Sonny said:
EEG just a quick question. I've read some stuff before that relates ballistic stretching to dynamic stretching basically calling them the same thing but after reading your posts and the links provided, they're actually not the same are they? I've been doing what I thought was dynamic stretching doing leg kicks in the morning but I've been doing them in a more swinging/ballistic nature, I'm gonna start doing them in a more controlled manner (lifting the leg rather than swinging it), but should I continue doing at least SOME ballistic type stretching movements?
Sean basically answered, but just to clarify.
Flexibility is an issue of muscle contraction. If muscles don't contract, you can stretch them very far, splits, and maybe even beyond. When muscles contract, they resist and are not flexible.
Dynamic stretches are done quickly, get you to that point where your muscles tighten, but no further.
Ballistic stretches go all the way to the muscle contraction
and beyond. Ballistic stretching, for example, is when people go into a splits position and then start bouncing. As your muscles resist the stretch, your ligaments get hammered. Very bad.
If you've been doing it for a while without injury, you're probably doing them fine. Just remember, the point is to gradually teach your muscles to relax, not push them to full contractions and then try to force them further (which happens when you swing powerfully and without control). Thinking about "lifting" or "raising" helps. They are still done fast, but not violently, trying to break through a sticking point. If you do them with control, the legs will relax naturally after a couple of sets, and go higher. This is the goal.
A very useful trick is to put a hand in front of you and then hit it when you raise your leg. The hand serves as "safety", and tells your CNS to relax, as you know that the hand will stop the leg. This means that the body won't "panic" as easily and won't get tense. Then you slowly increase the height of the hand as you get looser.