Doing side and front splits - warm up

[Tomas]

Oh, boy...

Probably as usuall, people in situations like I am into, getting confused. I will try to put everything into places, with people, like you - wynnema, CrazyBoy, help. So it seems that I start with :

1. general warm-up ( 5 minutes)

Then i start with :

2. warm-up stretching ( dynamic stretching, static stretching, - and some exercises I learned during taekwondo class, since moust of all these exercises is static and dynamic afterall). (20 minutes or so)

Then I start with :

3. front split

Then

4. side split



So, am I doing something wrong ? Or maybe I just concentrate on static stretches..yes I keep good attention for static stretches since they are wery important because if you want to sit in splits positions, all muscless that is needed must be stretched good. And only dynamic stretches is not enought. I think first must come general warn up, then dynamic stretches, then some movement to raise body temperature and then static stretches.

So, how my workout looks ?

[dragon]

If your goal is only to achieve the splits then you can skip the dynamic stretching altogether.However,don't expect an improvement in your kicks.

Dynamic stretches increase dynamic movement.If you feel like you aren't warmed up enough to perform your kicks after dynamic stretches then you probably need to do more dynamic stretching beforehand.

Static stretching acts as a cool down.

Dragon.

[Tomas]

But if static stretches acts as a cool down then why during taekwondo training we do a lot of static exercises in warm up ? And does that mean if I want to reach splits and have high kicks i dont need to use static stretches in my work out but only after my training ?

[dragon]

But if static stretches acts as a cool down then why during taekwondo training we do a lot of static exercises in warm up ?

Probably tradition.Martial arts have been practiced for thousands of years and not much has changed in some of them.That doesn't mean it can't be though.

And does that mean if I want to reach splits and have high kicks i dont need to use static stretches in my work out but only after my training ?

That's right.

Dragon.

[mat]

Also..

Side splits and front splits ARE static stretches.

You can do some other, easier, static stretches before doing splits. Your programme is simply:

1) joint rotations (recommended in Mr.Kurz's book) - 30 secs or whatever.
2) aerobic warm-up (get blood flowing) 3-7 mins
3) dynamic stretching (optional but good for MA)
4) static stretching - for as long as you want.

The more you practise this the less time you will need to warm up still be able to do your stretches comfortably.

You can do your static stretching with just front & side splits if you do it in sets. Eg. hold an easy, comfortable front split for 1min. Other side, 1min. Then an easy, comfortable side split for 1min. repeat whole thing perhaps 3 times. on the 2nd and 3rd sets you'll find you can go lower and still remain comfortable, or hold it for longer. Relaxation is critical so practise deep breathing to help you relax and dont push the stretch so hard that it makes you tense up and have difficulty breathing deeply.

Lots of martial arts clubs include static stretches in their warm-up simply because thats the way they've done it for so long. As long as it's not done very hard it should be ok. But modern thinking is that there's nothing to be gained by doing static stretches as a warm-up and much better results are acheived if you leave the static stretching until the end of the training session (cool down).

Cheers,
Mat

[Tomas]

Thank you wery much. I will do some changes in my training program. Thanks again.

Take care


Tomas