Increasing Back Flexibility

[Kairo]

any ideas?
k.

[reeve80]

I think you can just do the bridge and hold it for as long as you can. So, lay on your back, then place your palms behing your head, flat on the floor with your fingers facing inward. Then put your feet flat on the floor and push up with your arms and legs so the middle of you body goes up. You should be creating an arc with your body.

[Brian_CA]

Adopt a regular yoga practice in addition to your martial practice.

Brian
San Francisco,CA

[DrunkenMonkey]

Get on your stomach, put your arms directly down on the floor and push up, stretching your stomach while pushing your lower back to the ground. stretches stomach muscles, back.

Bridge is good

An Art is any form of expression or task that has been honed to near perfection.

[Brian_CA]

I am going to have to respectively disagree with the bridge or iron bridge for beginners. It places to much pressure in the spine for those not ready for it. It is an intermedite posture only to be done after basic strength and flexiblity has been developed in the back, chest, abdomen and hips.

There are a bunch of other exercises that are more suited for people wishing to increase flexiblity in the back without blowing out the spine after a couple of years.

Hope this helps.

Brian
San Francisco, CA

[Nexus]

Dancing. And its fun!

- Nexus

<font size="1">"Time, space, the whole universe - just an illusion! Often said, philosophically verifiable, even scientifically explainable. It's the <font color="blue">'just'</font> which makes the honest mind go crazy and the <font color="blue">ego</font> go berserk." - Hans Taeger</font>

[IronFist]

Guys, doing the thing where you lay on your stomach and push up, that doesn't stretch the back, moves the muscles through a concentric motion (the same as contracting them). To stretch the muscles of the lower back, you need to elongate them. For example, standing and bending forward and trying to put your nose on your knees. While that's bad for 99% of people who do it wrong, it is what a hamstring/lower back stretch feels like.

Do both though, because the stomach thing feels good on your back :)

Iron

[Kumkuat]

Like what Ironfist hinted at, that standing toe touch or whatever can be bad for your back. But some "safe" ones are where you lie down on your back and bring your knees to your chest. You can also attempt to do those toe touches with your back straight (not bowed like 99% people do it) too which makes them mostly a hamstring stretch, and that's okay because flexible hams somehow relates to the back.

[Brian_CA]

Forward bends do stretch the lower back as well as the hamstrings. For a more effective forward bend try this.

1. Stand with your feet togather, bring your arms over your head sideways,palms togather, thumbs firmly crossed. Go down touch the floor bending the knees if necessary.

2. Walk in place moving the hips only, feet flat on the floor.

3. Bend your knees, Reach back, grab just below your ankles, finger inbetween your heels, thumbs wrapped around the outside of the heels. DO NOT STEP ON YOUR FINGERS AND KEEP A FIRM GRIP.

4. Squeeze your elbow behind your legs, try to touch them behind the legs. Knees should also be squeezed to togather.

5. look towards feet and think about straighting you back as lift your hips and GENTLY push your knees back.

IMPORTANT! KEEP YOU ELBOW BEHIND YOUR LEGS! EVEN IF YOUR KNEES STAY BENT.

6. Hold posture for 5-6 long breathes.

Try this type of forward bend 2 a day for 2 months and see if you notice any differance.

Good luck!

Brian
San Francisco, CA

[IronFist]

Kairo, even though we disagree about everything, because you refuse to believe that protein builds muscle, I am going to recommend an excellent book to you.

"Relax Into Stretch" by Pavel Tsatsouline. ISBN 0938045 28 8. It's the single best book on stretching I've ever seen.

Iron

[Kumkuat]

How's Beyond Stretching? I want to get one of those books, but which is better?

[ElPietro]

Work your abs. If you work your abs you will 1)Have stronger abs 2) Have much better support for your back 3)be stretching your back at the same time increasing flexibility.

Touching your toes, or palm flat on ground, keeping feet planted while rotating upper torso, etc...

[DarkKnight]

Yoga

[IronFist]

don't make the abs too strong without working the lower back muscles, too. Otherwise inbalance will result and you will be more prone to injury. For example, like runners who get really strong quads but don't bring up their hamstrings, and consequently pull hamstrings because it's not strong enough to match the quads. Not saying they two antagonist muscles need to be the exact sam strength, but their strength must increase in the same proportion that it is supposed to be.

iron