Pulled Hamstring

I've done this weeks lesson 3 times this week which is good but I've also got a minor pull in my left hamstring. Did the lesson today plus some deep stretches but had to go a bit easy on the stretching due to the pulled hamstring.

Right side open front was ok thought, think it has improved a tiny bit. Focusing on pointing my front toe forward and not flexing it to help disengage the calf muscle from the stretch and to not flex the rear foot either although thats always how I have done it.

Left was crappy, due to the hamstring so I didn't push it at all.

Side was so-so, really trying to rotate my hips forward incase thats what is slowing me down. I did my isometrics but it just doesn't want to go any deeper...sigh.

Will try and rest my hamstring a bit over the weekend, have to decide if I should do my jujitsu class tomorrow...hmmm

Off to oil massage my legs now, haven't done it in a week or so and I will definitely do a ball massage tomorrow...oh man that still sounds perverted every-time I write it lol.

Week 4 and the mermaid

As mentioned week 4 focused on a dynamic warmup with lots of lying leg raises/circles and then a thorough warmup of the hips focusing on the mermaid stretch finishing in a straddle stretch. I'm due to do my second go at it today.

I have found some really good tips from this weeks lesson/ workout. Firstly with my Dynamic stretching, I am now starting with raising the knee then the leg bent at 90 degrees then straight leg. 1 set of each, each leg. By changing this in my morning routine I have noticed a huge improvement already, not in my maximal range of motion but in how relaxed my hips feel after, definitely going to keep that change in my routine. Previously I would just start with a straight leg at a low level and raise the height each swing, this way feels much better.

My thoughts on the mermaid stretch. I hadn't ever done this stretch before, didn't really know how to do it 100% and just copied what looked like the right thing to do and only did it in a half arsed kind of way, and only because it was mentioned as important somewhere in the DVD. I really have noticed less pain (if any) on the outside of the hips when attempting a straddle stretch if I perform a decent mermaid first, this is getting increased attention in my morning routine now as well.

There have been times recently where i have been getting frustrated that my maximal range hasn't increased noticeably yet but I have to keep realistic and remind myself that I'm only at week 4 and to be honest I've pretty much gone for 20 years without any regular stretching routine, certainly not a planned program. It will come in time if I am consistent.

Elastic Steel online flexibilty course week 4 review

Just finished watching week 4. This week is more about strengthening the hip flexors improving dynamic hip flexibility and working on the straddle stretch (basically a seated version of the side or box splits).

Another 40 minute lesson with a few great bits of information, one question  I have always had but never been able to find the answer was addressed i.e: why you get pain on the outside of their hips
when  trying to do side splits which should be only working the inside thigh. A basic explanation is that as your hip flexors and rotators are shortened in the side split position, they sometimes spasm, so to counter this you should thoroughly warm-up and stretch the hip flexors and rotators first, Paul gives a routine to do this.

Good to see a complete change in workout this week, lots of interesting hip flexor strengthening work and a nice routine designed to improve your straddle stretch which centers around the mermaid stretch.

Really looking forward to tomorrows workout and stretch now.

End of week 3

I know its only 3 weeks in but this week was a pain. I was away for work all week which made things difficult. I managed to do my morning light stretches everyday in my hotel room, I did one leg session in the gym in the area I was in, what a nightmare. It is a really well equipped gym but the air conditioning was so strong it was freezing! Try getting a good stretch in the freezing cold, its not fun. It was a good workout, I upped the resistance on all the exercises and did a decent deep stretch routine even though I was almost shivering. I have NEVER been in a gym that was that cold before, it was crazy.

As it was so cold I decided not to go back for my second session of the week and that I would do it in the hotel room instead and use body weight but do higher reps, which I did.

I've got a few lingering minor pulls, one in my right hamstring right up near my glutes, and somehow I also pulled a muscle I have never pulled before on my left side lower back, it wasnt a sharp pain, just a dull pain if I rotated the wrong way. Due to these issues I've decided to only do 2 leg strengthening sessions this week and give my poor body a chance to recover a bit.

I'm back at my jujitsu class on Saturdays which I'm really enjoying, kind of getting bored with only doing leg strengthening and stretching and did my 3rd deep stretching routine after that class today.

Looking forward to tomorrows new lesson. I'll post my thoughts on it asap.

Elastic Steel online flexibility lesson 3 review

A little late but work has been busy. Lesson 3 became available on Sunday. This lesson focuses on Hamstring stretches and then on both PNF and RI stretches. I'm guessing most people know about PNF but some might not know about RI (Reciprocal Inhibition). Its where you contract the antagonist muscle (i.e: opposing muscle) so that the one you want to stretch relaxes.

I was a little disappointed in this lesson, virtually all the Hamstring stretches require a partner to do them and as I am training alone, these wont be of much use to me in my splits training. He did demonstate one that can be done solo and apparently it is the king of hamstring stretches so at least I got that. It just seems like a waste when you watch a 40 minute lesson and the first 20 minutes are of no immediate use to you.

What was good was his explaination of the differences between demonstrations of flexibility and developing flexibility. Actually I've never heard this explained before so even though I was a little disappointed in general I still did get some new really valuable information, i'll explain it.

Take for example the sit and reach test of hamstring flexibility.

Just because someone demostrates good hamstring flexibility in this position, does not mean it is necessarily a good way to develop hamstring flexibility. Actually it makes perfect sense when you think of it that way, so all that time you sit in a position straining and stretching may be a waste of time. Better to find a more sound and efficient way to stretch the muscle, then after you have developed greater flexibility and range of motion in the joint, you can go back to the origianl position and see the improvement.

This weeks homework is to continue the Extended Length Conditioning from last week with the light stretches and add in the additional Hamstring stretch from this week. Its really interesting to see we are at week 3 and we still arent required to do any deep stretches. I am doing them and that may be why the workouts are taking so ridiculously long...hmmm

iPhone let me down again

Crap...just had a long session, did the Extended Leg Conditioning exercises, added more resistance and 2 sets as per the program, then hit my stretches pretty hard and the photos are crap!

I had a damn personal trainer training someone right behind me (you can see him in the side split photo) so I was rushing trying to get the photos done when they weren't directly behind me.

Open front Splits

vs

Not sure if it was exercise induced delirium but I would have sworn I had made some progress in the gym, but looking at these I cant really see it. The other photo Left side open front  didn't come out at all, have no idea what happened there.

Side Split

vs

Maybe a little improvement but nothing to get excited about. Well... I guess I know it is going to take a while. Its just harder to measure progress than strength training or weight gain/loss, so its harder to see if you are improving.

Added links to some interesting sites

Ive added a few links that I have found useful.

Ryotoken's Blog is another training blog however his focus is on preparing for a full contact competition.  The guy does an amazing amount of training per week and his subject is a little more varied than my blog. He is however using the same principles for his flexibility regime and it will be interesting to see what his gains are like.

Trick Tutorial is focus primarily on "Tricking", which is an extreme acrobatic form of martial arts, the stuff they do is amazing. To be able to trick with any ability requires high levels of flexibility and athletic conditioning. They have a really thorough guide to stretching on the site written by Jujimufu the site creator and underground internet tricking celebrity. Check out some of his videos, the guy is amazing and very very funny and weird.

Time to go and stretch!!! seems like all I do these days lol

Good stretch today

Had a great workout today with the ELC lunge-a-thon, used 10kg for added resistance and it wasn't too hard. Its stinking hot in Sydney at the moment and I must have lost 5 litres through sweat, but I guess its easier to stretch in warm weather than cold... I will up the resistance next time as well if I can walk tomorrow. Plus the next workout session I am supposed to do 2 sets of 10 of every exercise rather than the 1 I am doing now.

Had a great stretch after the ELC, think I made a little progress but the gym was too crowded to get any photos, will try and get some more up soon to show my progress (if any). Both open front and side seems better (a little) but my true front split still sucks and I don't think it has improved at all.

I've arranged to do some training this weekend with my friend Caleb so should get some new video posted  on Sunday.

Lesson 2 update

I did the stretching and strengthening outlined for week 2 for the first time yesterday. It was really interesting with a lot of unilateral exercises, lots of lunge based ELC. Really good workout for your extended range of motion and stabilizers. I  did body weight x 10 reps for each exercise as a starting point and to see how my legs would go.

This morning I have minimal DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) so I will had some resistance to tomorrows workout, I'm thinking about 10kg, its not much but with 20 sets of 10 reps that is 200 primarily lunge based exercises!

Today's morning routine felt great as well, I've decided to do 5 minutes on the bike first to make sure my legs are warmed up, then my 10 min boxing circuit, light static stretches then the mobility swings. I've adjusted my light stretches with regards to the info provided in the online course and it feels much better. I've also adjusted my leg raises/mobility swings and do these in a much more relaxed manner than I was before, I don't try and force maximal height, I just let them swing and stay relaxed.

All in all with these changes my hips feel so much better, I cant pin point which factor is the main one, maybe it's the sum of all the changes but if I had to guess I would say the changes to my light stretches would be the biggest factor. I don't feel right giving away Pauls info but I have seen similar concepts with regards to the stretches in pilates based classes, focusing on lengthening the muscle while stretching.

Looking forward to doing the strengthening routine again tomorrow and then doing some deep stretches.

Elastic Steel online flexibility course lesson 2 review

The new lesson became available today and I was right, there are some serious strengthening exercises to be done. First things first though. It starts with a light stretches sequence, it/he gives good directions to hold first for 15, then 30 then 45 seconds but the most valuable info is in the specific details of the stretches, its not just do this hip flexor stretch. Paul goes into good detail regarding which direction to pull or push each body part involved, not just increase the stretch. I found that really valuable and think it will definitely help my stretches.

The second part of the lesson is Extended Length Conditioning. If you have the book or DVD you might think you know all his Elastic Steel exercises....you don't!

There are a heap of exercises to do, 20 at quick glance at my notes. I'm also a qualified Gym Instructor and worked for a few years as a personal trainer and while I like to think I have a pretty good knowledge of different exercises, there are a couple here I have never seen. Lots of lunges front different stances and angles, lunges using chairs or a bench (not just bulgarian squats either) and then a heap of Single Joint ELC exercises. I'm really looking forward to hitting the gym tomorrow and trying this out I'm just a bit too tired today from whitewater rafting for a friends Birthday.

Happy Birthday Rad

Will post tomorrow after doing the workout to let you know how it felt.

Training update

Saturday and I was hoping to get some video of  kicking drills etc to get set a benchmark for my kicking to be able to compare at the end of 12 weeks to see if there is any functional improvement, but my lazy mate Caleb pulled out of training (hope you enjoyed your breakfast with your sister!!) He needs to get his priorities straight lol. Hopefully he will be available next week.

Anyway I wasn't sure if my next Elastic Steel lesson would be available today or not, but I decided to do some deep stretches anyway, was a good warm-up and hit the stretches pretty hard, did the split specific warmup from the DVD and then each split 2 times with some isometric / PNF stretching at my maximal range. All in all took about 1 hour and 40 minutes!! Felt pretty good but I do get some strange looks from people in the gym ha ha ha.

I think the main thing holding me back at the moment is my leg strength, those 8 months of being essentially incapacitated have really weakened my legs. I'm expecting the next component of the online flexibility course to focus on strengthening anyway. Either way, will keep updating the blog.

Flexibility / Splits training update

I have a few niggling pulls in my muscles so have decided to just do the light morning stretches and massage for the rest of the week (plus the prerequisite strengthening exercises) till the next lesson (only 2 days anyway). Have done 2 ball massages and numerous oil massages so far.

I used some tennis balls for my first go and baseballs for the second. Big difference, the baseballs are much harder and thus give a harder massage, felt a lot better for my hamstrings and glutes in particular. Glutes hold the most tension and take the most time by far.

I am going easier on my light stretches now, think I was pushing them too hard and that's the reason I have been aching and have a few minor pulls.

Oh my aching legs

So last night after my deep stretches in the afternoon, my legs were aching like buggery. So I decided to try out the oil massage from elastic steel. I couldnt find any Castor oil like paul recommends and I'm not sure if he recommends it because it has any specific properties or just because it is cheap and freely available where he is located. Anyway I couldnt get any so it was a choice between a sensual massage oil in the condom section of the supermarket or Goanna Liniment Oil, so I went the Australian made option. It seems pretty good so I think I will stick with it.

It definitely helped, I left that on for a few hours and then had a hot bath with Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate) which also helps reduce inflammation. My legs felt much better.

I also tried the oil massage before my morning routine this morning and it felt great, I will definitely keep doing that (time permitting) for my morning sessions but it only took 5 minutes so I should be able to do it on a regular basis.

I definitely think regular massage will be important as my legs have been aching a bit with pretty much daily work on them.

Tonight I should be doing some upper body resistance training.