I need this help regarding "Stretching"?

Question

I need this help regarding "Stretching". I am not 25 years old, I joined martial arts classes before but since i did not do it often for long time, I dont have this full stretching capabilities of my legs. I know this could have done when I was small so easily when the tissues and muscles are weak.
1. but is it too late to do it now??
2. What is the easiest way to do it??
3. How must i do it?

Answer 1

First of all you have to be careful and not do too much to soon.
The best advise comes from the professionals.
Consider buying a good book on stretching and work up a program.
http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Stretching-Kicking-Bill-Wallace/dp/0865680183
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Flexibility-Complete-Stretching-Martial/dp/1880336839

Answer 2

It is never too late! Flexibility is like muscle or endurance-you have to build it over time and taking the right approach will give you better results. I would suggest you do some reading on slow static type stretching as well as dynamic type stretching along with Yoga. All will give you valuable insights like how you breath when you stretch, what order you do certain types of stretching exercises in, and which ones work best for what areas. I have had people tell me that they learned more in thirty minutes of stretching with me than they learned in two years somewhere else. I tell you that not to brag but so that you understand it is one of those things that takes time, experience, and more knowledge and understanding than just getting out there and doing some stretching exercises. If you have to feed a person then you have to fish everyday-teach him how to fish and he can feed himself. So check it out on the web, visit some Yoga classes and put together a stretching routine and start doing it. Then as you learn more and gain more experience you can modify that routine and continue to build your flexibility even more than what you probably ever dreamed of. Look at some of the questions I have answered previously and you will find several concerning this that will give you some good ideas and better understanding of all this.

Answer 3

It is never too late to begin stretching and working on flexibility, Indeed, it shoudl be a life-long exercise for us all.

The secret to stretching is to take your time, be patient, do it regularly (i.e. every evening if possible), and not to over do it and cause injury.

Begin slowly and carefully and stretch only to the point where you feel a little discomfort but NO PAIN. Hold each stretch for 60 - 120 seconds while being sure to breath. Don't rush to increase your range in the beginning. Give yourself time.

As you begin to find things becoming easier, you can begin to look at advanced forms of stretching such as partner or dynamic or PNF stretching.

Chat with the instructor/s at your club. They should be able to set you up with some safe, useful exercises to do at home. Do them every night (it's better to stretch when your body is warm - so don't do it first thing in the morning.) Barring any real physical limitations (i.e. skeletal problems or prior muscular damage etc.) you should be able to get to a full stretch in time.

Good luck

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 4

You will always improve on your reach as long as you continue to stretch. Im not a flexible dude because I HATE TO STRETCH. If you do stretch for 10 seconds every day, and push it a little every time you will get there.

Answer 5

1. Its never too late to do so. 2. Always warm up before you do any stretching exercize. Like face paced walking, circular rotation of your joints e.g arm circles. or jump rope is good also. Keep it simple. You can use just about thing to make you break a sweat. But you definately want to increase your core temperture before stretching. You can Google search for a list of good stretches to use and how to use them properly. good luck in your training.

Answer 6

everyone gave information, but failed to say that 15- to 30 seconds of stretfching is sufficient, dont do any less. and to add more flexibility 30 seconds to a minute is sufficient. doing each set atleast onec a day of course. its never too late to stretch..

Answer 7

Stretch all of your muscles everyday and you will become more flecible over time.... There is no way to become instantly flexible. Just work at it every single day and it will improve.