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Tips on how to keep your muscles loose and relaxed
| Guest post by: Farhad Dordar |
Article Overview: Work can tend to preoccupy all your attention and cause you to forget that you are a physical being who relies on the proper maintenance of your body. Muscles can become sore, stiff and even injured if they are not maintained properly. In the midst of your busy life, a brief lesson on how to keep your muscles running smoothly so they always work for you instead of against you is nothing short of a good time investment.
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Free Download - How do you feel about getting tax breaks? By Farhad Dordar |
Tips on how to keep your muscles loose and relaxed
As martial artists, we are made aware of the importance of stretching
before every training session. Some of the major reasons for stretching
include preventing injury and warming up the muscles. However, a
misconception about stretching needs to be identified.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an important aspect of physical fitness. Increasing the range of motion in our joints can greatly improve the ease and comfort in which certain activities are performed; two factors you will want working for
you while sparring. Where the misconception comes in is that after
performing a warm-up stretch, an uninformed student might assume that
he/she has also just performed flexibility training. This is,
however, mostly untrue. Good flexibility requires flexibility-specific
exercises to be performed for adequate durations. While a warm-up
stretch is a great method to prepare for exercise and injury prevention,
it should not be deemed sufficient for flexibility training. So what
additional work is required to build flexibility?
Flexibility training
Flexibility training is to be performed in addition to strength and
cardiovascular training, and like other forms of training, it requires a
warm-up. Light stretches and some movement should be done to prepare
muscles for flexibility exercises.
How often? Flexibility training should be done at least 3 days a week – every day if possible.
Which type? The type of exercises done should be stretches which target the specific range of motion that needs to be worked on.
How long? The duration of each exercise depends on the type of stretch:
Static stretching
Refers to the range of motion in a joint while it is held in a stationary position. Example: Splits
Each new static stretch should be performed as 1 set of 5 reps. Each rep should be held for 15 – 60 seconds, with 30 seconds of rest in between.
Note: Static stretching can be performed in two ways:
Active: The person stretching moves himself/herself into the stretching position and holds the stretch.
Passive: Involves the use of an external force to
push the stretch. This external force could be another person (partner
stretching), a wall or bar, the force of gravity, or the force of a
different set of muscles (using your arms to lift a leg being
stretched). The key factor in passive stretching is that the muscles
being stretched are relaxed while the external force is being applied.
Both methods should be considered and implemented in a stretching routine.
Dynamic stretching
Refers to the range of motion in a joint while it is engaged in movement. Example: High-kicks
Each dynamic stretch is to be performed in 3 sets of 30 seconds of continuous motion each. Rest for 1 minute in between each set.
Limitations of the warm-up
As you can see, if we attempted to train flexibility during
our warm-up period, we would end up going way over the 15 minute warm-up
period. This is why warm-ups are designed to simply prepare you for
exercise, and any additional flexibility training should be incorporated
into your workout or done outside of class. As you can see above,
training one muscle for improved flexibility can take
over 5 minutes. This is why proper organization is important when
improved flexibility is desired. So don’t get confused when you aren’t
able to touch the back of your head with the palms of your feet after 4
years of warm-ups, because they have very limited contribution to flexibility, as their aim is elsewhere. Take your flexibility into your own hands and either:
1) Use the suggested outline above to devise your own flexibility routine
or
2) Ask an instructor for advice on flexibility training so that you can be sure that you are doing it properly
Some other important factors to consider when stretching:
• Do NOT stretch to the point of pain. The stretch should be held just prior to the point where it hurts.
• Be careful when stretching injured muscles. Do not use dynamic stretches on recently injured muscles.
• Dynamic stretches should not be pushed to the extreme range of
motion right off the bat. Start gently and increase the intensity
throughout the set.
• Stretch from the outside in. Start at the fingers/toes and work toward the torso.
• It’s important to save all dynamic stretching until after the corresponding static stretch.
- For example, high kicks (a dynamic stretch) should only be done after a static stretch which uses the same range of motion, such as touching your toes.
Interesting point identified by the American College of Sports Medicine
When you first perform a stretch, one of the factors that contributes to the efficiency of your flexibility training is muscle tension.
Muscle tension is greatest during the initial repetition of a stretch.
The reason why up to 5 repetitions of 15 seconds each are recommended is
because as a stretch is held, muscle tension decreases during the
stretch, allowing the muscle to relax and stretch further than it could
initially. The greatest decrease in muscle tension occurs during the
first 15 seconds of a stretch. Each successive repetition also
experiences less initial tension than the previous repetition,
which is why sets of up to 5 repetitions are recommended. The most
efficient benefits per amount of time stretching is cited to be after 4
repetitions have been performed. At this point the initial tension is
reduced enough to make optimal progress toward an increase in the range
of motion.
Conclusion
As a martial arts student, your flexibility is a very important
aspect of your training! Hopefully this blog clarifies any
misconceptions you have about flexibility training versus warm-up stretching. We hope this encourages you to adopt new flexibility training practices at home or in the dojo between classes.
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Article Tags: flexibility, martial arts, relief, stress, stretching, tension
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About the Author: Farhad Dordar RSS for Farhad's articles - Visit Farhad's website As in most sports, I believe that there is a championship in life. Considering how frequently we encounter obstacles that require courage, self-discipline, self-confidence, knowledge and will-power, it is a process of victories and defeats. We all want victories in our lives, so we should learn to face the obstacles that lay before us without hesitation. We must own our obstacles, lest they own us. By starting my first martial arts school at the age of 21, I was able to found the basis for my future as a mentor of all the values found in martial arts. I have been working for 39 years since, involved in many different sports, studying many new styles of martial arts, and participating in many international courses and educational programs. By constantly studying and researching valuable areas such as general management, business management, psychology, physiology, human anatomy, communications, biomechanics, and the elements of mind, body and spirit (holistic fitness), I have been able to create a step-by-step self-improvement program based on my knowledge. This program conveys a life of dedicated research by conveniently depicting how my students and followers can improve their lifestyles through martial arts training. Students will learn how to recognize important benefits and values such as confidence, discipline, self-control, patience, leadership and goal-setting. How these values can come from martial arts training and become implemented into a human lifestyle at any age group for both males and females is one of our major elements. Grand Master Farhad Dordar President of World Sport Kickboxing Federation See our website to learn more about us. Don't forget to check out our blogs as well. Click here to visit Farhad's website   Where else can you provide your child with so many skills for success in one place Most successful people set goals How about you Tips on how to keep your muscles loose and relaxed Learn public speaking and communication skills in a dojo How do you feel about getting tax breaks |
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