's it called in English, but it's when you're legs are flat on the ground and the body still straight,
like this __|__ I hope somebody knows what I try to explain

[platinum_angel]

you just take your legs and keep streching them in that way until they reach that form

[Jason Dare]

T'is called the Splits m8,
Right im of for a pint of guiness and a large portion of chips and mushy pee's ..all for 4 quid, nae bad eh? :P

(Proper h-english)

[falcon3624]

I read an article recently (don't remember the mag) that was talking about stretching and they could not come up with conclusive evidence to show that stretching before grappling actually helped to stop injuries. It said the best time to stretch is actually after rolling.

Just a little something I read.

[eXcessiveForce]

The study involved athletes and was about doing stretching pre-warmup and rate of injury.

they showed it did little to prevent injury. Flexibility is gained at the end of a workout though.

[Infinite4Light7]

maybe i need to warm up a little kick my legs in the air

[sixBlade]

Keep stretching, and if you have problems with your hips when getting close to a full split then make sure to move your hips forward.

[NaTurE-of-WaTeR]

stretching

Stretching is a vital part of martial arts training...a stretch before a cardiovascular activity is a great way to prevent injury i feel...it warms your body and increases your flexibility enhancing kicks.. my routine stretch involves a foward leaning stance with heel up on balls of feet , heel down, and then toes up bothsides...then to a side split both ways and finally and full split..my sidekicks and my jump spiining cresents have increased immmensly with working at stretching...if you dont think stretching minimizes the risk of injury then get straight outta bed and do some axe kicks and tell me how you feel..(under 13 dont bother) ..kids have it a little different then adults...in my expierence i ve seen many not take stretching as serious as they should and yes have seen people pull hemstrings get foot cramps and even muscle spasms as they train...i wouldnt sleep on stretching....

[osopardo]

T'is called the Splits m8,
Right im of for a pint of guiness and a large portion of chips and mushy pee's ..all for 4 quid, nae bad eh? :P (Proper h-english)

You do know, don't you, what that sort of post does to non-English speaking members of the forum?


Here you go, Goozer. It's called a full side split. That is not me, by the way.

[tys_vdb]

Jean Claude Van Damme became famous doing such splits =)

[bodhisattva]

Stretching before warming up is a big mistake. You MUST BE WARM to stretch effectively. If you are stretching without a good (meaning: sweat creating) warmup, then you are merely counting the days until injury.

What's interesting is it will be the stretching itself that will injue you, and you will think "Stretching is bad for us!" It isn't.

You simply must warm the muscles and tissues before asking them to lengthen. Anything else will only cause small damaged areas that will lead to major injury.

In reference to the initial question: Warm up before stretching. Get a good sweat going, and keep going for a while. Then, ease into the stretches. Hold them at the extended point for at least 10 seconds, but better closer to 20 seconds. Keep the back straight on forward bends.

Don't force it, ever. Ever. And never stretch an injury that still hurts. You have to wait for most of the pain to go away first.

Good luck. And remember: I received my worse injury to date stretching (pulled inner thigh/groin on right leg) and it still isn't "healed". If I don't stretch it for a week, it's right back to as bad as it ever was...

[JKD Student]

stretching before workout doesn't decrease chance of injury

current research shows that WARM-UP helps prevent injury. Warm-ups should be similar but less intense exercises that mimic the motions you will be making during your workout. Some dynamic stretching can be worked into the warm-up but static stretching is not helpful at all. static stretching before the workout can cause injury itself or lead to injury by causing instability in your joints during the workout. Stretching to increase overall flexibility in some permanent fashion should definitely be done at the end of your workout when your muscles are still very heated from the work.

the book "Stretching Scientifically" is a very good resource on how to increase flexibility and stretch safely.

[Dude_101]

Anyone whos interested look up PNF stretching its the best way to stretch and yeah you must warm up before stretching

[Gard]

I think every one is different,
some stretch before warm up,
some warm up before stretching.
Try both, see what works.

[Dude_101]

I think every one is different,
some stretch before warm up,
some warm up before stretching.
Try both, see what works.

No you must warm up before stretching to avoid injury.