Doing side and front splits - warm up

[Tomas]

Hello,

I read your's recomendations in stretching program (side and front splits), and I un derstand, that every human being is somehow diferent. So to reach the goal everyone must find exercise order and even exercises, that fits him best to lead to good warm up and to succes stretching.

I'm 21 years old, live in Lithuania, and in last few months i seriously decided to take into stretching program like front and sides splits. I'm stretching about 4 month's now and my flexibility really increased. But still. I start my easy warm up by doing simple warm up exercises, then I start dynamic streching ( still easy, not pushing to much,since this is only a morning warm up), I do as much as I can do without feeling discomfort or stretching too much - all this morning warm up takes about 20 minutes. Later in the day i do side and front splits. I starting with warm up I learned during taekwondo trayning. I have added few more exercuses, that fits me well and i feel good. I usually start this about 14:00-17:00 during day time.The main problem I have faced is that my warm up takes too long , offcourse i understand, that my body needs to get used in everyday training, but my warm up takes about 40 minutes, untill i fell i stretched really good. And after this 40 minutes i slowly starting to sit in side and front splits possitions. I have allmoust no problems with front splits - in a about 5 minutes or something I reach the yesterdays stretch. Then i start with side splits and it takes about 10-15 minutes or even longer to reach yesterdays stretch. (Only fer inches remaining to complete side split). When I end my side-front split training for that day, after a few hours or so , if I try to do side split or front split again , it is wery hard and allmoust impossible for me to sit in in a side and front split posssitions. I can only do a half or so of my "todays" streching training progress.

In all, i stretch front splits about 15 minutes and side splits about 30 minutes or so to make it to progress.

So, my point is - is it normal to have so long time-taken warm ups ? Since during taekwondo training it is complicated for me, because even if i come earlier before the taekwondo school starts i still run out of time since my all warm up and time till i get to my stretches line is about 70 minutes. If I stretch at home before training, when I do warm up in the taekwondo training my legs muscles fells tired and i fell uncomfortable side effects.

And another thing, when i sit in a side split, I can't keep my back straight. Since the muscless of my back are too weak and not stretched I guess.


Thank you for reading this letter, and a hope, you will answer to it.


Sincerely

Tomas

[CrazyBoy]

Hi Tomas! Regarding the long warm-up: I too, before discovering Mr Kurz's method did long warm-ups (around 20 minutes) and afterwards perform the front and side splits. After I received as a gift the 3rd edition of "Stretching Scientifically" and began to stretch accordingly, I gave up warming-up, just to find out that I felt better stretch than before, when I stretched with a warm-up. My Side split is getting better by the session, and my front splits are full almost immediately. Of course, you'll see better results if you also do specific strength exercises for the leg muscles.

Hope this helps! Osu!

[Thomas Kurz]

After I received as a gift the 3rd edition of "Stretching Scientifically" and began to stretch accordingly, I gave up warming-up, just to find out that I felt better stretch than before, when I stretched with a warm-up.

I can't stand this nonsense. You confuse warming up with stretching statically. It looks like my book has been wasted on you.

[mat]

Hi Tomas! Regarding the long warm-up: I too, before discovering Mr Kurz's method did long warm-ups (around 20 minutes) and afterwards perform the front and side splits. After I received as a gift the 3rd edition of "Stretching Scientifically" and began to stretch accordingly, I gave up warming-up, just to find out that I felt better stretch than before, when I stretched with a warm-up. My Side split is getting better by the session, and my front splits are full almost immediately. Of course, you'll see better results if you also do specific strength exercises for the leg muscles.

Hope this helps! Osu!

You got your wires crossed here. Its easy to do static stretching without a warm up, but you must do a warm-up before anything like isometrics or strengthening exercises, its dangerous if you don't. Regular (daily) practise means you can warm up more quickly, but no warm-up at all is a no-no.

Mat

[CrazyBoy]

Sorry guys! I appologize. I got things mixed up. Don't know where my head was. Sorry Mr Kurz!
Of course, I totally agree that before any strength exercises a general warm-up is excellent to prevent any injuries. tomas excuse me for giving you a wrong reply.
Mr Kurz, I don't know whether your book has been wasted or not on me. I know this though: it's been revelating. Whenever I do isometrics, I do them without any warm-up and I feel great. Of course, I did them also with a warm-up and felt great also.
ONCE AGAIN PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR ANY WRONG ADVICE GIVEN!!!
this time I messed things up huge SORRY

[Tomas]

Hello again,

First of all I want to thank you all - CrazyBoy, mat and, especialy - Thomas Kurz. I'm glad that there are people who can help me in this "not easy" way of stretching. And i'm especialy happy, because Thomas Kurz replied to my post. Since CrazyBoy gave me an advise and Thomas Kurz said it was totally wrong..and mat agreed with that, i'm left with no advise..or so it seems. I did a conclusion - that daily and everyday training will result in fastest warm up and strenghtening my leg muscless will result in doing side split more easylly. Anyways.. I wil gladly wait for more advise.

Thank you all

Tomas

[Jim]

Hi Tomas

Not to sure if this helps but, here is a link that you may or may not have read but I found it helpful.

http://www.stadion.com/column_stretch12.html

Regards,
Jim

[wynnema]

Don't beat yourself up crazyboy, although I have a lot of respect for Kurz's he sometimes comes across as nothing more than rude. I wouldnt worry about it and dont apologise, you are the customer here.

[Tomas]

Thanks Jim, for link you gave me.

[CrazyBoy]

Wynnema, nevertheless I gave a wrong advice. If I think better, I didn't gave an advice, I just said what I am doing, my program. But a wrong advice must be pointed out.
And yes, I do most of times the isometrics without any warmups. And it has worked for me well.

[wynnema]

Wynnema, nevertheless I gave a wrong advice. If I think better, I didn't gave an advice, I just said what I am doing, my program. But a wrong advice must be pointed out.
And yes, I do most of times the isometrics without any warmups. And it has worked for me well.

maybe so, but it can be done politely. This was not the case, perhaps Mr Kurz could attend a customer service course.

[Tomas]

Please stop, you two. You wasting my topic... Atleast write some advise to me in my training program.

Take care

[wynnema]

Please stop, you two. You wasting my topic... Atleast write some advise to me in my training program.

Take care

listen pal, your new here. when you have contributed something more than a couple of posts you can start having a go.

[CrazyBoy]

Thanks Wynnema! I guess he's right. We should help him. thoug, you have my respects. Osu!

[wynnema]

your warm up should take 5-10 mins. the purpose being to raise the core body temperature. i dont know why it is taking you so long. perhaps you are focused to much on static stretches and not on dynamic for your warm up.