conditioning exercises to strengthen leg and hip muscles

[wolf30]

I'm wondering what exercises and drills I can do to be able to extend and hold my leg out real high like you see van damne do or ron smoorenburg do in movies?

 

[sadantkd]

Hold onto a wall, or a ballet rail and do your kicks in super slow motion until it hurts, then do it some more.

 

[granfire]

Hold onto a wall, or a ballet rail and do your kicks in super slow motion until it hurts, then do it some more.

:asian: yep, that'll do it, and core muscles as well.


(but do't neglect your squats and calf raises...)

 

[sadantkd]

I figured I'd start with the most excruciating part.

 

[Twin Fist]

Hold onto a wall, or a ballet rail and do your kicks in super slow motion until it hurts, then do it some more.

this works well

 

[granfire]

LOL!!

After the millions set of squats and calf raises with, uhm, difficulty (like parking your toes on a phone book...) the focus kicks don't sound too bad anymore (at least they let you walk back to the dressing room with some sort of self respect )

 

[Earl Weiss]

Hold onto a wall, or a ballet rail and do your kicks in super slow motion until it hurts, then do it some more.

Good exercise but must be coupled with flexibility training. Otherwise you may be expending more energy than necessary to overcome the resistance of your own muscles. Check out PNF stretching on the web. It will also develop strength.

 

[dancingalone]

+1 to Mr. Weiss's post.

I'm studying with a flexibility/physical trainer/yoga expert right now. Not necessarily for me (although it's a nice outcome too), but I hope to be able to bring back elements of what she teaches for the benefit of my students. She uses concepts that are outlined in Tom Kurz's book Stretching Scientifically.

 

[wolf30]

How long should I do these exercises for and how long would it be before I see results if I do this everyday?

 

[miguksaram]

Hold onto a wall, or a ballet rail and do your kicks in super slow motion until it hurts, then do it some more.

This does work well, but only if you are aligning your body correctly when kicking. If you do not feel it in your upper quad (front kick) or our glut (round or side kick) then you need to straighten your back for alignment.

Start off by counting to 5 while extending the kick (by 5 you should be fully extended). Hold the kick for 1-3 seconds (longer if you can handle it) then count 5 bringing the kick back. As you progress take it to a 10 count extending & retracting and 5 count holding. Do 10 sets each leg.

 

[Earl Weiss]

How long should I do these exercises for and how long would it be before I see results if I do this everyday?

Like any strengthening exercise, progress comes slowly. You can stretch 5-6 days a week, but strength training typicaly requires 48 hours recovery between seesions. If you kick slowly, you can add some resisstance in the form of stretch bands or ankle weights. Do not kick quicly with ankle weights since it is easy to strain the joints.

If you are only doing kick and hold type exercises start with a routine say 3 sets of 10 each leg holding each rep at full extension for 5 seconds. Each week try to increase the hold by 20%. If you can follow this schedule you will be at 1 minute hold time after 20 weeks. But at 3 sets of 10 each leg you may not want to spend an hour unless you are doing it waching TV.

 

[TX_BB]

Real High is relative, but a stretching program will address your range of motion. As far as hanging your leg out there, it's primarily a core strength issue there are multiple programs for developing core strength out on the internet. You need to find a program that works for your fitness level. In my opinion the two most important things you can do is get sufficient rest between exercise sessions and change your routine every 3-6 weeks.

Gage your progress by your ability to hold the kicks and their heights.

 

[wolf30]

I've been doing these exercises like slowing extending your leg out and slowing bringing it back in as suggested by others as well as trying those exercises from elastic steel where u put your leg up against the wall in a side kick position then go down and up. I am also holding my leg out in side kick position for 10 sec or how ever long I can hold it for coupled with throwing multiple roundhouse kicks without bringing my leg back. I have also been trying to stretch everyday and I now stretch about 20-25min. My hips hurt like hell like a sore kind of pain. I assume I will start seeing results in a few weeks?

 

[Hawke]

Listen to your body.

There is GOOD pain and there is BAD pain. A good pain feels like a slow ache and a bad pain is sharp.

You need to develop core strength.

You need to develop flexibility.

If you injure yourself you may develop some scar tissues which may inhibit your flexibility.

For stretching:
Stretching by Bob Anderson

 

[d1jinx]

Hold onto a wall, or a ballet rail and do your kicks in super slow motion until it hurts, then do it some more.

While this works, I'd say you would be better off NOT holding the wall. It will develope your kick as well as your balance. I've seen too many people get used to holding a wall and lack the balance to kick without a wall or rail. I'd recommend doing both in sets, wall/rail, and no wall/rail.