Cold limbering?

[Mikkel Ravn]

Hi!

 

So Kit suggests limbering throughout the week to consolidate flexibility gains from the 'hard' stretching sessions - which in my case would be the F1/H1 sessions.

 

Question 1:

Is it a good idea to do limbering throughout the day in a cold, i.e. non-warmed up, state? It would be great if the body could be taught to access near-end-ROM 'on demand', instead of having to go through elaborate warmups (which I sort of do on F1/H1 days). I know that DOMS from the hard stretching sessions will limit how much rom can be accessed, but that's not the point - The point is to get the body used to accessing more ROM more frequently, without going through the motions of changing clothes, preparing the workout etc.

 

I was thinking of chaining together 5-8 key stretches that give the most bang for the buck, such as standing pike stretch, standing back flexion with locked knees etc. Then the sequence could be done three times in a row, with the first round acting as a super basic warmup for the remaining rounds. Maximum time consumption would be 6-8 minutes.

 

Question 2:

Which stretches would be the most relevant to include? The major groups I currently need to address are hamstrings (for improved pike), hip flexors (for improved PPT), abs (for back flexion) and obliques (for side lever flexion). Will probably also include windmills to get some spinal rotation in there. Don't know if I should incorporate shoulder stretches, as they seems to get worked quite throughly by H1, and they take longer to recover. 

 

[Joshua Slocum]

1: No, only limber when warm. This is mostly a safety issue; colder tissue is more likely to be damaged while limbering.

 

2: It sounds like you already know what you need. Select a handful of exercises where you feel a good stretch in your tightest areas. Some shoulder limbering is a good idea; this is distinct from the mobility work done in H1.