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Started by jwalker497, May 2, 2013 · 14 Replies · 669 Views
In another thread this article was posted
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/stretching_doesnt_work
I found it pretty interesting, especially the video. I have terrible flexibility and stretching has never seemed to help
I was wondering what ways, methods or workouts have ypu used to increase your ROM. I am looking for some kind of routine that i can do to work on these issue. Also not just concerned with one body part but all body parts
Flexibility is like strength: it takes dedication and hard work. Ronnie Coleman is famous for saying "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but nobody wants to lift no heavy a** weights". A similar phrase is appropriate here. Everybody wants to have good flexibility, but nobodys want to do no heavy a** stretching. It's amazing how weightlifters, a population of people who love to 'feel the burn' when they're working out, are complete wusses when it comes to stretching.
Passive stretching works. Hold an intense pike stretch for 3 minutes a day, every day, for a year, and you'll be able to not just touch your toes, but even go further and put your feet on your palms. PNF stretching, characterized by the contract-release method, is a very effective augmentation to static stretching. If you're looking to improve your flexibility, I recommend you look into it.
Edit: and of course, for mobility, F1+H1 can't be beat.
Further edit: in strength training there is "good pain" and "bad pain"; stretching is no different. Learning to tell the difference is an important skill.
jwalker497 said:(...) stretching has never seemed to help (...)
(...) I am looking for some kind of routine that i can do to work on these issue. (...)
Any stretch will work as long as it is done prudently and consistently.
Fact is you have not put in the time to see results. 
Having spent *years* trying to improve my flexibility I understand completely the feeling of it being pointless. All I can say is when the muscles are fighting each other due to various imbalances/injuries/etc. that the progress isn't going to happen. All of the consistent stretching in the world is useless when that is the case. That has been my experience at any rate.
Since I began integrating stuff from Kit Laughlin's "Overcoming Neck and Back Pain" book I have finally started to see some progress and that has been amplified even further with integrating things from MWOD and Kelly Starrett's book "Becoming a Supple Leopard". Stretches are now starting to be effective, but for restoring mobility they are still a far cry from the effectiveness of resolving those imbalances I referred to.
I think stretches are necessary to achieve the higher leave of ROM necessary for gymnastics, but having basic ranges of motion is more a function of the body being in balance. Some of that is stretching, but strength training, band distractions, SMR techniques, and changes to daily routines all play a major part.
It ain't simple though, that is for sure.
- Chris
That article struck a cord with me and I also found that the test did improve my ROM as well. So I was thinking I wonder if there a bunch of other exercises or moves instead of stretches to help counter some of the tightness and lack of ROM i have. I wonder how I became so inflexible in the first time. I've been active swimming running lifting for years you think that would help not make it worse.
Hari_Seldon said:Flexibility is like strength: it takes dedication and hard work. Ronnie Coleman is famous for saying "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but nobody wants to lift no heavy a** weights". A similar phrase is appropriate here. Everybody wants to have good flexibility, but nobodys want to do no heavy a** stretching. It's amazing how weightlifters, a population of people who love to 'feel the burn' when they're working out, are complete wusses when it comes to stretching.
Passive stretching works. Hold an intense pike stretch for 3 minutes a day, every day, for a year, and you'll be able to not just touch your toes, but even go further and put your feet on your palms. PNF stretching, characterized by the contract-release method, is a very effective augmentation to static stretching. If you're looking to improve your flexibility, I recommend you look into it.
Edit: and of course, for mobility, F1+H1 can't be beat.
Further edit: in strength training there is "good pain" and "bad pain"; stretching is no different. Learning to tell the difference is an important skill.
When it comes to stretching would the muscles need rest the same way as when you do strength work? I just got to touching my toes by grabbing onto a table leg, but was only doing this 2-3 times a week. I was doing a 1 minute stretch for each leg and then both legs.
Kit Laughlin's work is the best general stretching material available.
Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer
jwalker497 said:That article struck a cord with me and I also found that the test did improve my ROM as well. So I was thinking I wonder if there a bunch of other exercises or moves instead of stretches to help counter some of the tightness and lack of ROM i have. I wonder how I became so inflexible in the first time. I've been active swimming running lifting for years you think that would help not make it worse.
The mobility exercises in F1/H1 perform exactly this function. If you want *even more*, I think MobilityWOD should have some good ones.
prinny said:When it comes to stretching would the muscles need rest the same way as when you do strength work? I just got to touching my toes by grabbing onto a table leg, but was only doing this 2-3 times a week. I was doing a 1 minute stretch for each leg and then both legs.
I couldn't give you a physiologically concrete answer. I do find this to be the case for myself. I prefer to stretch heavily when I feel supple, and then go light when I'm sore from previous sessions. On the other hand, some people have a "more pain=more gain" mentality when it comes to stretching, and it certainly seems to work on some.
Hari_Seldon said:
I couldn't give you a physiologically concrete answer. I do find this to be the case for myself. I prefer to stretch heavily when I feel supple, and then go light when I'm sore from previous sessions.
This is and has always been my approach. A big breakthrough for me was prioritising dynamic stretches first thing before daily martial arts practise; static stretching afterwards was a walk in the park and I was able to make fast and lasting flexibiity gains.
Progress for me requires around 3 sessions hard stretching a week, but I can maintain my level on 1-2 a week or a little less. More has never seemed to be better, 3 is the magic number for me.
I am just getting to grips with Kit Laughlin's book now. It's fantastic for details so far.
I came across this for a routine from Dean Somerset, the same guy int he article I posted above. Seems like a good approach, thoughts?
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/a_stretch_routine_thats_actually_doable
I will look into Kit but the books avail are used so I am trying to find where I can buy one.
jwalker497 said:I came across this for a routine from Dean Somerset, the same guy int he article I posted above. Seems like a good approach, thoughts?
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/a_stretch_routine_thats_actually_doable
I will look into Kit but the books avail are used so I am trying to find where I can buy one.
Looks like a decent approach. Foam rolling is always an excellent idea. Dynamic stretching before working out is a good idea. And those mobility drills seem pretty good.
Kit's printed materials are unfortunately very difficult to come by out of Austrailia. It's about $100 USD for his book when you factor in shipping from there 
However, you can download 'sample' packs from his website: http://pandf.com.au/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=40 for cheap. These include instructions for how to do C-R stretching, which is itself invaluable. His youtube channel also has tons of free material on stretching: http://www.youtube.com/user/KitLaughlin/videos?view=0
By a fortunate coincidence, I bought Kit's book a few years ago when it was on the shelves of bookstores here in the uk
Less fortunately, it had sat there - briefly read and then neglected - until Kit's work began to gather steam on this site and I looked into it again
For those that have the book and use the material - are you following through the 15 lessons as written, or are you using the material in your own way?
Personally i am comfortable with the final series of stretches already, so they are thrbbulk of my stretch sessions, and i pick out supplementary stretches as appropriate. There's a lot of amazingly effective material in there though; following it as written in lesson format is an excellent idea.
By the way, I just received Kit Laughlin's DVD update of Stretching and Flexibility. I can only recommend it to everyone, the new stretches are even better than those in the book.
Hari_Seldon said:The mobility exercises in F1/H1 perform exactly this function. If you want *even more*, I think MobilityWOD should have some good ones.
I couldn't give you a physiologically concrete answer. I do find this to be the case for myself. I prefer to stretch heavily when I feel supple, and then go light when I'm sore from previous sessions. On the other hand, some people have a "more pain=more gain" mentality when it comes to stretching, and it certainly seems to work on some.
Physiologically, you're doing a lot of eccentric damage during hard sessions, and you have to recover from it just like you have to recover from a hard workout.
More pain = more gain usually works on the very young, when it works at all. Once you get to my age (I hate saying that lol), at 31, that's not quite the case