standards of flexibility - what you should be able to do

Transform

as requested -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrXNeFsO3TM

Super stuff.

VIS VIRES

Great video transform..

gabgab

Cheers Dominic, great stuff

What are your thoughts on ART?

cardio,shoot me

cheers for the video! very informative, i appear to have alot of work to do :P

ilovelamp2000

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

cheers for the video! very informative, i appear to have alot of work to do :P

Not as much as I do

BossArky

Very good. Thanks Transform. I will find somewhere in the stickies to link to this.

Looking forward to the upper body version.

edit - stickied here.

cardio,shoot me

Rosco1982 wrote: »

Not as much as I do

Oh but i do :P

Transform

gabgab wrote: »

Cheers Dominic, great stuff

What are your thoughts on ART?

super - i use doug leonard for hands on work

Transform

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

cheers for the video! very informative, i appear to have alot of work to do :P

well thats the whole point - make people aware of their issues and stop moaning about injuries when their flexibility is pants

Transform

BossArky wrote: »

Very good. Thanks Transform. I will find somewhere in the stickies to link to this.

Looking forward to the upper body version.

edit - stickied here.

i did one on dynamic stretching also and why static stretching before any type of training is terrible.

someone can link it into the sticky if they wish

Transform

sorry if its quite long but there could have been more and tried to cut it down

irishultra

very good for anyone with **** flexibility in first second third year i couldnt touch my toes then at the end of the summer 4th year i could do the splits.

im not naturally very flexibile at all, but ardous stretching, even going past the pain barrier at times got me to where i am today :Lol:

oh and ye my upper body flexibility is **** so help needed

Aedh Baclamh

Excellent video Transform. Have you any links to why dynamic before is much greater than static before?

Also, if you don't mind me asking, I see professionals (be it football players/rugby players/whoever) prior to coming on as a substitute doing static stretches. Why would they be doing this?

Transform

quick answer - they sould not be static stretching and "warm -up" its in the word - get warmer not prepare for a yoga class.

Its explained here and its just a few things i use and i change it all the time depending on what i am about to do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZplXyO-q4eo

Aedh Baclamh

Cheers for the video, I always used to swing my arms forward instead of backwards.

Hope this doesn't come across as me being a prick etc, but how can a club pay 30m for a player and have him doing the wrong stretches prior to going on the field? Personally, I've always done some sort of dynamic stretching before training/playing a game. Whether it'd be kicking out, swinging the arms etc...I've always found it to be much much better than static stretching.

Transform

there is evidence of poor practice in all sports plus the lack of a proper warm up and dynamic stretching is much more common with a sub going on than players warming up at the start of a match.

sitting in your car with the heater on would possibly be better to 'warm up' than static stretching.

trying to static stretch your muscles when they are cold is NOT conducive to optimal performance and i would argue that it can decrease performance and possibly cause injury because you should be getting your muscles warm, body temp up and increasing range of motion.

for example -

Static stretching impairs sprint performance in collegiate track and field athletes.
Winchester JB, Nelson AG, Landin D, Young MA, Schexnayder IC.

Department of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. jwinch2@lsu.edu

Previous research has shown that static stretching (SS) can diminish the peak force output of stretch-shortening cycle actions while performing a dynamic warm-up (DW) protocol has been shown to enhance performance in similar activities. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the deleterious effects of SS would wash out the performance enhancements obtained from the DW. Eleven males and 11 females, who were athletes of a NCAA Division I track team, performed a DW followed with either a SS or rest (NS) condition. After warm-up was completed, three 40 m sprints were performed to investigate the effects of the SS condition on sprint performance when preceded by DW. Time(s) were obtained from timing gates placed at 0, 20, and 40 m respectively. Testing was conducted over 2 days with a 1 week washout period. Testing order was balanced to eliminate possible order effect. Time for the NS versus the SS group was significantly faster for the second 20 m with a time of 2.41 versus 2.38 seconds (P < or = .05), and for the entire 40 m with a time of 5.6 +/- 0.4 versus 5.7 +/- 0.4 seconds (P < or = .05). The results of this study suggest that performing a SS protocol following a DW will inhibit sprint performance in collegiate athletes.

and
Acute effects of static versus dynamic stretching on isometric peak torque, electromyography, and mechanomyography of the biceps femoris muscle.
Herda TJ, Cramer JT, Ryan ED, McHugh MP, Stout JR.

Department of Health and Exercise Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA. tjh@ou.edu

The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of static versus dynamic stretching on peak torque (PT) and electromyographic (EMG), and mechanomyographic (MMG) amplitude of the biceps femoris muscle (BF) during isometric maximal voluntary contractions of the leg flexors at four different knee joint angles. Fourteen men ((mean +/- SD) age, 25 +/- 4 years) performed two isometric leg flexion maximal voluntary contractions at knee joint angles of 41 degrees , 61 degrees , 81 degrees , and 101 degrees below full leg extension. EMG (muV) and MMG (m x s(-2)) signals were recorded from the BF muscle while PT values (Nm) were sampled from an isokinetic dynamometer. The right hamstrings were stretched with either static (stretching time, 9.2 +/- 0.4 minutes) or dynamic (9.1 +/- 0.3 minutes) stretching exercises. Four repetitions of three static stretching exercises were held for 30 seconds each, whereas four sets of three dynamic stretching exercises were performed (12-15 repetitions) with each set lasting 30 seconds. PT decreased after the static stretching at 81 degrees (p = 0.019) and 101 degrees (p = 0.001) but not at other angles. PT did not change (p > 0.05) after the dynamic stretching. EMG amplitude remained unchanged after the static stretching (p > 0.05) but increased after the dynamic stretching at 101 degrees (p < 0.001) and 81 degrees (p < 0.001). MMG amplitude increased in response to the static stretching at 101 degrees (p = 0.003), whereas the dynamic stretching increased MMG amplitude at all joint angles (p </= 0.05). These results suggested that the decreases in strength after the static stretching may have been the result of mechanical rather than neural mechanisms for the BF muscle. Overall, an acute bout of dynamic stretching may be less detrimental to muscle strength than static stretching for the hamstrings.

As i say - guys and girls get with the program and save the static stretching for the end of the sessions

Roper

I'm really trying hard not to be sarcastic here. The urge is so strong that I literally want to explode but I'll play this one straight.

When you see a substitute warming up on the sidelines, pulling his quad etc., he's not doing a warm up, he's just loosening out tightnesses etc. The warm up has taken place before the game, and for a serious athlete takes anything up to 90 minutes including mobilisation, stretching etc. There's a general warm up outside on the pitch or in an indoor area, and some specific stuff for a player if he needs it either on the table or on the pitch.

The simple dynamic method is fine for a gym goer, but every athlete who plays and trains regularly develops tightnesses and a lack of mobility in some area and needs mobilisation work which can involve static stretching. Saying static stretching should not be done is not correct, it's dogma.

Hope that clears that up for you. There's actually quite a lot more to preparing an athlete for competition than a gym goer.

whitelightrider

Excellent videos. Hoping to get my Black Belt this year and Ill be using your stretching methods from now on.

Just wondering where you get the foam rollers?

cmyk

whitelightrider wrote: »

Excellent videos. Hoping to get my Black Belt this year and Ill be using your stretching methods from now on.

Just wondering where you get the foam rollers?

http://physiosupplies.com/acatalog/Foam_Roller_10cm_x_45cm.html

Racing Flat

Aedh Baclamh wrote: »

how can a club pay 30m for a player and have him doing the wrong stretches prior to going on the field?

FWIW some teams like New Zealand and Wales rugby teams have exercise bikes on the sideline so that incoming subs or those sinbinned can get warmed up / keep warm.

Roper is right in saying professional sports teams do very intensive warm-ups prior to games, but for subs coming on 80 minutes into a game the timing of this could be a little better, but if you don't know when the subs will be needed, it's difficult. Being a sub is a bummer really and anyone who has experienced it knows how 'coming on cold' can make it very difficult to get into the game.