My journey to flexible town

[apygav]

Hi All,

Could any body give me some tips for the fastest way to get my knees to the ground in butterfly stretch - at the moment I'm sitting with my heels to my crotch, leaning against a wall and pushing my knees to the mat with my hands but I'm worried this is doing more harm than good as the next day my knees ache, has anyone had this before??

Gavin 'sunny' England

[Craig Murray]

I recommend hot yoga as often as possible, daily if you can swing it.

Also do not try to stretch out a cold joint. Make sure you're warmed up and have a good sweat going before you try to increase flexibility.

If you try to stretch a cold joint when your body is cold you not only risk injury, all you're really doing is warming up the joint. You want that joint fully warm and worked out. THEN you stretch out the muscle and tendons to increase flexibility. This is a common mistake.

As an example, one great time to increase your flexibility is at the end of a hot yoga session.

[apygav]

Thanks Brother! people keep mentioning yoga to me - will have to get on it

[Craig Murray]

Thanks Brother! people keep mentioning yoga to me - will have to get on it

Yeah the benefits you get from yoga, especially heated yoga, are manyfold. It will also improve your recovery and healing as an example. (increased bloodflow)

If you need proof, try this. Go to a single hot yoga class. Before class, get into your butterfly and make note of how deep you get. Then do your best to get through the yoga class. At the end, get back into your butterfly and see how deep you get. You should see yourself already much deeper into the posture because your hips are fully warmed up and stretched out.

Then at that point spend 10 minutes or so just working your butterfly and your splits and your lotus. (spend more time if they will let you) You'll notice you can press much deeper in that you ever have before. This is your magical time where you can really increase your long term flexibility. Get into the posture, press until it hurts, and then hold it. Don't press too hard, you dont want to injure yourself, but it should hurt. Hold it, hold it, hold it, relax.

If you stretch your joint cold, tomorrow nothing will be different.

Good luck!

PS, you can do the yoga at home if hot yoga is inconvenient or expensive for you. Just find some good youtube videos and do it in your living room. Do a good 60 minute yoga session and SWEAT! Really work the session hard. When you're finished, work on flexibility.

It's not fun, nor glamorous. It's quite uncomfortable. But you're used to that from Jiu Jitsu already right?

[Arman Fathi]

It may sound like a broken record but just keeping up with the stretches on a daily basis and making small gains everyday. It can be done in a manner of months if kept up with.

[Nick Paul]

You'll get a lot more out of stretching if you do it right after rolling and you're all loose. Theres a youtube video out there where Eddie talks about stretching

[Andrew Sarasin]

Yes, I had this problem before it and it shouldn't hurt, it's not normal. That means u r doing too much. Time it and increase gradually. Wait a couple of days before u start again until your knees don't hurt anymore. U don't want to creat any permenant damage. It better to stretch when u r warm, he'll sometimes my gf takes a bath and I tell don't drain it! I'll take it and stretch in it for 10 mins lol I'm that desperate. She takes hot ass baths so why not lol. I live in Quebec, it's cold as fuck Here for 2 months..

Hi All,

Could any body give me some tips for the fastest way to get my knees to the ground in butterfly stretch - at the moment I'm sitting with my heels to my crotch, leaning against a wall and pushing my knees to the mat with my hands but I'm worried this is doing more harm than good as the next day my knees ache, has anyone had this before??

Gavin 'sunny' England

[Andrew Sarasin]

You'll get a lot more out of stretching if you do it right after rolling and you're all loose. Theres a youtube video out there where Eddie talks about stretching

True and untrue. People get better results when they r warm and have not done any strength training on those muscles before. But it's not very realistic to do it this way so it's better than nothing to do it after practice.

[Craig Murray]

True and untrue. People get better results when they r warm and have not done any strength training on those muscles before.

How much warming up do you recommend, and how? I think I heard Rogan once say to use an elliptical until you break a good sweat and then stretch.

[ErikLavigne]

i found just stretching during down time helps tremendously. What I mean is, if you're watching tv, sit in a stretching position. Nothing too intense because your joints wont be warm. But doing minor stretching while sitting around in your down time helps. Stretch during a tv show, break during commercials. Stretch staring at the computer screen. That helped me.