Stretching, in case you couldn't guess by the title, is what this post is about. I neglected stretching in the past, as I think many people likely do. But skipping stretching is not a good idea, and can increase your risk of injuries. Your body will thank you if you keep it flexible. Just remember to warm up before stretching. Now, here is my quick stretching history:
I have always considered myself to be
rather inflexible. I went through a period of not exercising (or
stretching) for a few years (early 20's). Even though I didn't get fat, I
couldn't touch my toes with my legs straight. Terrible. Once I
started to exercise again I stretched regularly, and could soon touch
my toes again. I didn't really push beyond that, though. Even in
martial arts, because at that time I was doing mostly weapons based
training (well, I did stretch my arms daily then).
A few years ago I found BodyRock.tv, and followed Zuzana's stretching routine after the workouts,
with the intention of getting more flexible (somehow she instilled
that desire in me). I could slowly reach more and more past my toes
with my legs straight, and I gained improvement in a couple of other
stretches too. It was not long before I joined a new martial arts
school and my flexibility then became important. I worked very hard
at my flexibility and eventually got my head to my knees (both with
legs straight in front of me, and with legs straight and held wide
apart)! I then turned my attention to the splits (both types). I am
slowly, slowly getting closer to achieving them with a lot of
stretching work.
The rest of my body was somewhat
neglected in favor of my legs until I found BodyRock Flow with
Teshia. She is amazingly flexible, and though I would love to be as
flexible as she is, I may not have the genetics for that. Anyway, I
love doing her flow routines, and they have really helped me to gain
flexibility in other areas, such as my hips and back.
Through experience I have learned that
I feel much better when I am stretching regularly. The more flexible
I get, the better I feel. This is enough motivation to continue with
stretching and yoga (at least with Teshia's style of yoga, I didn't
feel much benefit from the type of yoga I tried in the past).
Everyone is different, and what works for me may not work for others,
but I really do suggest daily stretching or yoga! It just feels so
good (and staying flexible helps reduce sports injuries too).
Some links:
Zuzana's stretching routine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCg2UDQQPLI
Warm up routine from Zuzana:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwLZx2INl8E
Stretching towards splits:
http://www.ifafitness.com/stretch/stretch7.htm
BodyRock Flow routine:
http://www.bodyrock.tv/2012/08/09/good-time-flow-yin-yoga-practice/
(Warning...the BodyRock site has tons
of embedded videos, so if you have an ancient computer like me, it
will take a long time to load).
:)
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