Stretching Scientifically

[SimonMT]

Been reading through more and more of the book and making notes on what i've read, read through the Dynamic Stretching part and the Isometric stretching part and just wanted to put my notes down here just to make sure i've understood correctly.

Dynamic movements should be done 6 days a week, twice a day. 4 Sets of 10 for each exercise - after warmup

When i have a kickboxing/Muay Thai session, warmup should be dynamic stretching 3sets of 10 or 4 sets of 10 after skipping. And then move onto 3 sets of Isometric exercises per exercise and 5 exercises. First exercise being the horse stance and tensing inner thighs, second would be the stretch to work on the outer thigh and hip flexors, third stretch would be the quad stretch, fourth being calf stretch and fifth being hamstrings.

Relax stretching should be used to cool down after a heavy Thai boxing session.

Also doing relaxed stretching after doing my heavy leg day at the gym - i do squats, leg extension and leg curls.

With me doing isometric stretches as a warm up to my muay thai sessions, i would be doing them 4 times a week, on a sunday, monday, tuesday and thursday. Do i need rest days between them?

[elskbrev]

I will leave comments on your overall workout to someone with more experience, however I do know that isometrics are always done last. Isometric exercises tax the muscles, tiring them, so you want to do them after the main part of your workout with your relaxed stretches in cool-down so you will have plenty of time to rest before your next workout. Doing dynamic stretches 2X daily six days a week sounds awesome, though. Go for it. Best regards, Cindy

[SimonMT]

So do Isometric's after i do my Muay Thai session? Thankyou for the reply though, very greatly appreciated

[elskbrev]

SimonMT,

I believe your workout needs a little tweaking, but there are no quick and easy answers as to the how's and why's. What I will write only recaps info in Kurz' column ( http://www.stadion.com/column.html ) and book, Stretching Scientifically. Refer especially to (in no particular order) column Articles 28, 27, 19 and 12-17.

Here's my two cents:

You say you do a Muay Thai session Sun, Mon, Tues, Thurs. You don't say when you have your heavy leg day at the gym, and you say you do dynamic stretches twice a day six days a week.

Kurz always says that if you are making progress acceptable to you and recovering well from workouts, keep it up. That's good for you. Typically, however, the average person needs a break of about two days between isometric or any other intense strength workouts.

On the other hand, doing technical workouts three days in a row should be fine if you are fit enough and recovering well between workouts. If, however, you are ready to collapse by the end of day three, rethink it; your are putting yourself at greater risk of injury and/or sub-par performance due to fatigue.

Any strength workout, of which isometric stretching is one, belongs after a technical (thai boxing) workout or on a different day.

Isometric stretching would fit in your cool-down along with relaxed static stretches.

Isometric stretching or your heavy leg work a the gym should NOT be followed with high impact aerobic activity. Check this out from Article #27:

"Question: In addition to lifting weights I run for cardiovascular conditioning, after each gym workout, two to three times a week. This being the case, WHEN should I incorporate isometric and relaxed stretches, after lifting and before running or at the end after both the lifting and the running? (This first session I did, I stretched after the run, as my final exercise, and did not seem to experience anything untoward.) I've always thought stretching is to be done at the very end, to return muscles to their original relaxed length after training. Please advise on this.

Answer: First, an endurance run (even only 20 minutes long) after a strength training workout reduces gains in strength. This occurs because of the conflicting demands that strength work and aerobic endurance work put on the body in general and on the muscle fibers in particular. This issue is explained in several standard texts on exercise physiology. The conflict is most pronounced if you use very heavy resistance, such as when attempting to increase maximal strength, and less pronounced when you use low or moderate resistance with a high number of reps, such as when working on muscular endurance.

Usually, athletes do their strength workouts on different days than aerobic endurance workouts, with a period of rest between these workouts so that fatigue from one kind of work does not impair the ability to perform the other. The preferred arrangement is aerobic endurance done right after the technical or speed workout, and maximal strength work done in a separate workout on a different day—but it all depends on the current priorities and on speed of recovery, which depends on how much you run and lift. Dedicating a separate workout to strength is usually done when the priority is developing maximal strength. In such cases, work on aerobic endurance is reduced so fatigue from it does not interfere with strength workouts, and the strength workout is the first or second (after technique) in the weekly schedule.

All this notwithstanding, if your schedule works for you, then stick to it—as long as you are satisfied with your progress.

Second, isometric stretches are strength exercises, so they may lose some effectiveness (as far as increasing strength in the stretched positions) if done after an endurance run. I think it is best to do them at the end of a strength workout, after other strength exercises. If you want to do isometric stretches together with your running, then it may be better to do them before the run, and perform relaxed stretches after the run." Article #27 at http://www.stadion.com/column_stretch27.html, Tom Kurz.

Twice daily dynamic stretches preceded by a brief warmup consisting of loosening of the joints and light aerobic activity--no more than 10-15 minutes--should be fine. That's what I love about dynamic stretching--great results, quick recovery.

I'm a big advocate of the once a week rest and repair day (to think we used to call it rest and relaxation. lol) where you exercise nothing more than your eyeballs and maybe left click/right click...But I digress.

This figuring out an ideal workout structure is no easy task, and to think we're all resorting to self-coaching due to lack of good training elsewhere. Alas, but trial and error would be an integral part of the process even if qualified trainers were perfect. It is not an exact science.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Best regards,

Cindy

[SimonMT]

Well, this is my new routine so not sure on how well it will do. At the minute, my heavy leg day is on a Wednesday night. Going to start the stretching routine and see how i progress. What i might do though is change my leg workout to Friday instead and do chest and back on a Wednesday instead.

[elskbrev]

How long have you been practicing Mauy Thai?

[SimonMT]

Been doing it for a year now, my previous stretching routine just involved hamstring stretches, quad stretches and just trying to go as low as i can in the side split following a warmup, then a warm down afterwards. A lot more flexible then when i first started and can put some good solid kicks into someones mid section of a 6ft guy but it's not going to cut it, especially considering i'm a heavyweight. My high kicks lack power and i have to point my knee down a bit when i do, which does sapp a lot of the power. Also off to Thailand next year so want to be in my best shape possible for when i go over there.

[SimonMT]

Just been doing the dynamic stretches twice a day i.e. front, side and rear legs raises 4 sets of 10, and i have noticed a definate difference. Got to really sort out the isometrics and the relaxed stretches now but just with dynamic stretching, my kicking technique is so much better.