High Kicks/stretching

[EasyNow]

ok, I've been searching the web for a stretching program which will enable me to obtain high kicks... but it just confuses me, it goes on about different types of streatching and all this ****. Can someone help me come up with a routine???

p.s; sorry for sounding like a ****.

[Apprentice]

If you have the money, i'd suggest you buy the book "Stretching Scientifically" by Tom Khurz...it'll tell you exactly how to do stuff like that, and why u do it like that....i THINK i know what ur supposed to do, due to reading an article with like 6 columns on the subject, but i wouldn't want to tell you if i have been doing it wrong,(but i've improved) so im gonna suggest that you pick up that book, you'll be flexible in no time :cool:

[jun_erh]

I'd recommend for feet positioning: have one foot sideways(inside of foor touching ground) and one foot straight up and down, rather than having them parrelel to each other. You'll see what I mean if you try it.:D

[Sho Pi]

Yep, great book. In fact, this is the best book out there.

It explains why you are doing what you are doing and then tells you how to do it. I must admit that the explanation can get a bit heady for beginners but it is good stuff.

It also is a lot of work. Don't forget that.

Sho Pi

[anerlich]

If it's still in print, IMHO "Beyond Stretching; Russian Flexibility Breakthroughs" by Pavel Tsatsouline is an easier read than Kurz's book, more accessible but also more expensive, though the info presented is pretty much the same.

The fact remains that the more you know about how flexibility training works, the more effective a routine you will be able to come up with.

A routine along these lines may be of some value (assuming you want to develop flexibility for high kicks):

hip circles and other joint articulation exercises - every day, as many reps as your age each side (these are to keep your joints smooth and slick rather than to increase your muscular ROM)

Leg swings/dynamic flexibility (front, side, and back) every morning, as many as it takes to reach maximum ROM and no more.

Isometric (PNF) stretches - twice a week, working to front and side splits. Dont forget your rotators, glutes, hip flexors as these present sticking points for many people who can get reasonably low in splits but still cannot kick well due to tight spots in other areas than the groin and hamstrings. Choose exercises that are safe, but be tough on yourself with the isometrics.

The smart money has it that becoming flexible is not about "stretching" (read: deforming) your muscular tissues, but rather resetting the nervous system's regulation of muscular tension so that the reflexes become accustomed to a larger range of motion.