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Posted

I've been interested in incorporating some movement into my daily routine over the past 4 or so months. I am a novice by all means. Work is sitting on a computer, and I'm also a weekend warrior at tennis. Im 26 next month.

I started by simply standing on one leg, increasing the time etc  until i got to around 300 seconds. It was an interesting experiment. The lactic acid threshold increased and i could do more and more. I picked this exercise because i was suffering from an achilles tebdonitis type pain in my left heel, probably from instability incurred from an injury 10 or so years ago. It was completely resolved if i maintained this strengthening exercise, but the pain comes back if i stop. I now to a maintenance dose of 120 seconds each foot whenever i remember.

 

Pleased with this, i moved onto the 30 day plank challenge app for smart phones. Ive been notoriously bad at planking, but nonetheless i grit my teeth and stuck it out. I got up to about 3 minutes. I now to a maintence dose of 120 seconds. I didnt see as much benefit from doing this exercise however.

 

Lately ive been doing the 'diagonal stretch' that i got off of ido portals facebook group. That has really been a game changer for me. My body feels amazing from it. I suspect it has to do with building strength while stretchibg the muscle. Its basically a stretch while stabilising and balancing; a hold for 30-60 seconds each side. 

 

 

While i was suffering from tendonitis, i learnt that all tendonitis problems are treated the same way; strengthening (usually a static hold under some kibd of force, resistance band or bodyweight) while the muscle is lengthened or actively lengthening. Its like theres two things going on at once. So, if that regenerates damaged tissue, it must be really beefing up already ok(ish) tissue.

 

Im unsure if im some kind of overnight movement genius, or if ive just rediscovered an already well known principal not taught in 'mainstream' gym brah advice. I'm new to 'movement' forums, i hope this is the right place to talk about this. I saw emmet louis was a member here and i think he talks about similar concepts on his YouTube channel.

 

Does anyone know of other exercises similar to the diagonal stretch? Tom Merrick had a youtube video talking about the "Horse Squat" which looked like it might be similar? I think I read someone talking about holding it for 5 minutes.

Posted

Hello Mark,

Most martial arts systems use the Horse Stance.  It is a strength flexibility exercise.  Other good strength flexibility exercises are

Standing Hip Flexor 

 

Skandasana and Cossack Squat

 

Front and Back Scales

Ashwin

  • Like 1
Posted

@mark444200 Great topic. I have some dynamic modifications of some Stretch Therapy basics which I use for pre-exhaustion and strengthening before the main stretch. I was planning to post this in a separate thread at some point. It is an excellent addition to the existing ST material. I will film it in the near future. My favorite for now is an ST advanced piriformis stretch modification. For starters:

- Get into a *light* avanced piriformis stretch. Use a bolster below the front leg if you have not perfect form in the stretch itself. 
- Arms behind the lower back (hand position can increase intensity, start light)
- While maintaining a straight back (take care of the lumbar spine) lean slowly forward until you reach the front leg. The angle depends on your flexibility. Start leaning towards the knee first. If this is too easy, move more towards the front foot.
- Straighten back and bring yourself up again into the starting position
- Repeat for 2-5 sets, 8-12 reps

Then: Do the full advanced piriformis static ST stretch, if possible with apartner, and enjoy :) It is important that you have full understanding about how the basic stretch works and what it feels like.

Cheers
M

Posted
On 11/10/2017 at 12:09 AM, AshwinT said:

Hello Mark,

Most martial arts systems use the Horse Stance.  It is a strength flexibility exercise.  Other good strength flexibility exercises are

Standing Hip Flexor 

 

Skandasana and Cossack Squat

 

Front and Back Scales

Ashwin

Thanks for the ideas! Just started adding the horse stance to my routine this morning. 120 sec one legged balancjng eyes closed, 45 sec each side diagonal stretch, then did 120 sec horse stance.

The horse stance really worked my hips. I think its going to be mostly tendon stretching for me to begin with, i dont seem to be able to get low enough for strength.  It felt a lot more like a stretch than anything else. My right hip seemed to be tighter. I wonder if i was even on both sides going into it...

 

 

This routine sounds pretty comprehensive for lower body no? One legged for ankles, diagonal for knees and just general stretch (i feel it up my hips abd sides into my back too), and horse stance for hips.

 

I'll try those other exercises in the coming days too.

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