Suggested Movements
The following is a suggested session sequence with the assumption that it does not involve any other sport specific training. It is not to be regarded as rigid and fixed but purely to illustrate the type of work that should be involved in stretching.
Begin with a general warm up. Dynamic leg exercises would suffice. Star jumps, stride jumps and jump leg crossing are all related. They are not ballistic since the muscles are not at full length. They are, however, similar to isometric type stretches but held only momentarily before pushing off vigorously. It is explosive muscular work.
Star jumps use contractions of the abductors to take the legs outwards and stretch the adductor muscles. The adductors are then contracted forcefully to return the legs to the centre. Stride jumps if used at a good length work the hamstrings quite hard and the hip flexors and hip extensors which control the amount of movement of the legs forwards and backwards. Jump leg-crossing from side to side involves the sartorious muscle as well as contractions of the adductors which are more forceful and greater range of movement than with standard star jumps.
Move on to front leg raising exercise, but make sure you do it correctly with the knee locked out and forward, upward and outward. Without the outward motion then the adductors are not implicated. It is these very muscles that the exercise is designed to work and stretch. The natural tendency is for the leg to move inwards as that is exactly what the adductor muscles do. The stretch is against this natural tendency. The abductors on the standing leg contract and pull the pelvis level. If this did not happen then the foot could not clear the ground as the pelvis would drop. Move straight on to leg swings both inwards and outwards making sure you reach the full range of motion expected.
You can now do some isometric stretches if no other training session is planned and will probably involve side and front splits. Use your body weight to load the muscles and when at full stretch hold this position for 3 seconds. Use an isometric contraction of the stretched muscle and hold for another 3 seconds then adjust the physical length of the stretch, hold for 3 seconds and then contract for 3 seconds. Adjust and repeat. When you have reached your absolute maximum stretch distance, hold and contract for anything between 15-30 seconds, the longer the better. You will not be able to properly or safely train later this day. However, be assured that not only will the stretch be successful, but also the muscle strength will be increased.
The last phase of stretching should involve relaxed static passive stretching. This type of stretching does not provide such dramatic results as the isometric stretching, but can be done at any time and as often as you like. It is an acquired skill to be able to do these stretches successfully. Nearly always, untrained people will have many muscles in a state of tension where none should be. It really is essential to mentally review the status of a given muscle and be knowledgeable enough to know whether it should be relaxed or tensed. This comes with time and training. Emotional states interfere with muscle tonus and yogi use stretching as an indicator to mental relaxation. If anxious then relaxation is very difficult, if at all, possible.
It is interesting to note that no muscles or ligaments or tendons connect the left leg to the right leg. When sitting down with one leg to the front the other leg can be quite easily placed in a side split (perpendicular) position. The legs can be switched around also without any problem. But to place both legs into the side split position is next to impossible because involuntary contraction of the adductor muscles prevents this situation occurring. Imagine walking along the street without this reflexive control. Well, you wouldn't be able to walk - your legs would splay outward into the splits! This is the sort of conscious control you need to be able to use in order to relax muscles at will. You will still be able to walk correctly but you will also be able to do the splits.
So, the type of stretches will involve side and front splits but taking the body weight onto the arms so ensuring no loading is placed upon the leg/hip muscles. This would be an isometric stretch. Sitting down with both legs spread out and taking the chin down to the knee alternating left/right. In the same position the trunk can be stretched (obliques) by placing the arms behind the neck and taking the elbow directly down to one then the other side. Holding the position changes the passive stretch into an active stretch by contracting one muscle while relaxing the other. This contraction is isometric.
Be clear about the difference between an isometric stretch and isometric contraction. They are totally opposite in meaning in that the contraction shortens the muscle and the stretch is contracted, but at full or nearly full length. The soles of the feet placed together and pulled up into the groin ensures that the adductors and abductors are going to be worked. But only properly if the abductors do the work. Use a forced muscle contraction to pull the knees down and so relax the adductors. This is a classic case of an active static stretch using an isometric contraction to perform. If the elbows are used to push the knees down then the stretching potential is ruined.
Rolling onto the back with one leg placed over the shoulder and the other kept with the back of the knee in contact with the floor allows the greatest angle between the legs to be achieved. This is almost identical to the front split position but with no body weight and consequently not isometric. The same can be said for when the legs are both taken out to the side. It is an inverted side split position without body weight. Much care is needed with all passive stretches to ensure that no tension is introduced. When you can relax a muscle properly it will "creep" out to a better length. The key to stretching is to establish the new length as the natural resting length. In the full version I go into great detail as to how muscle stretches and contracts and the reasons for tension. For now you must accept that the contractile proteins within muscle move essentially without friction and generate no tension in so doing. Stretching connective tissue protein causes tension.
Do not neglect the shoulders and the musculature in that area. There are several muscles holding the humerus up in the shoulder since there is no ball and socket joint like in the hip. This is the reason why shoulder dislocation (subluxation) happens relatively easily. Several muscles are involved also in moving the arm forward or backwards and elevating the arm up or moving down. The whole set is involved in rotation around the shoulder joint. Flexibility is necessary in this area for fast movement may also involve the middle back region and chest (punching). Experiment with movement in different directions. If it is uncomfortable then work on this movement. Increase the range of movement. It will make you a more efficient human machine.
Begin with a general warm up. Dynamic leg exercises would suffice. Star jumps, stride jumps and jump leg crossing are all related. They are not ballistic since the muscles are not at full length. They are, however, similar to isometric type stretches but held only momentarily before pushing off vigorously. It is explosive muscular work.
Star jumps use contractions of the abductors to take the legs outwards and stretch the adductor muscles. The adductors are then contracted forcefully to return the legs to the centre. Stride jumps if used at a good length work the hamstrings quite hard and the hip flexors and hip extensors which control the amount of movement of the legs forwards and backwards. Jump leg-crossing from side to side involves the sartorious muscle as well as contractions of the adductors which are more forceful and greater range of movement than with standard star jumps.
Move on to front leg raising exercise, but make sure you do it correctly with the knee locked out and forward, upward and outward. Without the outward motion then the adductors are not implicated. It is these very muscles that the exercise is designed to work and stretch. The natural tendency is for the leg to move inwards as that is exactly what the adductor muscles do. The stretch is against this natural tendency. The abductors on the standing leg contract and pull the pelvis level. If this did not happen then the foot could not clear the ground as the pelvis would drop. Move straight on to leg swings both inwards and outwards making sure you reach the full range of motion expected.
You can now do some isometric stretches if no other training session is planned and will probably involve side and front splits. Use your body weight to load the muscles and when at full stretch hold this position for 3 seconds. Use an isometric contraction of the stretched muscle and hold for another 3 seconds then adjust the physical length of the stretch, hold for 3 seconds and then contract for 3 seconds. Adjust and repeat. When you have reached your absolute maximum stretch distance, hold and contract for anything between 15-30 seconds, the longer the better. You will not be able to properly or safely train later this day. However, be assured that not only will the stretch be successful, but also the muscle strength will be increased.
The last phase of stretching should involve relaxed static passive stretching. This type of stretching does not provide such dramatic results as the isometric stretching, but can be done at any time and as often as you like. It is an acquired skill to be able to do these stretches successfully. Nearly always, untrained people will have many muscles in a state of tension where none should be. It really is essential to mentally review the status of a given muscle and be knowledgeable enough to know whether it should be relaxed or tensed. This comes with time and training. Emotional states interfere with muscle tonus and yogi use stretching as an indicator to mental relaxation. If anxious then relaxation is very difficult, if at all, possible.
It is interesting to note that no muscles or ligaments or tendons connect the left leg to the right leg. When sitting down with one leg to the front the other leg can be quite easily placed in a side split (perpendicular) position. The legs can be switched around also without any problem. But to place both legs into the side split position is next to impossible because involuntary contraction of the adductor muscles prevents this situation occurring. Imagine walking along the street without this reflexive control. Well, you wouldn't be able to walk - your legs would splay outward into the splits! This is the sort of conscious control you need to be able to use in order to relax muscles at will. You will still be able to walk correctly but you will also be able to do the splits.
So, the type of stretches will involve side and front splits but taking the body weight onto the arms so ensuring no loading is placed upon the leg/hip muscles. This would be an isometric stretch. Sitting down with both legs spread out and taking the chin down to the knee alternating left/right. In the same position the trunk can be stretched (obliques) by placing the arms behind the neck and taking the elbow directly down to one then the other side. Holding the position changes the passive stretch into an active stretch by contracting one muscle while relaxing the other. This contraction is isometric.
Be clear about the difference between an isometric stretch and isometric contraction. They are totally opposite in meaning in that the contraction shortens the muscle and the stretch is contracted, but at full or nearly full length. The soles of the feet placed together and pulled up into the groin ensures that the adductors and abductors are going to be worked. But only properly if the abductors do the work. Use a forced muscle contraction to pull the knees down and so relax the adductors. This is a classic case of an active static stretch using an isometric contraction to perform. If the elbows are used to push the knees down then the stretching potential is ruined.
Rolling onto the back with one leg placed over the shoulder and the other kept with the back of the knee in contact with the floor allows the greatest angle between the legs to be achieved. This is almost identical to the front split position but with no body weight and consequently not isometric. The same can be said for when the legs are both taken out to the side. It is an inverted side split position without body weight. Much care is needed with all passive stretches to ensure that no tension is introduced. When you can relax a muscle properly it will "creep" out to a better length. The key to stretching is to establish the new length as the natural resting length. In the full version I go into great detail as to how muscle stretches and contracts and the reasons for tension. For now you must accept that the contractile proteins within muscle move essentially without friction and generate no tension in so doing. Stretching connective tissue protein causes tension.
Do not neglect the shoulders and the musculature in that area. There are several muscles holding the humerus up in the shoulder since there is no ball and socket joint like in the hip. This is the reason why shoulder dislocation (subluxation) happens relatively easily. Several muscles are involved also in moving the arm forward or backwards and elevating the arm up or moving down. The whole set is involved in rotation around the shoulder joint. Flexibility is necessary in this area for fast movement may also involve the middle back region and chest (punching). Experiment with movement in different directions. If it is uncomfortable then work on this movement. Increase the range of movement. It will make you a more efficient human machine.
posted by Louis Brothnias @ 12:45 PM
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