Anybody have any tips on gaining Flexibility?
- Thread starter Nastycrow
- Start date
RastaThug said:
I can head kick someone who's nearly 7 foot tall but I'd pull my hamstring and/or groin. I always stretch after a workout but I'm not seeing much improvement, I'm probably not stretching hard enough. Years ago I was able to touch my head off my knee
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What stretches do you do?!?!
TapEmOut said:
What stretches do you do?!?!
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I can't really kick that high lol. I bend down and touch the toes, stretch out calves from pushup position, splits, sit on the ground with both knees spread out in a T and try to touch my head to my knee. Its hard to explain stretches, I do ones similar to this video:
RastaThug said:
I can't really kick that high lol. I bend down and touch the toes, stretch out calves from pushup position, splits, sit on the ground with both knees spread out in a T and try to touch my head to my knee. Its hard to explain stretches, I do ones similar to this video:
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I never thought to look up Taekwondo. Thanks!
RastaThug said:
Thats where I learned all my stretches
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I have a friend who did TKD as a kid for a few years. He is very flexible.
Kind of wish I did TKD when I was younger but I didnt know the difference in Martial Arts and just wanted to do something so my Mom put me in Sun Hang Do.
The striking is sh*t but I learned some grappling.
TapEmOut said:
I have a friend who did TKD as a kid for a few years. He is very flexible.
Kind of wish I did TKD when I was younger but I didnt know the difference in Martial Arts and just wanted to do something so my Mom put me in Sun Hang Do.
The striking is sh*t but I learned some grappling.
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Jean Claude VanDamme hasn't been too busy as of late. He may be old, but he's still got it. Google BMW commercial. If Sensie Segal is good enough for the Spider than you deserve some one on one w/JCD, no?
TapEmOut said:
My cardio, striking and footwork have gotten better over the last few months but my flexibility is still mid range. I cant head kick anyone taller then 5'11. Im 6 feet.
Any suggestions?
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Take this with a grain of salt, since I have terrible flexiblity, but:
Definitely remember to stretch after your workouts, as well as before.
I see most people stretching before workouts, but after they get done they head right for the showers. Stretching afterwards is really where you get your gains in flexibilty.
Hips and hamstrings are the main areas to focus on (and you end up working your calves a lot too) The stuff in Rasta's video is good (and very familiar, I'm also s TKD guy
) and OSU is on the money with stretching after workouts.
Other things I do are plenty of squats (regular and wall facing), good mornings, hip circles, and there's heaps more I can't recall names for right now (stuff for outer hip/butt muscles). I was having some trouble getting my flexibility back when I got back in to training, but all the hip work I did in wrestling practice helped heaps.
Technique plays a part too. You get more flexibility opening your hips up, you do that by ensuring the non-kicking foot has pivoted to face the opposite direction of your target as you kick (obviously, I'm not targeting your technique specifically, just listing another piece of the puzzle. As with anything, take with a grain of salt
)
I used to use leg stretching machines where u can pull as far as u go safely. You need to stretch before you do this cuz I pulled a muscle in my hip lol. Look it up on eBay and you tube to know what I mean and I payed £200 for mine cuz it's the big expensive one but you can get different ones of $40+
TapEmOut said:
I have a friend who did TKD as a kid for a few years. He is very flexible.
Kind of wish I did TKD when I was younger but I didnt know the difference in Martial Arts and just wanted to do something so my Mom put me in Sun Hang Do.
The striking is sh*t but I learned some grappling.
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Never too late to try Taekwondo. I think even just the footwork transfers so well to boxing/mma. I might actually post a vid of the stretches I do regularly, basic stretches but they work.
My favorite exercise for overall mobility is overhead squats. That's a great place to start. Then...
Generally, I'm a fan of dynamic stretching before a workout. Your body temperature will rise, "warming up" enough to avoid injury. You'll also fire up your nervous system to make sure that your muscles fire as powerfully as possible during the training that follows. You'll see some basic gains in mobility from this, but the real purpose of dynamics is to warm up and prevent injury.
For specific work on flexibility and mobility, you'll have to stretch either after your training or during a separate session just for mobility. This is where your static stretching comes in. Hold each stretch for at least 20-30 seconds; long enough for muscle tension to be fully released and allow a complete stretch. Focus on your hamstrings and adductors (groin) for the flexibility needed to throw high kicks.
...but that's not all. Most stretches address muscle length, but it's important to remember that flexibility can also be affected by the connective tissue around a joint and the bony parts of the joint itself. So to address these issues...
You might also need to look into "scouring" and/or some band assisted stretching. Scouring is basically working the bony parts of your hip joint around to break up any adhesions or mineral deposits that might impede movement. Look up some moves for active and passive scouring.
Band assisted stretching is my favorite way to work flexibility in the softer connective tissue in the joint capsule around your joint.
There's a lot of good information on flexibility/mobility in "Becoming A Supple Leopard" by Kelly Starrett. This book and its author have an affiliation to Crossfit, but it's not a Crossfit book per-se (I only mention that because I'm generally not a big XFit fan... a discussion for another day. It's a good book)
TapEmOut said:
My cardio, striking and footwork have gotten better over the last few months but my flexibility is still mid range. I cant head kick anyone taller then 5'11. Im 6 feet.
Any suggestions?
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Stretch for about 30 minutes a day on every non-workout day or light-workout day. It is not necessary to stretch before or after your workout on your heavy or moderate workout days. on those days you need to Focus on your GAINS BRO!