My journey to flexible town

[Mick Broster]

how about the way i show you at the end of every class. ill explain again when you're next down

[Jayamilne]

Another thing to consider is what you are doing the rest of the time when you are not rolling? Do you sit a lot, especially for long periods of time? Sitting really can negatively impact your flexibility, even if you stretch every day. I've read that you should not sit for longer than 20 mins at one point if possible and be very aware of your posture. I have very tight hips and lower back and after a long day as a desk jockey, it takes me quite a while to un-wind.

[apygav]

how about the way i show you at the end of every class. ill explain again when you're next down

ha ha I was hoping you wouldn't see this post Mick! - I'm doing the stretches you show after every session, and just some basic ones in my down time, I'm seeing good results flexibility wise but my knees are aching like crazy - never had any problems with my knees so just wanted to make sure I'm not over doing it by pushing my knees down in butterfly, shouldn't be though as its not a stretch in the knee right??

sorry I didn't make it Tuesday wedding stuff!!

cheers for all the advice fellas!

[eoin ahern]

stretching after class is good. i just do jumping jacks and squats to gt warm otherwise.

[Jay Chow]

Get into the posture, press until it hurts, and then hold it.

I disagree. Stretching should never hurt. You should feel a deep stretch, but if it's actually painful then you have gone too far.

Your breath is the most important thing. Every inhale you stretch deeper - even by a millimetre at a time - and every exhale you completely relax that area. Don't go too far, or you risk injuring yourself.

[Arman Fathi]

ha ha I was hoping you wouldn't see this post Mick! - I'm doing the stretches you show after every session, and just some basic ones in my down time, I'm seeing good results flexibility wise but my knees are aching like crazy - never had any problems with my knees so just wanted to make sure I'm not over doing it by pushing my knees down in butterfly, shouldn't be though as its not a stretch in the knee right??

sorry I didn't make it Tuesday wedding stuff!!

cheers for all the advice fellas!

To my understanding, flexibility and the rubber guard are all about hip mobility and flexibility. Feel the stretch in your hips. There should be no strain on the knees

[MichaelReyes]

To my understanding, flexibility and the rubber guard are all about hip mobility and flexibility. Feel the stretch in your hips. There should be no strain on the knees

In one of the videos Eddie said he "would never give a black belt to someone who could'nt do the lotus" I need alot of improvement also on my stretching and having tried the lotus plenty of times it seems to put a lot of pressure on my knees when I try to get the second leg in position. I can almost get there but not nearly comfortably.

[Andrew Sarasin]

regarding the lower body what's bad about sitting is that it overstretches your gluts and tightens your hamstrings and amongst other things as well. Its not a black and white thing where sitting = bad for flexibility, it doesn't really work like that. I've herd a source say every 30 mins u should get up and walk around or stretch, but its not really realistic in any job or ect.
Be careful when u say things like "i ve herd that" because if u don't know for sure someone might believe u and pass on the information like its 100% true, u might be wrong. Its not the end of the world but u know what i mean.

I even hear eddie bravo say to stretch your hamstrings if u have back pain. If everyone would listen to that advice some people would actually make it much worse for them and could actually cause some permanent damage in some cases. Im sure eddie is just trying to help people but u get what i mean.

Another thing to consider is what you are doing the rest of the time when you are not rolling? Do you sit a lot, especially for long periods of time? Sitting really can negatively impact your flexibility, even if you stretch every day. I've read that you should not sit for longer than 20 mins at one point if possible and be very aware of your posture. I have very tight hips and lower back and after a long day as a desk jockey, it takes me quite a while to un-wind.

[Andrew Sarasin]

be VERY careful, dont fuck up your knees. so many people fuck up their knees from trying to get better flexibility. Remember eddie has been eating his toe nails as a kid so his flexibility was there from day one. don't over do it. focus on training more than flexibility, do the flexibility stuff when your watching tv but not just butterfly stretches, glut stretches, hip flexor stretches calf stretches, give a break for your knees, RG stretches can fuck them up be careful.

In one of the videos Eddie said he "would never give a black belt to someone who could'nt do the lotus" I need alot of improvement also on my stretching and having tried the lotus plenty of times it seems to put a lot of pressure on my knees when I try to get the second leg in position. I can almost get there but not nearly comfortably.

[Andrew Sarasin]

true, Craig is just going to get people hurt, shame on u :P

I disagree. Stretching should never hurt. You should feel a deep stretch, but if it's actually painful then you have gone too far.

Your breath is the most important thing. Every inhale you stretch deeper - even by a millimetre at a time - and every exhale you completely relax that area. Don't go too far, or you risk injuring yourself.