hachiko started this discussion ·
Hi! I am not very flexible, so i was thinking of taking a gymnastic class to help me... Does anyone know what i can do to help me be more flexible? or if there are other classes that could help me? Thank you so much for any advice! 😳
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MPsuzziQ ·
When I was very young I used to watch my Mama's Jane Fonda's workout videos from the 70's. That's where I probably got most of my stretching background from. Some of the best stretching for me was to simply sit on the ground with my legs straight (start out slightly bent) and pretend like there's a can of coke just past my feet. Try to reach past your feet and pick up the imaginary can. Remember to really relax and breathe when you stretch. Breathing deeply forces more oxygen into your blood and muscles allowing them to be more flexible. Those same deep breaths can also give you a little bit of a euphoric feeling and along with the little bit of pain that goes with stretching it can be very relaxing. I'll post a "flexibility" video soon to show you some of my favorite stretches. Remember. Don't bounce hard. You don't want to pull or tear any muscles. Breathe through it. Best of luck to you 😉
hachiko ·
thank you so much for the advice 😀 i will try it for sure 😀
RoxyPink ·
Yoga is great for flexibility training too!
marle777 ·
Yoga is great for flexibility training too! I just want to second and third that (both hands) 😀 Yoga is the ultimate shizzy for flexibility and balance! 👍
hachiko ·
thanks u guys 😀 i'll definitly try yoga! 😀
What I did was youtube stretching videos...mainly videos on how to achieve the splits. That's my goal 😉
deetron ·
I want to get more flexible too! Months ago I was doing side splits on one side but not the other. Then I started a training regime to even it up. Horrors though - I went too quickly on my less flexible side, and popped my hip out of it's socket!! It cracked very loudly - a girl in the gym who was listening to her iPod heard it through her music and looked horrified - and then it popped back in! Very scary. It's been 4 months and I still have a dull ache. I am absolutely afraid to do splits on *either* side any more!! I can certainly testify to the practise of easing oneself into it! Gonna start training for flexibility again, but aiming for *very* slow progress this time!
Kilala ·
deetron I think the problem was not entirely the splits but maybe you didn't warm up enough to do them. I busted a muscle once in my legs by not warming up properly and it still doesnt stretch the same 2 yrs afterward. Ive been in martial arts half my life so you would expect me to be able to do those with no effort and no need to stretch before hand but its very very important to do so 🙂
Hi ya, Ok, so I too am very determined to get the splits and I thought I'd research some stretching techniques so that I am doing it correctly. I stumbled across this website http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/stretching_5.html Its brilliant, I am currently doing this sequence of stretching every day and I can already see an improvement and my muscles dont even ache. The guy who writes this says you should reach your maximum flexibility in around 2 months!!! He also discusses warming up properly and all sorts of other stuff. I have started a blog to record my progress, please feel free to check in anytime, I will do my best to update regularly..........maybe we can motivate eachother?! I will keep posting my progress..............I'm soooooo excited!
You don't have to join a class to get flexible. Yoga and other stretches are easy to do at home. Just remember to warm up and not push it too far or too fast. I love classic dance or ballet stretches... simple but effective.
Janey111 ·
Hi, Yes the splits is something I want to do also but I just wondered, do you need to perfrom the stretches everyday for the most effective results and how long should it take. Im pretty flexible to start off with. thanks Janey
I found this really great and in depth stretching website. There's alot of information. Have a read through it but I think the most relevant for me is part II- "developing static passive flexibility". In this section it explains and demonstrates ISOMETRIC and RELAXED stretching. It has alot of photos of streches with the explanations so that helps al lot too. Basically, isometric stretches are for those who have plateaued and need that extra push to get the full splits. It's recommended that isometric and relaxed stretches are done together to get the best out come. These stretches have helped me after I plateaued, and I'm ALMOST there with the splits. But I find myself plateauing again 🙁 Anywho, good luck http://www.trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/flx3
Thanks for posting those sites girls, I want to improve my flexibility and would LOVE to be able to do the splits again - I think I was 12 the last time I could do them! Lol. I'm doing some pole-conditioning tonight (only handstands and balance etc) and I was thinking of doing some stretches too so I'll have a read of the sites that you all follow! 🙂 Wish me luck! ~*~ Vicki ~*~
Good luck p1nkpr1ncess!! Let us know how you get on 🙂
