genius of flexability dvd/book

Poleluver started this discussion · 11/27/2009

I've gotten the Genius of Flexability DVD and cannot do the splits and am not sure how to apply this well. Maybe the book would add more advice or more exercises??? I can't remember where the thread was on this one that I previously saw but I know it sounded like a lot of people were seeing results while applying this practice. I was hoping there was more for legs than was shown. How is everyone using/applying it, how often???

16 replies

chemgoddess1 · 11/27/2009
Here is the topic. I have not seen the dvd so I cannot help on which will help, but I would think that all of the stretches involving the legs will help with getting into the splits.
Former member · 11/28/2009
ive been stretching for months for the splits and i doubt i'll ever get a middle split to be honest, but the side splits ive seen a big difference...just keep stretching and have faith 🙂 you'll get there!!!!!!
angygirl · 11/29/2009
I bought the book and I am one of the ones that is disappointed with it. There is not much directed at splits specifically. So I found few websites that have helped me. I also bought a stretch ladder. But look for information on PNF stretching. After a good workout on the pole I do splits stretches and there is a thread on that somewhere here and I downloaded an article the splits in 6 weeks that makes a lot of sense to me and I am further down in 3 weeks than all these months of stretching and got no where/ I think I wasn't doing enough stretching. I started in march of 09 trying to get the splits but didn't get serious about it until 2 months ago. I started about 1 foot off the ground (really inflexible) and now about 3-4 inches to go on front splits left side. The right side about 8 inches to go and middles splits long way. What really has helped me is quad stretches or any exercises you can find on opening the hip area. I know there are others that can give better advice but I hope you can get them soon.
ottersocks · 11/29/2009
Hi I'm the one who started the first thread on this book. I have been doing the stretches (from the book) for a few weeks now and have seen big gains. From what I've learned from the bodyworker who introduced me to this, as well as from the info we got direct from the company (via another SV member), it is ALL of the leg and hip stretches that are helpful for the splits--not just the ones that look like they would be for splits. The muscles on the outside of your legs have to be strong and be able to shorten in order for your inner leg muscles to be able to lengthen. Hip flexors are just as important too. The other thing is, it is really easy to not do these stretches correctly. It requires a lot of concentration and you really have to focus on which muscles you are trying to contract. I have a one on one session on Wednesday with one of Bob Cooley's disciples who has a stretching studio out here (http://www.stretchworks.net) I will report back with any insights after I work with her.
stretchworks.netstretchworks - resistance flexibility, yoga, osteopathy, and a better feeling bodyWe are the RFST Center for the San Francisco Bay, Resistance Flexibility, Yoga, Osteopathy, and more.
Veena · 11/29/2009
Yes PLEASE know how it goes Ottersocks!! I"m still unsure about the book myself, I feel it could have been written better with maybe some more info on the muscle groups, but I'm guessing maybe he was trying not to overload the average person with to much info. I really wanna know how it goes for you. 😀 I still have to tried the stretches myself, I just haven't had a chance yet. 👎
deetron · 11/29/2009
Hi ladies - I bought the book too, on the strength of all of your recommendations! I also bought another book called Stretching Scientifically which was also brought up in that previous thread started by Ottersocks. At first glance/light read-through it seems to me that both of these books were written by guys who seemingly discovered the general idea of PNF stretching organically by trial and error, with two different twists on the PNF methodology. For example, I'm slightly better in the straddle splits than side splits, and my favourite PNF-style stretch for it is to ease as far as I can into a straddle, pause, and then do cycles of CRAC where I contract my groin/adductor/inner leg muscles against the resistance of the floor really hard for a few seconds, afterwards relaxing into a further straddle stretch while contracting the relevant antagonists (i.e. outer leg muscles). Where CRAC = Contract, Relax, Antagonist Contracts. Now my question for you all is this.. I find Bob Cooley's book a little hard to interpret also. Is he saying that the muscle should be contracted and the stretch resisted against as the joint is taken through one's current full range of motion, and then the only relaxation part that comes into it is when the relaxed flexibility of the stretched muscle is tested afterwards, and gains noted? It seems really hard to take a joint through the whole range of motion whilst keeping the muscles in a hard contraction all the time. Well, I find it hard anyway. Have I interpreted this correctly? If so, does anybody know why (or if) it is better to stretch a muscle this way than to take it to its limit of flexibility (or just below) before starting cycles of contracting/resisting and relaxing into a further stretch? Is it a different form of PNF stretching (e.g. dynamic? or I made this up... CCANC = Contract, Contract, Antagonist Never Contracts??? 😂 I'm a geek!!)
Deirdre · 11/29/2009
I bought the book too, and Deetron-- you're not the only one with a difficult time trying to contract and stretch at the same time! Plus the book doesn't explain how quickly/slowly to move, and I was 1)afraid to go to quickly and 2)therefore moving so slowly I was tiring out before I got many stretches in. However, I mentally changed how I was doing it and I have seem some improvement in my flexibility in just a few days. The concept I got from this book is it is supposed to be a very natural-feeling movement and not painful-- so I thought about the way I stretch when I get up in the morning. I put my arms up in the air and stretch, but I also contract my muscles and move around at the same time. It feels great, but it's not the same "lengthening" stretch we all do during exercises. So I applied that concept to how I was stretching my legs, and not only did it feel really good, it did help me deepen my stretch. (I stood in a wide straddle stance, tightened the back of my legs and actually *yawned* as though I had just woken up, lol, and started to lean forward as I did so.) The only problem is, I'm not sure how to apply this to Cooley's positions, because so many of them just don't feel "natural" and therefor are difficult to do. I was actually discussing this book with my dad, and his doctor has him working on a similar concept to correct body posture-- the whole idea is that it isn't natural for our bodies to sit in one position and hold it while we stretch, so we can see faster and better results by moving and stretching at the same time. As far as PNF stretching, there are two differences I see. One is that you are not doing a full range of movement while you perform either the contractions nor the stretch that follows. The second one, and I hope I remember this correctly from school, is that proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (meaning your perception of your body's position in relation to how your nerves and muscles are working together) works more or less by helping you to relax. We have a hard time going into stretches because manyof us find it difficult to fully relax our muscles. Contracting a muscle as hard as you can, and then relaxing/stretching it immediately after teaches your body and brain the difference between tightening and relaxing, allowing for more relaxed muscles and a deeper stretch. It probably does some other things too, I'm just saying that's what I remember from school 🙂
ottersocks · 11/30/2009
Now my question for you all is this.. I find Bob Cooley's book a little hard to interpret also. Is he saying that the muscle should be contracted and the stretch resisted against as the joint is taken through one's current full range of motion, and then the only relaxation part that comes into it is when the relaxed flexibility of the stretched muscle is tested afterwards, and gains noted? It seems really hard to take a joint through the whole range of motion whilst keeping the muscles in a hard contraction all the time. So, here's what I've gathered from working with my Rolfer (who is the one who taught me this concept and originally lent me Cooley's book.) The contraction/stretch begins when the muscle is at its shortest. So let's take the example of sitting in the straddle position and pulling your face over toward the floor. You begin to resist the legs inward and push them backward down into the floor while you are sitting fully upright. You exhale and continue to resist the legs as you pull yourself over toward the floor. You never stop resisting until you reach your fully stretched position, and then continue to resist as you hold there briefly. You then relax and return everything to its starting/shortest point. There is no time when, per se, "the relaxed flexibility of the stretched muscle is tested afterward and gains noted." When I asked my Rolfer, how do I employ these techniques when I am on the pole and trying to do a jade, for example, her answer was, you don't. You will just find that from having used these techniques you will have gained flexibility and be able to move deeper into positions on the pole. And that is indeed what I have found. You are correct, it is really hard to take a joint through the whole range of motion while keeping the muscles in a hard contraction all the time. The balancing act is figuring out how hard you need to contract. If I contract too hard, my arms can't possibly pull my leg toward my face when lying on my back, for example. Trial and error seems to inform how hard to contract and how hard to pull. But yes, this is very hard work, and it is normal to be tired and sweating from doing it. The concept of contracting the opposite muscle (antagonist) is really not addressed by Cooley from what I can tell. I hope to be able to tell you a lot more after Wednesday, stay tuned! 🤔
deetron · 11/30/2009
Thanks alot guys.. Ottersocks that really explains it for me! So it is exactly what I thought - you are resisting against the stretch the whole time as you take it through your ROM. And that is very hard! It was just extra confused since I bought those two books at the same time - Genius (Cooley), and Stretching Scientifically (Thomas Kurz). You just can't follow the principles of both at the same time because they conflict! Hmm.. I'll try the Bob Cooley method for a while then since I know that I'm at a plateau with the regular PNF stretching anyway. Thanks all, I'm interested to follow everyone's progression with the resistance stretching!!
PoleGrrrrl · 12/2/2009
I also jumped on the Cooley bandwagon and bought the DVD (its difficult to read books when stretching!) I stretched with the DVD after a pole practice one night and I was wrecked by the end - that contract/strengthen stuff really takes it out of you! While I'm following the specific stretches he talks about, I'm also applying the concept to my normal flexibility stretches - i.e. for splits, straddle splits, back, etc, and I must say I have gotten further down in all of them than I've done since I was about 15! I also feel a lot safer when I deepen the stretch, because my muscles are contracted I don't feel like I'm going to pull/tear something. I also find that using the cooley method my warmup stretching actually warms me up (as opposed to just stretching the muscles), and I feel a lot more limber. Then when I start on the pole I feel a lot more confident that I'm not going to injure myself! Finally, I'm actually also feeling a lot more sore the next day due to the contract/strengthening of the muscles, particularly in my legs that wouldn't normally get that much of a workout on the pole (I usually need the gym for them). This is only after a week or so of using it so I'm excited to see the results after a few months 😬
ottersocks · 12/3/2009
I've just posted a blog with my report of my one on one resistance stretching session. 🙂
Poleluver · 12/4/2009
Thanks for all the other questions and answers guys! Now a silly question....for splits measurement, floor to crotch? 🙄
polestar25 · 12/4/2009
there is a thread on that somewhere here and I downloaded an article the splits in 6 weeks that makes a lot of sense to me and I am further down in 3 weeks than all these months of stretching and got no where/ I think I wasn't doing enough stretching. I started in march of 09 trying to get the splits but didn't get serious about it until 2 months ago. What thread/ article did you use? I'm not crazy about the book either.
angygirl · 12/5/2009
Hello, I will find the link for you and email it to you via this site. I also found some great information on stretching at Yogabody.com Now following this advice I am 3-4" off the ground and it has been only 2 weeks. I did buy his pills but I imagine you can get the ingredients in his pills over the counter. But let me tell you. The way he explains flexibililty makes a lot more sense to me and his stretches are easy...zero gravity is what I think he calls them. I am bending deeper now. I can actually put my hands flat on the floor after doing his stretching and I have never in my life been able to put my hands flat on the floor when bending over. I have never been able to do that, I could barely touch my toes even as a kid. So I feel very confident I will have my splits soon. I will get the other article for you. but check out this guys website. The only advice I didn't follow was give up meat 😮)
angygirl · 12/5/2009
http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com/splits.html Ok, here is the link. It may be old news but before I started this program I was a foot off the ground and if you go to the official splits thread you can see I am about 4" off the ground. Also, I have to still get good and warmed up before I can go down in them. I wonder when will I be able to to just slide into them without all the workout and stretching as I see some girls in class do?
ratty · 3/17/2010
Hey angrygirl, I just wanted to thank you for posting this link! I just discovered it about 2 weeks ago and WOW what a difference it is making!!!! FULL splits for the first time ever! And I use same technique for straddle splits, but I use the pole to slide down. I'm not completely there on them but so much closer than I've ever been. The technique makes so much sense and yet I've never been taught it or even heard of it before. I pulled a muscle in my hamstring about 4 months ago, and have lost so much flexibility since then, on both sides. Every time I stretched, it hurt. Using this relaxation method, I can really stretch it out and it doesn't hurt at all, which really proves to me this is a good way to stretch. I really haven't used the isometric contractions that much, because the relaxing and holding has worked so well by itself. So, many thanks for posting this!!! How has it worked for you? http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com/splits.html Ok, here is the link. It may be old news but before I started this program I was a foot off the ground and if you go to the official splits thread you can see I am about 4" off the ground. Also, I have to still get good and warmed up before I can go down in them. I wonder when will I be able to to just slide into them without all the workout and stretching as I see some girls in class do?