ow, stretching hurts :(

[respectred]

hi there.
i'm 16 (don't know if age matters, but what the hell) and i've been taking kung fu for about a year now. i never really had this problem until a month ago, mainly because i switched to a style that i need to be real flexible for, shaolin :). anyways, the problem is that i'm sore every single day of the week, and there's only 3 days i go. usually, once you start going, you're not sore on your off days, but for some odd reason, i am. like it's really bad sore. i try to make it a point to train on the off days but sometimes i just can't because i think of how much pain i have to go through with stretching! it's horrible!! anyway, does this happen to everybody? is it that i started at a late age or something and i'm not meant to be as flexible as i am (i think i'm pretty flexible for not having done too much physical activity my entire life before starting kung fu...)? also, why do i have to stretch so much before i start class/practice? how come i'm like always stiff!? like it takes me a pretty long time to get...un-stuff. i dunno, this is really confusing, and really painful, and any information would be greatly appreciated! :)

thanks a lot

-matt

[Sharky]

It shouldn't hurt. It shouldn't hurt while you are doing it, let alone days later - you sjould feel BETTER because of it.

Go gentler, relax, and just ease into it. It shouldn't hurt. None of jis van damme pulling legs apart with rope crap, you'll get better and quicker and safer results if you go slow and take it easy. Remember to relax the antagonising or opposite muscle(s) when you are stretching. Don't let anyone else control how far you go, they aren't you, and you know how it feels, they don't.

Take it easy, cheers.

Edd

[red_fists]

Check with your Sifu.

Your stretching exercises might be done wrong.
You might try to force the stretching exercises and thus damaging your ligaments & tendons.

One Guy I once met told me that stretching is not really about lenghtening the tendons, but rather about learning to relax muscles and similar.

There is a rare chance that your Body is not capable of splits, rare but not unheard off. For tbis best consult a Doctor.

Hope this helps.

[Cyborg]

Don't force the stretch. You can tear muscle and tendon that way. Get your body warm and keep it warm while you stretch. And if you can afford it get Pavels book "Relax into Stretch". $35 at www.dragondoor.com

[respectred]

hmm, well i see you're all for "relaxing into the stretch" but can you actually get more flexible that way? that's why i stretch so hard, b/c i want to be like really flexible and i couldn't imagine that taking it slow and relaxing into a stretch could do that for me...and by relaxing into a stretch, do you mean not stretching as far as i usually do and kind of slack on the stretching so i'm not in pain? or do you mean just stretch real slow and kind of ease into it but go as far as i can?

:\

-matt

[red_fists]

respectred.

Becoming flexible and being able to stretch well takes a fair time of training.
There are no shortcuts to do this.
Little by little goes a long way, maybe it will take you 1 yr to get there.

Best is stretch a little here and there rather than going for a full-on stretch program.

With being stuck in the office, flexilibity goes out the window quickly.
So I do a bit of a leg stretch while waiting for the elevator and so on.

The main cause of inflexibility is being tense & stiff, hence you need to relax.

[red_fists]

respectred.

It works this way, and so do most things in life.

The more you force the stretch the more tense you will be physical & mental and thus you will stiffen up.

In short you are fighting with yourself = no win situation.

It is a common problem with beginning MA Students the try so hard to be good and learn fast that they are actually slowing their own progress.
Just my 2 Yen worth.

[respectred]

hmm...so i guess the concept of "no pain no gain" that i've been sticking too all this time has just ended up putting me in pain with no gain :(

well, i think i've got that down so far...
thanks a lot, the help is great :) but..

i've heard that massaging your muscles before/during stretching helps warm you up a bit, is this true? if so are there any books or online references for massaging b/c i haven't any experience with that.

what i meant in my last post is that if i "force" myself to stretch hard (just for example) i can wrap my palms around my feet and have my elbows unlocked (whatever kind of stretch, just use that for reference :)), but if i "relax" into my stretch should i still take my time and go as far as i can, maybe reaching the same distance as if i forced it? is that possible or do i just have to start my stretching regime all over and only go down til i feel a bit of tension then stop however far i am and not push any ****her?

-matt

[red_fists]

The way I was taught.

Begin stretch.

Stretch till you feel the pull, exhale this usually allows you to go a bit further.

Take a deep breath and hold it for about 20 seconds, exhale slowly and completely. Take Breath again, hold and exhale.

End stretch.

Work the muscles loose by walking a bit, and doing a squat or two.

You should be able to continue from where you are now.

But than there are many methods of getting there.

[red_fists]

Forgot one thing.

You can go for the "No Pain, No Gain" routine, but be aware that if you do it wrong you will suffer for it later on in life.

[Jamesbond_007]

lack of flexiblity is also due to weak muscles. Try strengthing your muscles. You should also try isometric stretches 2-3 times a week. This will help increase flexiblity a lot. But listen to what everyone else has said. Take is slow and a easy. If you push to hard and are sore the next day you have actualy torn the muscle and it will heal tighter than it was before.

[Brian_CA]

Respectred,

When you stretch do you feel sharp fiery pain? If so, then BACK OFF!! If you want to get flexible, you must be consistant in you stretching routine. At least 3x a week for 2-6 months to see some kind of improvement. Your age also may be a factor. Until you stop growing your body will be slightly out of proportion. This can affect your training, It is just nature.


I am a certified Yoga instructor that works in fitness industy and I see this issue amoung even near pro level atheletes. To help with the soreness take HOT epson salt baths after you work out. Remember that less is more when you stretch. Think about stretching without straining. Go slow and most of all BREATH AND FOCUS ON YOUR ALIGNMENT!

good luck,

Brian
San Francisco, CA

[Arhat of Fury]

respectred,
go to www.shaolinwolf.com and look into the shaolintraing part. There is an article on stretching that is pretty good. I have put it to the test(the pricncipals anyway) and it worked for me.

Hope that helps,

Amitoufu,

AOF

[fa_jing]

Remember to warm up BEFORE you stretch. Do one hundred jumping jacks. Or practice your horse first.

Are you doing leg swings? This is harder impact streching. Might want to be careful with these.

BTW, look at Yoga practicioners, completely flexible but only through low-impact streching. I have found Yoga exercises such as the Sun Salutation extremely beneficial to my looseness.

-FJ

[IronFist]

red_fists, about relaxing the muscles and not lengthening the tendons, I know Pavel says it. Probably some other people do, too.

Cyborg, good book recommendation :)

respectred, go slowly. Here is a stretch you can do at night while you atch tv. Get on the floor with your legs spread out in front of you (probably like how you warm up in class). Go as wide as you can until it hurts. Now, once there, just sit there for 5-10 minutes as you watch tv. If you want to can flex your leg muscles a bit too, as long as you keep them spread. Now, once the tension goes away, spread them another inch or 2 apart until you feel the tension come back (just a little, nothing painful), and hold them there again for another 10 minutes or so. Finally, once the tension goes away (assuming it does, eventually), push them just a little ****her apart and then hold it there for another 10 minutes.

If you do that a few nights a week it should help. Also, don't do this before a workout, because you might be too stretchy and lose some of your muscles elasticity immediately afterwards (don't worry it's not permanent). But good times to do this would be either after a kung fu class when you come home, (after you eat and stuff, of course) or on days when you don't have class.

Remember, with stretching, if it hurts a lot, you're doing it wrong.

Good luck, and get the book Cyborg mentioned.

IronFist

[yenhoi]

Can someone elaborate?

I am familiar with "Isometrics" so, would this be a normal stretch and then flex the muscle for the duration?

[Jamesbond_007]

the way to do Isometrics is to get into the stretched postion, flex your muslces of 7-10 sec, relax, stretch a little more, and then flex again. Say you want to do the side splits. Warm up first, then get into the splits at a point where you are not stretching to much, then tense your inner tigh muslces like you are trying to pinch to ground or pull yourself up from the splits. To this for about 7-10 seconds. Relax and increase your stretch. Hold this for about 2-3 seconds and then tense your muscles again for 7-10 seconds. Relax and increase your stretch a little and then tense one more time. After the last tense relax and hold the stretch for about 10-20 seconds and then using you leg muscles pull yourself up out of the stretch. Repeat this 3 times and don't do it more than 3 times a week with aleast a 48 hours rest period in between. Do relaxed stretches after. The best time to do isometric stretches is after a leg work out. Also if you go to the gym try using the hip abductor machine that pulls your legs appart. Use a comfortable weigth and concentrate on not get the maximine stretch but to pull your legs apart and then pull them back together to strengthen your inner tigh muscles in a longgated postion. If you do this regulary and do static stretches you should have no problem getting into the splits in 2-3 months. But don't over do it. If you feel sore after a stretching session you cause muscle damage and are actully decreaing flexiblity.

[yenhoi]

Cool, thanks.

[Cyborg]

Just thought of one more thing. When you stretch the legs by bending over forwards do not raise yourself by standing up with a curved back. Stand up like you're doing squats, that is bend the legs until the back is straight and then stand up. Otherwise you can put too much stress on the spine and it will slide right out of alignment.

Have fun!