stretching for splits

[gmwhite]

Hi, I have had a little lower back problem and had to take a month off of my kung fu training. I started stretching and working on my splits. Since then i have noticed that my lower back feels better. My question is how many times should i work on my splits a day? If there is any other training i can do to help me feel free to coment. Part of my problem is i am getting older that is to say i am 51 yrs. old. I have also informed my instructors that i will start class back up in Jan.

Gregg

[kristcaldwell]

there really is no limit. when i was competing, i would stretch atleast once a day and often 2-3 times (i'm still quite flexible to this day). there are a variety of additional exercises you can do, but it specifically depends if you're working on the side or front splits.

[mickey]

Greetings and welcome to to the forum,

Though I understand you want help with flexibility, I hope you are making sure you strengthen the area of your lower back so that there will not be an injury recurrence due to any kind of movement. Strong abdominal muscles are also important.

Continue to recover well,

mickey

[TenTigers]

go to youtube and find the vid of 8 immortals dao yin (or Tao Yin?) it's a Chinese woman doing about four moving exercises. I incorporated these into my routine and my lower back issue including sciatica have gone. My routine also includes variations of yoga sun salutation and floor stretches.

[maxattck]

Can you post a link tentigers? I didn't find the vid, and my lower back has been a mess latley. I have been missing way to much trainig cause of it

[TenTigers]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CArcy-d5hKg

I also have a series that I do in bed each morning-before my feet hit the floor:
1)Bring both knees to chest and hold-you can grab around the knees, and also you can grab behind.
Some say it takes pressure off the knees, but I do it to get an extra stretch from my lower back.
2) Single knee to chest-bring one knee to chest and hold, then bring it across your body for a spinal twist. I often get a good 'release,' from this.
3) Straight single leg stretch-bring your leg straight up and pull and hold, then again, bring it across for the spinal twist(keeping it straight) grasp the foot and you will feel the tendon/nerve stretch.
4) Pelvis thrust/bridge- press the pelvis towards the ceiling, while squeezing the glutes. Do several reps of this. squeez and hold.
5) Lying Butterfly stretch- I add this just to help loosen up my hips. Not really for the back.

In the shower, I run the hot water on my back. I use a body wash that has moisturizer in it, so it's pretty slippery-I use my knuckles to dig in and rub the muscles along the sides of my lower spine.
Then I cross the right foot over my left, and reach my right arm up and over for a stretch down the entire side of my back and legs-repeat opposite side.
If you have the room, this is cool-with the hot water running on your back, do a seven star stance,
fold your arms, and place them on your forward thigh, and slowly bring it down the leg. I add a twist at the end as well.
When I dry myself off, I wrap the towel around my waist-this gives me a little more friction/grab. And placing my palm on my sacrum(either both palms, or one on the sacrum, the other on my lower ab) and sort of tuck my sacrum while pressing the back with my palm. I often get a good 'release' from this.

[TenTigers]

The above "Bed Stretching routine" is added also as part of my floor stretching routine.

[Brule]

Friggin hippies and your 'releases' and 'twists'. At least you smell nice in the morning :p

[TenTigers]

Friggin hippies and your 'releases' and 'twists'. At least you smell nice in the morning :p
ok, "pop."

better?:p

[TenTigers]

oh yeah, next time you buy a car, spend the extra dough and get those warmers in the seat. After shuai jiao, I pop a motrin and drive home with the seat nice and hot on my back and hamstrings. I usually can get up the stairs before I collapse in bed after that.
I have that sucker on all the time.

[mickey]

Greetings,

With a hyperextension bench, you can use it twice a week and feel fantastic. TenTigers, I suggest you give one a try before you buy one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx0jZBEmZcE



mickey

[maxattck]

Thanks ten tigers, much appreciated. I am going to give your routine a try especially the morning stuff. Lol! I thought I was the only one who used heated seats year round, my wife thinks I am nuts using them in the summer

[taai gihk yahn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CArcy-d5hKg
very nice; more similar to the stuff I learned than most of what i see out there


I also have a series that I do in bed each morning-before my feet hit the floor:
just a few comments / addendums, as it's all great stuff u r describing, and if more people did this in the AM they'd b a lot happier! (and when I say "you" below, I mean people in general, not necessarily "you" specifically -like as in "you people" - well, u know what I mean...)


1)Bring both knees to chest and hold-you can grab around the knees, and also you can grab behind.
Some say it takes pressure off the knees, but I do it to get an extra stretch from my lower back.
the amount of pressure u exert on the knees is negligable - the only people it wud make a difference for is someone who has like meniscal impingement or mayb marked degeneration of the cartilage;


2) Single knee to chest-bring one knee to chest and hold, then bring it across your body for a spinal twist. I often get a good 'release,' from this.
just for ****s and giggles, test both sides sum morning, seeing which side it's easier to go with and the do the stretch on that side first - you'll find that the second side is much easier afterwards (you can also try the inverse - do the side that's harder, but u prob won't c as much of an improvement); u can do this w both the straight knee to chest and the subsequent twist; u can also add a little contract-relax at the end of the range;


3) Straight single leg stretch-bring your leg straight up and pull and hold, then again, bring it across for the spinal twist(keeping it straight) grasp the foot and you will feel the tendon/nerve stretch.
whn u do the SLR u r certainly "mobilizing" sciatic nerve (u can verify this by doing the SLR w the toes pointed, then at the end of the range dorsiflex the ankle / foot, and u will feel the added neural tension - do the foot piece repeatedly until that neural "pull" goes away to mobilize the nerve fully); however it's probably more of a piriformis / iliotibial band stretch when u do the twist part; don't know about "stretching' the tendon, tendons don't really gain length, altho they do gain elasticity, but that's more due to repeated loading a la plyometric type stuff (basicaly improves their ability to store and release energy)


4) Pelvis thrust/bridge- press the pelvis towards the ceiling, while squeezing the glutes. Do several reps of this. squeez and hold.
great one to do - turns off hypertonic psoas muscles, a major cause of low back dysfunction; can also do lying in prone, just doing a butt squeeze if sumone can't tolerate bridging; u can also try doing one side or the other (raising one hip up at a time, like the "bump" in BJJ)- again, doing the easier side first, then going back and doing both;


5) Lying Butterfly stretch- I add this just to help loosen up my hips. Not really for the back.
well, the hip flexors (psoas) attach to the lumbar spine, and all the pelvic muscles influence low back, so this actually is a great way to help the lumbars without working it directly; so in a way it is for the back :)


And placing my palm on my sacrum(either both palms, or one on the sacrum, the other on my lower ab) and sort of tuck my sacrum while pressing the back with my palm. I often get a good 'release' from this.
if it's what I think you are talking about, this can also be done nicely while lying down w a folded up dish towel placed on the lower part of the sacrum; but also sound good the way u r doing it - it's actually different whn u stand vs lying not in terms of the movement, but the muscle activity, so both can b useful depending;

another good AM thing to do for overall flexibility, as long as it's controled and doesn't cause pain, is single leg squats - now, I am not talking about going all the way down, I mean evn just doing a few degrees of lowering can be very helpful for loostening up a tight low back in the morning; similarly, walking up / down stairs in teh AM can give a very similar effect - basicaly, when u sleep, typically the muscles that get tight are flexors like psoas (hip) and lumbar erector spinae (back extensors) - by firing up the anti-gravity extensors (quads, glutes, transversus abdominus), u in effect turn off these hypertonic muscles that have been "on" all night; again, everyone is different, it's not one size fits all...


The above "Bed Stretching routine" is added also as part of my floor stretching routine.
great routine - thx for posting it; BTW, next time I see you, remind me to show you the Iyengar AM yoga "bed" routine that I learned from my wife - it's very similar to what you are doing already, but there are a few additional movements that I think you would be interested in seeing;

[gmwhite]

Thank you all i will try some of the excerises in the mornings and let you all know how things go.

Gregg