Flexibility training



Learn why flexibility training it is so important for people who are serious about getting fit.

Find out the secret ways to stretch into the splits in six weeks, what ever your age.

Learn when you should stretch and when you should not.

And

Learn how to avoid the mistakes most people make when they stretch.

So

If you want to improve your flexibility then please read on and find out how to improve your suppleness to such a degree that your friends will be astounded.



It is a sad but true fact that one of the most important parts of training that is often overlooked or neglected by people who exercise regularly is flexibility training.

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen people do an exercise session without any stretching what so ever, or if they do stretch, they do the wrong type for the workout or sport they do.

Take my word for it, stretching your whole body to improve your flexibility takes very little of your time and will pay you back huge dividends, because possessing great suppleness is one of the most rewarding and yet easiest things to achieve in training regardless of your age.

In fact it is so easy that I guarantee I could teach anyone to do the splits in six week with the correct training. Yes that’s right! You can achieve the suppleness to do the full splits in six weeks if you stretch correctly.

Not only can you achieve this but the other benefits of a good flexibility training program are just as dramatic because stretching properly will.

Give you back the agility of your youth as your muscles regain there suppleness.

Rid you of any aches and pains you might have because your muscles have shortened through lack of use.

Prevent training injuries that people get simply because they did not take 5 or 10 minutes to prepare their body for the more strenuous part of their workout.

Improve your sporting performance or reduce the risk of injury during your sport.

Give you back the grace and elegance most of us moved with when we were very young but lost as are bodies tightened up over the years.

Prepare you mentally as well as physically for your sport or exercise workout.

And most importantly!

At the end of a workout, stretching it is the most relaxing exercise you can do as your muscles let go of tension and leave you with a feeling of total peace.

So if flexibility training provides all these benefits you might wonder why more people involved in exercise programs do not bother with it! I wish I knew the answer, perhaps it is laziness, time restrictions or simply a lack of knowledge about how to train properly but what ever the reason do not fall into the same trap. For great advice about flexibility training and all aspects of home training have a look at www.strongshape.com which has excelent tips on home workouts.

My advice to you is to put flexibility training at the top of your list of exercise priorities because after all, if you injure yourself because you did not take the time to stretch properly then you wont be able to work out at all and you will find yourself frustrated that your progress has been halted because you didn’t take a few minutes to stretch properly.

So you know why you must have a flexibility training program, but do you now what type of stretching to do and when to do it?



The warm up.

The first point to remember is that what ever training or sport you are about to participate in, you must make sure you start with a proper warm up and by that I mean something along the lines of jogging on the spot, riding a stationary bike or shadow boxing. Start slowly and build up to a fair but not exhaustive pace for between 5 to 10 minutes depending on your fitness levels and what training you are going to do.

Why bother with a warm up?

Because it increases your body’s core temperature, warms up your muscles to make them more elastic and it also gets rid of any tension your muscles have built up which helps you perform the technique or exercise better.

Remember relaxation is the key to good physical performance which is why the best people in any sport make what they do look so easy.

Another benefit of a proper warm up is your heart rate speeds up which in turn increases the supply of oxygenated blood available to your muscles so that they are ready and able to reach their maximum performance as soon as you press the button.



Once you are nicely warmed up you should progress to some stretching and this is where a lot of people make their first mistake in flexibility training because they start to do passive stretching when they should be doing dynamic stretching.

What is the difference you might ask?

Well passive stretching is a gentle relaxing form of flexibility training where you hold the stretched position using only the weight of your body for a period of time, examples would be sitting down with your legs straight out in front of you and trying to place your head on your knees, the splits, standing up straight then bending at the waist and trying to touch your toes – think of Bruce lee in way of the dragon - are all used for passive stretching and they are all the wrong types of stretching to do before your main workout of exercises such as the dragon flag.



Why?

Because for a few minutes after doing a passive stretch your flexibility is reduced which means you are more likely to tear a muscle if you move violently just after you have done this type of flexibility training.

Your coordination is also reduced temporarily after passive stretching, You heart rate and respiratory system slows down – the complete opposite of what you are aiming for - and instead of increasing your readiness for physical exertion this type of flexibility training is more likely to make you feel sleepy which is why it should be used at the end of a workout as part of a cool down.

So remember after your warm up you do dynamic stretching.




What is dynamic stretching?

It simply means stretching in motion, for instance if you are a martial artist and are planning to do some kicking practice in your workout you should precede the kicks with dynamic stretching such as raising one leg at a time starting with small slow movements and building up the height and speed with each repetition until you have reached your present range of mobility.

If it sounds complicated believe me it isn’t, it just means lifting each leg in turn as if you where going to kick but keep your leg reasonably straight and under a controlled speed increasing the height with each repetition. It would in fact be very similar to actually kicking doing stets in all directions but without the snapping of the knee or pivoting of the hip.

Another example of dynamic stretching would be a tennis player who begins by taking small slow movements with his racket identical to the shots he would play in a real game. Then all he does is build up the range and speed of each stroke with each repetition until he feels he can safely do all his shots with full movement and speed.

How many repetitions and sets of dynamic stretching should you do?

Although it does depend on the condition you are in and what type of training you are going to do, I find that two sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each movement you do is enough to prepare most people for the more demanding part of the training or sport they are about to participate in.

However, as we are all different it is a case of trail and error, make sure you do enough sets and repetitions to feel you are ready to do the real hard work of your workout but not so many that it starts to exhaust you. Remember, this is only to get you fit to fight as it where.



So the next question you might have is what about passive stretching? Is it a good form of flexibility training and if so when do I do it?

The answer is passive stretching is a great way to improve your flexibility because of the following reasons

When done properly it includes slow deep breathing to slow your heart rate down.

It promotes deep relaxation which is great for maximum flexibility because the main reason people don’t reach a full stretch is a tensing of the muscles know as the stretch reflex.

What’s the stretch reflex?

All it means is as you stretch a muscle and it reaches a certain length the muscle panics and thinks - hey this isn’t right I might injure myself if I go further – The result is the muscles contract or tense up to act like breaks and stop you from stretching to your limit.

So what’s the answer to the stretch reflex?

You’ve got it! You take nice deep slow breaths and focus your mind on relaxing until the stretch reflex quits which it will do because the tensing up of the muscles that the stretch reflex causes exhausts them so much that eventually they have no option but to relax.

So yes! Passive stretching is great form of flexibility training that leaves you feeling relaxed and at peace. However, remember it should only ever be done towards the end of a workout and never at the beginning.



Another type of flexibility training that is very affective is

Isometric stretching

Isometric stretching is one of the most effective methods of improving flexibility and is very similar to passive stretching. The only difference is that instead of waiting for your muscles to relax as you do in passive stretching you deliberately tense them for a number of seconds – normally between 8 and 10 – and then as you relax you increase the stretch.

SO you do the opposite of passive stretching and deliberately tense your muscles but don’t worry I haven’t lost the plot I promise you there is a very good reason for doing this and that is, by contracting you muscles hard you will force them to relax through shear exhaustion.

Then as your muscles relax because you’ve tired them out you will have a window of opportunity - normally between 1 to 5 seconds - to increase your stretch and then repeat the process.

The results of isometric training are dramatic and because you are contracting the muscles hard in a stretched position you will also increase the strength of the muscles in that position which means they are less likely to panic and bring on the reflex response.

So if isometric stretching is so effective what’s the catch?

Yes you new there had to be one didn’t you! And you where right there is and it is that isometric stretching is extremely painful. Trust me, I know from experience that when you are in a full splits position and you deliberately tense the muscles hard the pain can be so intense that grown men scream, but if you think you can take it you will be doing the quickest flexibility training know to man.

By the way, this form of stretching was made famous by our Russian friends so take up the challenge and don’t let them say we are all a bunch of girls in the west.




Conclusion
The benefits of a good flexibility training program are very rewarding. The improvement in your exercises such as the full hanging leg raise or sport alone should be enough to make it part of your exercise routine but when you combine this with the other pluses such as a reduced chance of injury, a reduction in the aches and pains that set in as you get older, better posture and a return to the grace of movement you had as a youth then flexibility training is an absolute must.

Finally remember.

Do only dynamic stretching at the beginning of a workout

Do passive stretching only towards the end of a workout

And if you’re a real man

Do isometric stretching and achieve the full splits in six weeks.

Good Luck and stretch those muscles with a proper flexibility training program.

Read the splits in six weeks flexibility guide

See the motivation guide tol help you with flexibility training

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