Are flexibility exercises a real pain for you? Until I discovered something called PNF Stretching, they used to be for me, too!
It means, “Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation.” Fancy words that, in essence, mean you make dramatic gains in how limber you are when you combine relaxed, passive stretches with isometrics.
Yes, dramatic gains. Believe me–I know from experience!
My martial arts students think I’m pretty flexible, but the truth is, I was never a naturally flexible athlete. If anyone has ever struggled with flexibility, it’s me! In fact, when I started practicing Martial Arts in my early twenties I was so out-of-shape I didn’t know my hamstrings from a ham sandwich!
And let me tell you, I had a tough time learning how to get loose enough just to lob a regular round kick to my own head height.
Maybe this has been you’re experience, too: I would arrive an hour before my scheduled class time, sit on the floor off to one side of the room, doing stretch after stretch after stretch until I could finally do the high kicking my belt rank required.
And the next time I came back to class, I had to do it all over again…
And again…and again…
Why Passive Static Stretching Doesn’t Work
And a curious thing-after all that stretching, instead of feeling ready to get out there and do a good workout, I always felt a bit sleepy.
The reason is obvious to me now. What I didn’t know was that all that passive exercise stretching was helping me to slow down, not warm up!
Why? Because in passive exercise stretching, lengthening of the muscles is accomplished by relaxing them, with a little bit of help from applying your body’s weight to the point where you feel the “burn.”
All that relaxation along with deep breathing during the stretch is great for winding down after a workout-or for that matter, as a cure for insomnia.
Believe me, I know how frustrating it can be to try to achieve Martial Arts flexibility that carries over into your “off hours.” And when it comes to Personal Safety, that’s where you really need it the most.
There’s Got To Be A Better Way
It was also frustrating to see other, more flexible people toss their kicks around like their legs and hips were made of rubber. I started thinking, There’s got to be a better way to get flexible!
And there is. After researching many articles and books, and videos, I discovered that Stretching isn’t just Stretching. In fact, there are several kinds of flexibility techniques:
Passive
Active
Static
Dynamic
Ballistic
Resistance PNF
Passive stretching is okay after a workout, but doesn’t do much to prepare you for high kicks. In fact, what I eventually learned was that most of the improvements to my kicking range came through sparring and heavy bag work.
That’s right-although you can help prevent injuries and cramps by passive stretching before a workout, it does very little to improve your high kicking ability.