Active flexibility

[portaldo]

http://www.gymnasttube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d13df5083790d64c4d5d

Impressive examples of usable mobility - a combination of strength and flexibility that promotes both the health of your joints and optimal performance, as
opposed to static, passive flexibility that may create a more flexible musculature but with side effects such as:
* Weakening soft tissue and ligaments (once damaged, those structures never return to normal)
* Damaging elasticity traits of the contractile and non contrcatile units
* Damaging the muscular contraction potential - weakening you
* Damaging intra and inter muscular coordination and recruitement patterns

Move into your range of motion actively, use it and do not rely on passive methods only to do so- that is the source of optimal mobility. Passive methods to some extent can help open up new range of motion, but you will have to move into it, out of it, around it, etc for this new ROM to be truly yours. The combination of those methods will allow most people to break through plateu new ROM- accepting it as your new norm.
Most people just make the mistake of creating a new passive ROM so far beyond their active one that they fail to advance further. A good rule of thumb is to always chase down your passive ROM with your active ROM, they will never be the same, but you should try to minimize the deficit.

I use a combination of passive, active, dynamic, static, ballistic, weighted, PNF, elastic resisted, breathing and yoga techniques, ballet, gymnastics, partner, sliding apperatus, joint mobility and soft tissue external manipulation methods.

Ido.

[portaldo]

Another great clips an obviously great GPP and mobility development:


Mind you, this is not a gymnast, but someone who went through a correctly executed general physical preparation period in his childhood years, in an old eastern european country. (Extensive part of it was gymnastics training of course, the way it should be in any child's physical prep)

Ido.

[Cnye94]

Very impressive...

[Sorriso]

So Ido,
When you talk about active stretching are you talking about PNF stretching, Partner assisted stretching, Strengthening of the antagonist muscles, Ballistic, or a combination of all of them?
Justin

[portaldo]

There is a bit of confusion about the definition of Active Stretching. Most people refer to any stretch you are activating muscle contraction at, even if you are using a passive means to get into that position. I refer to Active Stretching as a stretch that is achieved only as the result of muscular contraction and not an external force or even gravity. That contraction can be helped by other external means, to a degree, or can be opposed by external means. (elastic, gravity, weights, etc...)

So an active stretch would be to perform a split in a handstand position or a leg held high in the air at the end position of a kick, for example.

Ido.

[Cnye94]

When do you plan on unveiling, or sharing a systematic approach to this?

Currently I do some weighted stretching once a week, DJM around 7 times a week, if not more often, Dynamic stretches 3-4X a week.

[Sorriso]

Hey Ido,
You mentioned an ISO psoas stretch when I asked about my back bridge work. Is that like a flex/release type of stretch? Would I contract isometric(ly) then relax and go deeper passively?
Justin

[rikk]

I understand that usable flexibility is the only USEFUL flexibility -
I'm wondering whether, in your experience, this type of dynamic stretching increases the risk of injury?
It seems that using momentum to attain a stretch increases the risk of over-extending muscles, ligaments etc.

[LongQuan]

@rikk:
hey my friend,
don't confuse ballistic stretching with dynamic stretching, where you swing your leg faster and higher under control and ONLY as long as you're able to keep the stretched muscles relaxed. as soon as they tighten up you should stop or even better before the stretch reflex sets in. when you've reached the desired level of dynamic flexibilty you can start adding some ballistic elements with a little less control to the stretch. IMO pavel's very first book on flexibilty called "beyond stretching" explains it very well.
hope that helps, i'm sure ido will add some useful comments too!

btw, ido, what do you think of the so called pink panther technique for improving active flexibilty?

all the best

[portaldo]

Cny, I will release more material with time, I have a lot on my plate right now.

Sorriso, the PNF contract relax can work, as a normal iso stretch. Look up the poliquin psoas stretch, its one of the best for this area.

Rikk, this kind of an aproach is a myth and was developed in the west by phisiotherapists and 'pink dumbell' fitness trainers. It is bullshit. If it was true every martial artists who emphesized high kicking in his style would be injured. Dynamic stretching is only harmful for a severly deconditioned folks, and it hurts them because they never do it in the first place.

LQ, I would also not be afraid of ballistic stretching. Its all a question of conditioning yourself gradualy and then it can actualy become a very good training tool. (As any Wushu stylist knows)
I am not a big fan of the pink-lion or whatever. The most important thing is to spend time in the active stretch position and a lot. (but maintain quality- the ROM needs to be at your extreme) All the tricks of recruiting or relaxing the nervous system by this method or that method may be an icing on the cake, but first- have a cake. For example ballerinas (like my girlfriend) have the an amazing active ROM, much better than tsatsouline and his whole DD gang put together. They have never heard of the pink-giraffe, I assure you, they just spend day in and day out performing sets of active stretching. The secret? suck it up and do the work.

Good stretching to you guys,
Ido.