flexibility help?
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joni1 ·
It's funny, but I concentrate alot on normally squaring my hips and contracting my leg muscles at the same time. But I was trying to face the camera to my left and forgot to square my hips. 🙄 My shoulders and hips are normally evenly facing forward. I do have a slight bend still to my back legs that I am aware of. 😠 Considering where I was a year ago, I am thrilled to be at this point. 🤸 🤸 🤸 I remember when I first started training for my splits and told my husband my goal, he laughed at me and said "You got to be kidding. Your like a tripod" 😮
Ok, I'm sold. I've only been at this for a few days, but I have already noticed a massive different in some of my stretches, particularly #1. I have been trying to be religious about doing it every day, even if I only do one set. I'm happy to work up to more sets as I start to hate stretching less. The ones you mentioned for the splits I can manage (gods, he doesn't even try to explain clearly, does he?!?) but some of the others, I either can't work out how to do them at all, or I have to go to one of the more advanced stretches, just 'cos I can't work out the mechanics of the easier one. Just to check, 3 is a press up, right? He says you get into a traditional press up position, then press down to the ground and back up again. That's a press up, surely? 🤔 And, #7? What, how, huh? I can't work this one out at all. Nor #11. Any ideas? (I know these won't help with my splits, but I need all round improvements in my flexibility) And thanks again for the recommend on the book. Definitely worth it! 👍
Roadkillgerbil, I am with you! There are some of the stretches that I find impossible to figure out and I also keep checking their variations. As for 7, I'd say it is a bit like a downward dog and for the 11 I find that prayer position (in the last variation) easier to understand. But, indeed, I find some of the exercises impossible to figure out but am finding the ones I get rather interesting and useful. Good luck!
Yeah, explanations are not his strong suit. #3 is actually a press DOWN. You start in the up position, and then lower your body down as your arms provide resistance pushing against you. (So, your arms are trying to push to maintain you in the up position, but your body weight wins and lets you down.) If you think about trying to rotate your hands out as if you were waving to someone---but keep them where they are, just TRY to rotate them out so your arms are trying to rotate out from the shoulder but can't--you'll feel a deeper stretch in your chest. Once you hit bottom, just pop back up and start over. #7 is a bit wacky. It is indeed like a downward dog, and in fact I do it in that position, hands on the ground. I lean forward so my head moves forward of my hands to start with, with my heels raised off the ground, then I press my hands into the mat to push me back into downward dog. I resist with my calves, slowly letting my heels go down, but resisting stretches the calves. The chest muscles also get stretched as you use your hands to pull your head forward of your hands to the starting position. The Ki Hara method I trained in considers this both a chest and calf stretch. (Just realized it's his #7 on page 204 on the last series, elephant.) I think the easiest variation on #11 is like the assisted version he has on page 178. Instead of having a person assist you, stand in a doorway with your arms up. Step through, as your arms press and resist trying to stop your forward motion. Great chest stretch!! I'm glad these are helping you!! 🥂
Oh you are awesome Ottersocks!
seriously ottersocks, YOU should write a book 😀 I bought the genius of flexibility and don't really use it because I didn't think I was doing the stretches right, but you did an awesome job of explaining the concept. I think I get it now!
This is from another thread, it started with talking about STACEY NEMOUR's Secrets of Splits & Flexibilty DVD, and then the ingenious ratty said this: I bought this DVD and it has some good stretches in it, but overall I'm not that excited about it. Most of the stretches are ones that I already work on, so I didn't find any real "secrets". However, I DID finally find a method that got me into full splits fast (WOO-HOO!!!) even with a pulled hamstring that has been giving me fits for 4 months. Someone else on the forum (I can't remember who) posted this awhile back and it WORKS, and it's fast. I am soooo excited about it that I'm going to give a class at the studio to show everyone how to do it. It's very simple, but not easy, lol! The article is here: http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com/splits.html The main way that it works is that you hold each stretch for a VERY long time, forcing the muscles to fatigue until they give out. I think most of us are used to holding a stretch for what feels like a long time, but isn't really long enough to get the job done. In this method you stay there for a few minutes (feels like forever!) and it's not easy! You can start to feel it happen after that. It only took 2 sessions for me to see a real difference. I've done it 6 or 7 times now and the difference is amazing. My routine takes about 15 minutes and does not hurt my pulled hamstring. If anyone is interested, I'll be glad to post more details. I LOVE this method, and am so grateful to the poler who originally posted it here, and who is now probably a contortionist, lol! The article goes into lots of detail about the technique itself. I don't do all the stuff he talks about because like you, I was pretty close to splits already but couldn't get all the way there. I am trying to do this every single day, and it takes about 15-20 minutes, plus whatever time it takes to warm up first. Here's my sequence: 1. Forward bend--just relax into it, keep relaxing and keep holding for about 2 minutes, or until your hands go flat on the floor. I got almost immediate results with this one. 2. Lunge--back leg is straight out behind me with toes on the floor so knee is off the floor. This is great for the hard-to-stretch muscles at the tops of thigh and front of hips. I start out with hands on the floor, and then gradually start to take the weight off of them a little, so more weight is going into my hips. I hold this for several minutes on each side. I don't feel huge changes while I'm doing it, but I can tell it helps with my back leg when I go into splits. 3. Side Lunge--hands on the floor on either side of my front foot--this gives a great side stretch as well as the leg stretch. This one is reeeeeaaaaallly hard to hold for a long time, but I keep sinking lower until I can't stand it anymore. It's probably only a minute or so. Feels like infinity. 3. Front splits--back knee facing down, hands on the floor, I go as deep as I can, then wait it out while consciously relaxing the muscles. Push down a little more, then relax and wait. And again, and again, and again...lol...I spend a few minutes on each side or until I can't take it anymore. By then I'm way further than where I started every time! I do it on both sides and sometimes repeat it. 4. Straddle splits--I hold on to the pole and slide down as far as I can (this was my least flexible area) and wait, letting my body weight slowly push me down. It's a great upper body workout, too, since you're supporting yourself with your arms, lol! My arms were actually sore the next day! If you wait long enough you'll really get deep in this one--it's amazing after you do it a few times. I can almost get flat and I've never been even close to that, EVER!! 5. Front splits--after doing the straddle split I do these again, and this is when I can get all the way down. The straddle definitely helps with the second round. 6. Straddle split--If I have it in me, I do another straddle. By this time I'm usually shaking and worn out. So for all of these, I am relying mainly on waiting out the muscle tension until it gives out and I can go further. It takes a long time and is very uncomfortable (that's an understatement). Sometimes I will go as deep as I can, wait, then contract all the muscles hard for a few seconds, then relax and wait again. But usually I just relax and wait. 7. Leg raises--I don't do these every time. Lying on your back, pulling your leg towards your head. For some reason, I don't really feel the stretch with this one. Maybe because I don't have the benefit of my body weight pushing on the leg. For this one I use the muscle contractions. I stretch the leg in as much as I can and hold it, then contract HARD, relax and wait, and then repeat it all a few times. I don't use all the visualizations like he recommends--I just stretch, breathe, and focus. And wait. And wait. And wait.... I could tell the difference almost immediately with these stretches. I am very tightly strung together, so I have to work hard for every little bit of flexibility I get. I really have to work on hip openers (I use some good ones from yoga, just not often enough). I'm going to try this technique with those stretches, and try to find a way to use it in backbends. I just love it and have been so excited to see real results, finally! I've also experienced less soreness and discomfort after these than with the way I used to stretch. It makes sense, since this really lets your muscles relax and lengthen. Sometimes I can't spend as long as I want to doing them, but even if I can do 10 minutes I still feel the progress. Let me know if you need any more info, and I'm anxious to hear what you think once you've tried it!! I'm interested in hearing your take on it. I just finished Day One of week one. My front splits are 12 inches from the ground (while I'm clinging to a chair and shaking, trying to remember to breathe and get my muscles to relax) and my straddle splits are 9 inches from the floor. I'll try and keep you updated on my progress. Hope this helps some of you. I only reposted ratty's posts here because they were in a somewhat obscure thread, and I thought this might make it easier to find. 🙂
I now have the blk foam roller and a video for massage/flexability. I really enjoyed the workout. Parts of it were uncomfortable but I just imagined my muscles loosening up so that I may be more flexy later on. They had stabilization and core moves too. I hope to do this several times a week and hopefully it helps!
I have to try some of this stuff. I am so determined to get all the way down in my splits. I find it so frustrating and painful. It's taken me two years, including Bikram yoga and trying contortion classes at a local circus studio, and I am still about 3" off the ground in both side splits and 9" in straddle. I feel I'm so close and have put in so much work and still can't seem to get my splits. It's definitely not my hamstrings -- I can put my elbows on the ground in a forward fold -- maybe my hip flexors? Oh, and I bought "Genius of Flexibility" and couldn't get into it ,.. at ALL. I'm going to try ratty's method after the gym today and maybe I will take a photo to see if you guys can give me some pointers. This thread is inspiring 🙂
Oh boy..I'm about as flexible as a cinder block. I was cruising You Tube earlier today and found a lot of splits techniques/tips advice under martial arts. This vid was pretty interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuND1uHHTU Thought I would give it a try. My splits are still so high you can drive a Volkswagon under my butt! 😳 It's on my bucket list... Have a great week everyone! Becky
Gsylass ·
I followed the link on foam rollers... serious question although it may come across as dumb... 😳 Could I use a paint roller and get the same results?? Obviously I'd use a clean dry one!!
Gsylass, I don't think so. Foam rollers are quite firm--you can put your whole body weight on it and press down hard. A paint roller has a cardboard center and would collapse.
Gsylass ·
Ours are hard plastic tubes on a metal handle, rather than cardboard. I was thinking more in terms of using it as a massage tool than actually leaning on it... ok perhaps it wouldn't be the same! Thanks anyway 😉
You can always try tennis balls for cheap and effective self myofascial release!
Veena ·
you beat me otter....I was just gonna let her know about the tennis balls!! I LOVE them. If your still taking the lessons Gsylass here are a few I have posted so far for hands and feet! http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/3264 hands http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/3263 feet
Tennis balls?! I love the black foam rollers though -- sometimes it hurts like a bitch, but sometimes it feels soooo good! I keep meaning to get one for home. I remember Alethea saying a while ago that she stretches her splits on a foam roller so they are more flat on the floor. Anyway, this is my center splits: DSC06179.JPG My right splits (my worst ones). It's hard to tell because my floor is shiny, but they are still not flat on the floor. DSC06176.JPG I've been stuck here for a while!! It sucks 🙁 It hurts to sit in the splits, and I don't have the flexibility for splits on the pole. I have always used a method similar to ratty's where I hold each stretch for 2 min, if I can (I learned this from a contortion coach) and this is how I got to this point, but I haven't done it regularly for about a year. But I'm about to start! This is day 1! ☀️
Gsylass ·
Thanks Otter and Veena - I'll check those vids out! You ladies rock! 👍
Hoddska ·
When my husband was doing some rehab after breaking his hip the therapist told him he could use a big tomato juice/apple juice can wrapped in a towel or covered in thick fabric for the work he had to do on the scar tissue on his thighs..it is a cheap and handy stand in for a foam roller. It's a bit short it's true but very solid... I have a real foam roller now it is a life saver for pain and stiffness plus the flexibility too interesting thread
kasanya ·
Does anybody have any ideas on where to buy these elusive foam rollers in Canada? I checked Walmart and Canadian Tire, but no luck with either of them. 😢
Some big sporting goods stores carry them. I get mine online through OPTP.
NicciG ·
Some big sporting goods stores carry them. I get mine online through OPTP. I did a couple of stretches from Dara Torres's Resistance Stretching dvd last night and I could already notice a difference (I'm like a 1 on the scale of flexibility LOL). I like that it includes strength training. It takes some getting used to but I like the exercises. I'm going to only do the session from that disc for a while and see how that improves my flexibility. I need to find a foam roller also for some SMR I think that would help me, they are just VERY expensive here 🙄 so if anyone has any suggestions what i can use instead of a foam roller hit me 😀 Thanks Otter I wouldn't have found it if i didn't read your resistance stretching posts.
so if anyone has any suggestions what i can use instead of a foam roller hit me 😀 Thanks Otter I wouldn't have found it if i didn't read your resistance stretching posts. Hi Nicci You're welcome! You can try tennis balls instead of a foam roller. It's much more intense and localized, but they work well. A new trick I found is, go the pet store and buy the GIANT tennis balls meant for large breed dogs. (Make sure you don't get beef scented or with squeakers!) Those work really well and can spread out over a larger area of tissue. For outer thighs (IT bands) though, foam rollers are still tops. Good luck! 🫡
NicciG ·
so if anyone has any suggestions what i can use instead of a foam roller hit me 😀 Thanks Otter I wouldn't have found it if i didn't read your resistance stretching posts. Hi Nicci You're welcome! You can try tennis balls instead of a foam roller. It's much more intense and localized, but they work well. A new trick I found is, go the pet store and buy the GIANT tennis balls meant for large breed dogs. (Make sure you don't get beef scented or with squeakers!) Those work really well and can spread out over a larger area of tissue. For outer thighs (IT bands) though, foam rollers are still tops. Good luck! 🫡 Oh cool!! I will definitely try that (and hide it away from our Labrador LOL) thanks man 👍
I'm a hopeless case with splits. My hip flexors are so tight, I'm beginning to think something is wrong with me. I've been trying for almost 4 years. Tried daily stretching for a few months and nothing. Been bikram/hot yoga 3x/week since the summer and that seems to be working somewhat. I'm deepening my lunges, stretching my hams, pulling my pigeons.... Still no splits but flexibility progress is there. Maybe in 10 years.
vamp79 ·
I have found that my flexibility gets better faster if I only do deep stretches 2 or 3 times a week. The rest of the week I do very light stretching. Right now I'm losing a lot of flexibility due to a groin pull so I am being very careful to prevent over-stretching.
