Starting a Stretching Routine

**Trainer Monkey** · 12-05-2008 02:42 PM

Your basic stretches

**Chris Nagel** · 12-05-2008 04:46 PM

I've been doing well with my basic stretch program that I've been doing. I'll start incorporating the fit ball stretches into my routine. They're not as easy as they look as it takes a lot of coordination to do them.

I'll also see about getting elastic cords so I can begin practicing many the other drills that Scrap has shared. There's so much that I have to look forward to, and I can't wait for Scrap to get some more vids up.

**Sharla** · 12-06-2008 01:30 AM

Believe it or not there are a few here which would not be very appropriate for someone like who is prone to incorrect posture. I have been warned off certain stretches by my chiro.

The first one I can be prone to arching my back while doing it which doesn't even allow me to feel a good quad stretch.

This second one i like but i tend to find i need to do it with my arm bent a a right angle on a door frame so my whole forearm is supported vertically against the doorframe. I start facing the same direction as my palm and move my feet a little slowly so to face away from my hand so that i target my chest rather than twist my back.

These two i'd be prone to placing too much pressure on my lower back. As you can see in these pictures it's very easy to hunch your back over while doing them in an effort to you try to stretch your leg more. I'm banned from these completely.

To get into my calves i find just standing on a curb and letting my heel drop in a controlled way is the easiest way to target my calves without hurting my back.

Also lying on my back and using a stretch band or a skipping rope or a towel works well.

For my birthday I ordered myself a new stretching book:

Facilitated Stretching Third Edition - PNF stretching and strengthening made easy by Robert E. McAtee and Jeff Charland.

I have had time to look through it thoroughly but it came with a DVD which I have watched and it does include a few good ones which stretched a few things I haven't succeeded in targeting properly before.

I'd recommend borrowing it if you can ge hold of it Chris - I think it was published somewhere in the USA and is meant to be a reference for rehab nurses etc so it wouldn't suprise me if you could find it available in a public library somewhere either just a general library or a uni library.

Once i've had more time to study it i might be able to put my new favourites up here.

**Sharla** · 12-06-2008 02:13 AM

Something else I don't understand but am looking into now for my own benefit is stretching order.

I found this:

Quite often, when we perform a particular stretch, it actually stretches more than one group of muscles: the muscles that the stretch is primarily intended for, and other supporting muscles that are also stretched but which do not receive the "brunt" of the stretch. These supporting muscles usually function as synergists for the muscles being stretched (see section Cooperating Muscle Groups). This is the basis behind a principle that SynerStretch calls the interdependency of muscle groups. Before performing a stretch intended for a particular muscle, but which actually stretches several muscles, you should first stretch each of that muscle's synergists. The benefit of this is that you are able to better stretch the primary muscles by not allowing the supporting muscles the opportunity to be a limiting factor in how "good" a stretch you can attain for a particular exercise.

This is the website it came from:
Exercise Order | Stretching

**Trainer Monkey** · 12-06-2008 03:15 AM

Originally Posted by Sharla

Something else I don't understand but am looking into now for my own benefit is stretching order.

I found this:

Quite often, when we perform a particular stretch, it actually stretches more than one group of muscles: the muscles that the stretch is primarily intended for, and other supporting muscles that are also stretched but which do not receive the "brunt" of the stretch. These supporting muscles usually function as synergists for the muscles being stretched (see section Cooperating Muscle Groups). This is the basis behind a principle that SynerStretch calls the interdependency of muscle groups. Before performing a stretch intended for a particular muscle, but which actually stretches several muscles, you should first stretch each of that muscle's synergists. The benefit of this is that you are able to better stretch the primary muscles by not allowing the supporting muscles the opportunity to be a limiting factor in how "good" a stretch you can attain for a particular exercise.

This is the website it came from:
Exercise Order | Stretching

I can see this actually,I have extremely tight hamstrings and relatively serious shoulder damage. So stretching those parts out BEFORE I go over to my basic stretches would be advantageous