Trying to set a workout plan to increase flexibility.

[alphacat]

Hey,
I set myself a goal to have my legs more flexible.
I feel that I'm missing a plan to follow.
When I perform stretching exercises, I don’t know how much time I should spend on doing this, what different exercises I can perform since i would like to diversify my workout plan.
I feel that I'm a bit messy on this and it disturbs me to advance.

Could you please help me out to get such workout plan?​

My greatest motive is to be able to eventually perform high kicks and diagonal kicks all the way to the head.
I also started focusing on the legs when going to the gym (a tip I got from our friend Akira).​

Thanks guys.​

 

[K831]

I found these two to be quite helpful when I read them;

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Joints-...=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252682435&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Relax-into-St...=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252682435&sr=1-5

Also since your flexiblity goals are built around kicks, you may want to check out Paul Zaichik's elastic steel stuff. The prices of the DVD's can be a bit rediculous sometimes but I hear there is some good marerial there.

https://www.elasticsteel.net/Articles.asp?ID=185

 

[still learning]

Hello, Please read/or get...the book "Combat Conditioning" ...by Matt Furey.....

His excercise plans will increase your flexibilty for sure...and easy to learn and do...

Remember also...born with a MORE flexible body...helps...for the rest of us....at least we can put on our own socks and shoes!

One side anyway...

Aloha,

 

[alphacat]

Hey,
Thanks for helping out.

I was kind of thinking to have your help from your experience.
I mean, I am able to afford buying a book, but as a student, if I had bought a book each time I wanted to study something, I'd have been left broken.

So, I was looking in the internet and gathered some different exercises for stretching the lower part of the body (legs, groin, etc).

I got a few questions for you please:
- How many times a week/day should I have a flexibility workout?
- How long should each flexibility workout last? (Including warm-up)
- Should it contain also high kicks?

Thanks fellas.

 

[ATC]

Since you goal is to kick high here are some tips.

Kicking high does not require you to be able to do splits. Splits are nice but not a necessity in order to kick high.

There are two types of flexibility, well more than two but let's keep it simple. One is static flexibility or the ability to do a stretch (split) and hold it. The other is dynamic flexibility or the ability to kick or stretch your leg high for a short moment or when needed.

I am sure if you pay attention you will see many people that can split but not kick high, just as you see many people that can not split but can kick high.

To kick high with effectiveness you need to have dynamic flexibility over static flexibility. It would be nice to have both but I would work more on dynamic than static if you want to kick high.

Do a Google search on both static flexibility and dynamic flexibility it will help you greatly.

 

[alphacat]

Hey,
Awesome info, thanks!

I found a dynamic flexibility workout that can be found here:
http://www.princeton.edu/uhs/pdfs/Dynamic%20Flexibility.pdf

I'm gonna try it out and perhaps add there some exercises we perform in class.

Could you help me out please with the two other issues I struggle with?
How many times a week should i perform a flexibility workout and how long should it last?

 

[Em MacIntosh]

The first step is to warm up really well at least a half hour or 45 mnutes if you plan on doing a heavy stretch session. I find there are 4 types of "lunges" I do and they all follow this particular pattern: hold for 5 seconds, switch sides, hold for five seconds, switch sides, hold for five seconds, switch sides, hold for 5 seconds, switch sides hold for 10 seconds, switch sides, hold for ten seconds. (sorry, I'm not confident I can explain it in an abridged way and still be understood).

1)The first lunge is with both feet pointing the same direction, the back leg is on the ball of the foot, the front knee is bent at 90 degrees and the back is straight with hands up or hands on the hips (hold 5, switch sides...).

2)The second lunge is with the rear foot planted with the toes facing 90 degrees forward from the front leg, which is again bent at 90 degrees, back straight, hands on the hips...add stretch to it by rotating the torso (at the hip) in the direction of the bent leg and support your straightened leg with the inside of the foot. (hold 5, switch...)

3)The third lunge has both feet pointing forward and the bent leg is "squatted" as low as it can go. Reach forward to counterbalance so you don't touch the ground with your hands.

4)The fourth lunge is like the third except the straightened leg rolls the foot up onto the heel. Instead of switching sides, stay in position and reach down to touch your toes on your straight leg (hold five, hold five, hold ten then switch sides and repeat)

It's better to keep your knees locked and not be able to touch your toes than it is to bend your knees even slightly. If you're like me you have the sciatic nerve in an inconvenient position which really dampens my "hamstring progress" (I can almost do side and long splits all the way down but if I try to touch my toes, both feet at a time with my knees together I can't get my wrists past my knees without a cold pain crawling up my legs) but progress can still be achieved.

Partner stretching is where I've developed the most flexibility, putting my ankle on someone's shoulder, locking the knee and pushing down. Before you push down your stretching partner stands up until you reach your limit. Tap your leg to let your partner know when to stop and then push down for 5sec, 5sec, 10sec. You can do it for front kicks, side kicks and back kicks, all you have to do is adjust the position of your supporting foot accordingly and your body will roll from a front kick position to a side kick position, or from a side kick position to a back kick position. It's important to shake your leg out after each side of each set. There's also some effective floor stretching with a partner.

A major point is not to bounce...if you can't hold the stretch, back off until you can.

After a hard stretch session, relax in a bathtub full of ice;D

 

[alphacat]

Wow, this is an awesome guidance!
I'm really grateful for this.

I wonder, when you guys started your martial arts training, how long did it take you until you managed to throw a decent high kick, you know with the lower part of the shin smashing the opponent's head side.

I'm basically talking about most of us which could only throw good low kicks at the starting point.
I just want to get a feeling of how much it will take me to reach that level.

 

[ATC]

Twice a day is great if you have the time, If not, then when you can. You really only need to break a good sweat when warming up, you should never stretch a cold muscle.

The best time to stretch is really after your workout or class. You should use your workout to warm you up and then you can stretch fully. Most people think that they need to stretch before class. That is false. Half your class should be your workout then the last half should be stretching. Most injuries happen when you stretch a cold muscle.

10-15 minutes is usually good enough to break a good sweat and warm up but some may need more. Light jogging is a great way to warm up. But again you only need to get a good sweat going, so whatever you can think of to make that happen should work, Even low to medium high kicking, and punching will work.

Here are some basic dynamic stretches that you should do every day, morning and night. Do only these and you will see great strides your kicking height in about 2 weeks. That is if you do these daily morning and night. http://stronglifts.com/7-dynamic-stretches-to-improve-your-hip-mobility/

Do your static stretch’s as well and you should be good to go.

Happy training,

 

[Em MacIntosh]

Play some hacky-sac. Try not Too much rotating of the hip joint to move your knees laterally can overwork the ligaments and start wearing them out . The more room you give yourself, the further you have to reach.

 

[still learning]

Hello, It is nice when you can kick a person to the head....and with power...

After a few rounds of realistic fighting...especially with experience guys.. ?
They will catch your leg and take you apart!

That is why? ....kicking low is a better technique.....Study this further!

High kicks? ...looks beauiful....and easier to defend against too...

Superfoot Bill Wallace? ...worth learning/study from! ...for head kicks!

Aloha, short legs like us? ....low kicks only

 

[alphacat]

Hey guys,​

I had a great stretching workout today.
After running for 30 minutes as a warm-up , I started the stretching training (practicing the exercises you've given here), and I think that for the first time in my life, my legs muscles weren’t shrunken at all after the whole workout was over.
On the other hand, they were painful a while afterwards.
I'm surely gonna keep it up and have this stretching workout after every class or workout, hopefully on a daily basis, if my body handles it well.​

I have a question for you guys.
How come I was always able to straighten my leg and throw it up high powerfully like that:

​

But I'm not (and never have been) able to throw an high kick to head with the shin hitting hard the opponent's head side?​

 

[ATC]

Hey guys,​

I had a great stretching workout today.
After running for 30 minutes as a warm-up , I started the stretching training (practicing the exercises you've given here), and I think that for the first time in my life, my legs muscles weren’t shrunken at all after the whole workout was over.
On the other hand, they were painful a while afterwards.
I'm surely gonna keep it up and have this stretching workout after every class or workout, hopefully on a daily basis, if my body handles it well.​

I have a question for you guys.
How come I was always able to straighten my leg and throw it up high powerfully like that:

​

But I'm not (and never have been) able to throw an high kick to head with the shin hitting hard the opponent's head side?​

Good for you. Glad we could help. Keep doing the exercises after a good warm up and the soreness will also go away.

To answer your question about kicking high with power, the dynamic stretching exercises will help with that. Dynamic stretching helps develop explosive power as it not only stretches the muscle but also strengthens the muscle as well. The kick in the pic is simply and front kick. This is not the same as a round house kick where your hip is involved. Also you must not stop your kick at the target but go a bit pass the target to get full power.

You should also add some plyometric exercise into your routine as well to help with even more explosiveness and speed.

Keep up the work and let us know where you are in 2 weeks. You will see drastic changes and will be able to kick high at any time even without warm ups. You may even find it strange that you cannot do a full split but can kick well pass any splits that you can do.

 

[alphacat]

Hey,

Thanks, its really great hearing your confidence in being able to improve your high kick skills.

I must say that I'm not as confidant as you in being able to throw a high kick in just 2 weeks.
I hope that in a month from now I'll be able to do that.
I'm doing this stretching workout every evening (don’t have the time to do it twice a day as you recommended), and I'll surely update you on my progress in two weeks from now.

By the way, the pains after the workout today decreased significantly, so it must be a good thing ​

 

[alphacat]

By the way,
I have at home an obstacle 105cm tall (3.4 feet), which I managed to throw a decent (not so powerful) high kick above it (but just an inch above it).
On the other hand, I'm kind of cold now (its very late in here), but I guess that is my limit currently (perhaps when I'm warm I'll be able to kick harder).​

3.4 feet isn’t that much as a starting point, is it? :S ​

 

[ATC]

3.4 feet isn’t that much as a starting point, is it? :S

You have to start somewhere.

 

[alphacat]

Hey fellas,​

I wanted to report to you guys on my progress so far.​

So today, during and after the workout, I threw some high kicks and managed to kick 3.8 feet high, which is a nice improvement from two days ago, when I managed to kick 3.4 feet high.​

I'm very happy with this result, and it really raised my motivation to train harder today.​

I feel like I need to stimulate my body with some new drills, which I wanna fit them into the current drills I perform.
I don’t want my body to get used to these exercises and slow down its advance.​

I'd be happy to hear from you how to stimulate my body with more exercises and put it in shock again.​

Thanks a lot fellas ​

 

[ATC]

Hey fellas,​

I wanted to report to you guys on my progress so far.​

So today, during and after the workout, I threw some high kicks and managed to kick 3.8 feet high, which is a nice improvement from two days ago, when I managed to kick 3.4 feet high.​

I'm very happy with this result, and it really raised my motivation to train harder today.​

I feel like I need to stimulate my body with some new drills, which I wanna fit them into the current drills I perform.
I don’t want my body to get used to these exercises and slow down its advance.​

I'd be happy to hear from you how to stimulate my body with more exercises and put it in shock again.​

Thanks a lot fellas ​

I would give your current drills at least 2 weeks before modifying and or adding. Remember slow and steady. Results should be slow and steady.

 

[alphacat]

Hey,
Perhaps you're right.

I do take things slowly.
Since I joined the Muay Thai gym two weeks ago, I lowered down the intensity of my workouts to avoid injury.

You know, in most things in life, staying at the top is harder than reaching it.
Is it like that in flexibility?

I mean, once one managed to kick above a certain height, would he need to keep performing these flexibility exercises at the same intensity and rate in order to retain it?

 

[alphacat]

Hey,​

I'm glad to update you that I'm able now to kick 4.4 feet high (i'm talking about high kick), which is one feet higher than where I started from.
I still need to work on keeping both hands guarding the face while kicking, since I notice that my elbows draw away from my ribs when kicking high, and sometimes one hand draws back to gain torque.​

Moreover, I need to also work on my left kicks, since they are less powerful and reach lower than my right kicks.​

What bothers me is that I'm not always able to go to the punching bag classes so up to now I'm just kicking through the air, which means that I'm definitely gonna lose my balance when starting working my kicks on the bag.​

I had a knees workout yesterday in my gym and got this annoying pain in my right leg, in the point where it connects to the hip.
I hope it'll get better soon.​

Anyways, if you got any advices or feedbacks for me, I'd be glad to hear ​

Thanks. ​