stretching

[#1can]

I searched and was unable to find any relevant threads, although i know there must be many.

Anyways, I'm going to be taking muay thai for the first time in about 2 months...wondering what kind of stretches i can to to get my hips as flexible as possible in that timeframe, or any timeframe for that matter. Thanks.

 

[Evil Eye Gouger]

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=280831

 

[stav]

Ok most important stretches are Hamstring and Groin. I u watch Cro Cops training video u will see that he basically does 2 stretches exercises after he warms up. (identical to the stretches we do at my dojo)

The first is sitting on floor and spread your legs apart as far as possible without it hurting too much......This Stretches the Groins. (remember if it hurts then dont go further this is how u injur yourself, When u have developed awsome flexability and u are well warmed up then u can start pushing some of your stretches but do not under any circumstances push past the hurt zone if your new)

In the same position lean forward and try to get your elbows to the floor...if u cant get them to the floor its ok u just need more flexability.
In the same position lean to the right andtry to touch your toes and get your head to your knee. (note all stretches u do dont bounce unless u got super flexabilty and hold the stretch for at last 10 secs and also always warm up first to prevent injury.) Repeat on the left side. Then go back to the middel and try to go a touch deeper on your stretch.( again be carful not to go to far if it hurts pull back abit and dont push through it.)

This stretch that u just did is the total package stretch i like to call it. It stretches the groins Hammys the gluts and lower back.

Then do some individual hamstring stretches.

These are the most important stretches for kicking.

Of cource there are many more stretches that will benefit u as well and the more stretches u do the more muscle groups become flexible the better off u are.

U will be told never to bounce your stretches....this is true b/c bouncing can cause injurys like strains and muscle tears.
However once u have very good flexabilty and have been training for a while u can start pulsing your stretches. This is a gentle SLOW bounce to try to get the muscles to open up alittle more. If u are new do NOT do this.
I know i am going to cop abit of flak for the last part b/c the genral rule is dont bounce under any circumstances but if u doubt my words look at Cro Cops stretching routine and e bounces big time to loosen up his muscles and he has THE best high kick in MMA.
In my dojo we also bounce very slowly once we are warmed up but always gentley never with force as this will cause injury even in the best of us.


PS sorry for the spelling and gramma errors I hope u find some of this usful.

 

[BJJK1]

one thing i didn't know about stretching is that you need to do a little warm up before you stretch.

 

[Evil Eye Gouger]

1) You do not need to warm up before stretching, but you do need to be more careful
2) You do not want to stretch statically BEFORE kicking, but AFTER your workout.
3) You DO want to stretch DYNAMICALLY before kicking.
4) PNF stretches are your friends, but no more than 3x a week.
5) Don't EVER bounce. Even dynamic stretches should not go into ballistic territory
6) CroCop did suspended splits as a teenager. What works for him is not necessarily what will work for you, and trying to stretch like you're CroCop will have the same results as trying to lift weights like you're Ronnie Coleman
7) The spread-your-legs stretch is very good, but only if you can keep your pelvis and lower back tilted forward while you're sitting. Many people can't, and for them, this stretch is not particularly useful.
8) Read all the threads linked to from the thread I linked here. There's some good info there.

9) If you want my personal advice, stretch every day, and stretch conservatively, especially in the beginning. Take your optimistic stretching plan, do it more often than planned, and do it less intensively than planned. This will bring FAR better results than going full on and misjudging your limit.

 

[stav]

One point i disagree with u Evil is always warm up be stretching. I have read studies that indicate that stretching cold gives no significant gains to felxibilty and will not prevent injury. Always warm up b4 stretching.

About the bouncing i agree....unless u got uber flexabilty like cro cop do NOT do it. I was trying to enfasise this point.
I can do the front splits and get pretty low on the side splits i have been training for afew years so for ppl like me its ok but for the average joe never attempt it.

and point 9) evil brought up is very very good. Take it easy. Your in no hurry stretch regularly but dont over do your self.

 

[Evil Eye Gouger]

One point i disagree with u Evil is always warm up be stretching. I have read studies that indicate that stretching cold gives no significant gains to felxibilty and will not prevent injury. Always warm up b4 stretching.

You do not need to warm up before dynamic stretches (like leg raises and leg swings), but you definitely need to start low to avoid injuries and have your muscles relax as you progress.

You also do not need to warm up before PNF stretches, as long as you start conservatively. The powerful contractions needed for PNF stretches will get plenty of blood in there very soon.

When doing static relaxed stretching, it is a very very good idea to warm up before. A really good idea. But you don't HAVE to do it. It will simply take you much much longer to achieve the same stretch than warming up for 10 minutes. So it's counter-productive. But you don't HAVE to do it, as long as you start conservatively.

In other words, a warmup will always help and I recommend it, but it's not like you HAVE to do it or else. As long as you don't skip on warmup to save time, because it will probably take longer without a warmup.

About the bouncing i agree....unless u got uber flexabilty like cro cop do NOT do it. I was trying to enfasise this point.
I can do the front splits and get pretty low on the side splits i have been training for afew years so for ppl like me its ok but for the average joe never attempt it.

and point 9) evil brought up is very very good. Take it easy. Your in no hurry stretch regularly but dont over do your self.

Yeah.

In fact, if you ARE in a hurry, take it easy. The best way to take forever to achieve good flexibility is to stretch too violently. You'll never get there.

 

[Kaban]

stretching is stretching,
but don't forget to strengthen your hip flexors, and other muscles around the hip joint,
that will help with injury prevention and facilitate flexibility.

 

[Elpresidente]

I searched and was unable to find any relevant threads, although i know there must be many.

Anyways, I'm going to be taking muay thai for the first time in about 2 months...wondering what kind of stretches i can to to get my hips as flexible as possible in that timeframe, or any timeframe for that matter. Thanks.

www.physioroom.com Its specifically a football injuries site (soccer for you yanks), but it has good technical explanations of the art of stretching, dealing with/preventing injuries and has pictorial guides to stretching routines/warm up excercises.

In short its a brilliant site for atheletes.

 

[Trudge]

if you bounce while you stretch you shorten the muscle
it also impacts the connective tissue hard
this is the cause of 75-80% off all non impact sports injuries (in pro sports)
no matter how flexible you are it has no advantage
if you are trying to get more flexible hold each stretch for between 10-15 seconds
you DO need to warm up before every stretch as it is good practice, some muscles do not need to be warmed up, but you should do it, to get used to it
warming the muscle before stretching increases blood flow which itself will allow a further stretch without the risk of injury
stretching your "hammies" for example without warming up can snap them as happened to Chris Woods (former pro soccer goalkeeper)

 

[Evil Eye Gouger]

Warming up, then stretching, then kicking will teach your body to be tense whenever you skip a warmup.

If you want to be flexible without a warmup, you need to do dynamic stretches every morning, WITHOUT a warmup -- you don't need it. Other than that, a warmup will help, but is not crucial, as long as you are patient and understand that it will take longer to achieve the same stretch cold.

The goal is to be able to do all the kicks completely cold -- that's real flexibility.

Of course you will warm up before practicing, because it reduced injuries, but if somebody attacks me on the street, I'm not going to skip rope for 20 minutes first.

 

[Trudge]

if you were on the "street" you wouldn't try a kick anwhere above the thigh anyway!
you don't need to be flexible to throw a low point
its far too risky if you miss
i see your point though
but if you make yourself flexible you stay flexible
warming the muscles up just help you get more flexible
so yes, you do always need to warm up
i have a degree in sports science from loughborough uni
i'm not just blindly saying these things

 

[Evil Eye Gouger]

if you were on the "street" you wouldn't try a kick anwhere above the thigh anyway!

I'm a TKD guy so I probably would. A body kick at least.

Anyway, after practicing dynamic flexibility for a few months, I could kick to the head cold. It's not that difficult.

As I said, warming up is good, it will help you perform better and reduce injuries. But you need to be able to perform while cold too, or else you'll pull a muscle the first time you don't have time to warm up properly.

Flexibility is only and exclusively about your nervous system. Teach it to relax, and you can be as flexible as you want, even cold. If you only use your flexibility after you are properly warmed up and hydrated, you'll be as stiff as a frozen cod whenever you do not have the luxury of a warmup.