Lets talk FLEXIBILITY!
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VintageFeline wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I am going to go on powerlifting threads this week and tell the posters their goals are unnecessary for daily life.ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
I bet that'll go down REALLY well.
I can't tell if you misinterpreted what I said or you're just being silly.
Bending over and picking things up is the most useful movement to train.
Can't bend over and pick anything up very easily if you're stiff as a board......There are a lot of people who can't hinge from the hip with their back straight low enough to pick up the bar/weights. But yeah, DL 200lbs is way more practical.
It would be beneficial for them to regain the ability to do so. Imagine how much their quality of life would improve.0 -
Afterthought: When I restarted yoga (after decades of none, while still obese, before my thyroid meds got adjusted correctly, and after cancer treatment, so I was very stiff and out of shape), I learned something that may be true only for me, but I'll pass it along anyway:
Daily stretching, for me, resulted in significantly faster progress than almost daily (4-5 days/week) stretching. I'm not talking about anything extreme or painful or long duration . . . just regular, relaxed and persistent.4 -
I have never been able to do the splits, but never kept up the stretching for flexibility either. I can say I'm more flexible now than I was a few months ago because of exercise and light stretching.0
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ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
How is deadlifting almost twice my body weight "the single most practical thing?" It's a goal of mine and I think it would be awesome, but I don't see much use for it in my everyday life. I'm a 43 year old desk jockey who has never needed to lift more than 80 pounds in her entire life. Even that was when I lived in the country and had to unload hay bales. As an aerialist, I need flexibility on a regular basis.2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
There's no reason I need to be able to run 13.1 miles in less than 2 hours, 17 minutes and 35 seconds but I'm still gonna try next race! :laugh:
Exactly! Why do fitness goals have to be "practical?" No, I don't *need* to be able to do the splits or deadlift 200 pounds or swim X number of laps, etc.. I also don't *need* to watch Game of Thrones or eat chocolate cake or drink good wine, but my life just seems better when I do.2 -
i always wanted to do the splits (came of age in the nadia comaneci era, so).
never could get very far with it in spite of having what some bodywork pro recently described as 'tons, in fact almost too much' mobility in my hips. so i've recently decided if i'd been born with hip sockets amenable to doing them, it would have happened by now. and that since it hasn't, in my case it's probably something that's best left alone.0 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
How is deadlifting almost twice my body weight "the single most practical thing?" It's a goal of mine and I think it would be awesome, but I don't see much use for it in my everyday life. I'm a 43 year old desk jockey who has never needed to lift more than 80 pounds in her entire life. Even that was when I lived in the country and had to unload hay bales. As an aerialist, I need flexibility on a regular basis.
Great question!
Few movement patterns are more natural than bending over and picking something up off the floor. The deadlift is nothing more than this natural movement performed correctly, with a loaded barbell held in the hands. This movement recruits a vast volume of tissue from the floor to the shoulders, including muscles of the legs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders and the entire back.
The deadlift is a structural exercise, exerting deep compressive and distracting stresses on the entire skeleton, thereby forcing bone adaptations. Stronger bones in the spine come with stronger spinal elector muscles attached to the spine. This becomes increasingly important as we age.
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ijsantos2005 wrote: »
Great question!
Few movement patterns are more natural than bending over and picking something up off the floor. The deadlift is nothing more than this natural movement performed correctly, with a loaded barbell held in the hands. This movement recruits a vast volume of tissue from the floor to the shoulders, including muscles of the legs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders and the entire back.
The deadlift is a structural exercise, exerting deep compressive and distracting stresses on the entire skeleton, thereby forcing bone adaptations. Stronger bones in the spine come with stronger spinal elector muscles attached to the spine. This becomes increasingly important as we age.
While that is interesting, I think you will find that the majority of people who have contributed to this thread already have an excellent understanding of weightlifting and the various styles of lifts. If I was going to pick up something heavy off the floor, a straight legged DL is not the movement pattern I would use as the OHS peeps have drummed into me "lift with your legs, not your back".
Also there are countless threads on the subject of lifting on MFP and virtually nil about flexibility so take your detailed explanations there. If you have some information about active and static stretching please share those instead.
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ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
How is deadlifting almost twice my body weight "the single most practical thing?" It's a goal of mine and I think it would be awesome, but I don't see much use for it in my everyday life. I'm a 43 year old desk jockey who has never needed to lift more than 80 pounds in her entire life. Even that was when I lived in the country and had to unload hay bales. As an aerialist, I need flexibility on a regular basis.
Great question!
Few movement patterns are more natural than bending over and picking something up off the floor. The deadlift is nothing more than this natural movement performed correctly, with a loaded barbell held in the hands. This movement recruits a vast volume of tissue from the floor to the shoulders, including muscles of the legs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders and the entire back.
The deadlift is a structural exercise, exerting deep compressive and distracting stresses on the entire skeleton, thereby forcing bone adaptations. Stronger bones in the spine come with stronger spinal elector muscles attached to the spine. This becomes increasingly important as we age.
... How is this related to OP's flexibility?3 -
Afterthought: When I restarted yoga (after decades of none, while still obese, before my thyroid meds got adjusted correctly, and after cancer treatment, so I was very stiff and out of shape), I learned something that may be true only for me, but I'll pass it along anyway:
Daily stretching, for me, resulted in significantly faster progress than almost daily (4-5 days/week) stretching. I'm not talking about anything extreme or painful or long duration . . . just regular, relaxed and persistent.
This is true. The progress I've made came quickest during periods of daily stretching too. However, I have just realised I consistently make time to stretch every day in reaction to progress, because I have more motivation and I feel more excited about it all. So now I don't know...
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?!1 -
ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
How is deadlifting almost twice my body weight "the single most practical thing?" It's a goal of mine and I think it would be awesome, but I don't see much use for it in my everyday life. I'm a 43 year old desk jockey who has never needed to lift more than 80 pounds in her entire life. Even that was when I lived in the country and had to unload hay bales. As an aerialist, I need flexibility on a regular basis.
Great question!
Few movement patterns are more natural than bending over and picking something up off the floor. The deadlift is nothing more than this natural movement performed correctly, with a loaded barbell held in the hands. This movement recruits a vast volume of tissue from the floor to the shoulders, including muscles of the legs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders and the entire back.
The deadlift is a structural exercise, exerting deep compressive and distracting stresses on the entire skeleton, thereby forcing bone adaptations. Stronger bones in the spine come with stronger spinal elector muscles attached to the spine. This becomes increasingly important as we age.
So 100 pounds would not be sufficient? Should I up my goal to 300? At what point do we draw the line between practical and impractical?0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
How is deadlifting almost twice my body weight "the single most practical thing?" It's a goal of mine and I think it would be awesome, but I don't see much use for it in my everyday life. I'm a 43 year old desk jockey who has never needed to lift more than 80 pounds in her entire life. Even that was when I lived in the country and had to unload hay bales. As an aerialist, I need flexibility on a regular basis.
Great question!
Few movement patterns are more natural than bending over and picking something up off the floor. The deadlift is nothing more than this natural movement performed correctly, with a loaded barbell held in the hands. This movement recruits a vast volume of tissue from the floor to the shoulders, including muscles of the legs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders and the entire back.
The deadlift is a structural exercise, exerting deep compressive and distracting stresses on the entire skeleton, thereby forcing bone adaptations. Stronger bones in the spine come with stronger spinal elector muscles attached to the spine. This becomes increasingly important as we age.
... How is this related to OP's flexibility?
It's related to a specific question asked towards me.0 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »ijsantos2005 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »For the forward bend/toe touch, rowing got me there, but it took a while.
I could just touch my toes at the start, got to being able to put both palms on the floor (straight legged), even while still obese. Now, thin (and old, 61), it's easy, and I'm working on seeing how far I can bend my elbows. Legs not short, arms not long.
(Rowing both builds, and benefits from, hamstring flexibility. That's why I care. I don't really understand why so many people seem to want to argue you out of your goals.)
When I was younger, yoga worked for me, too, especially the seated forward bends:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/seated-forward-bend
Notice the modifications & preparatories toward the bottom of the page.
No kidding! I can't think of any practical reason for me to deadlift 200 pounds and yet no one has tried to talk me out of trying!
Seriously, that's probably the single most practical thing.
How is deadlifting almost twice my body weight "the single most practical thing?" It's a goal of mine and I think it would be awesome, but I don't see much use for it in my everyday life. I'm a 43 year old desk jockey who has never needed to lift more than 80 pounds in her entire life. Even that was when I lived in the country and had to unload hay bales. As an aerialist, I need flexibility on a regular basis.
Great question!
Few movement patterns are more natural than bending over and picking something up off the floor. The deadlift is nothing more than this natural movement performed correctly, with a loaded barbell held in the hands. This movement recruits a vast volume of tissue from the floor to the shoulders, including muscles of the legs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders and the entire back.
The deadlift is a structural exercise, exerting deep compressive and distracting stresses on the entire skeleton, thereby forcing bone adaptations. Stronger bones in the spine come with stronger spinal elector muscles attached to the spine. This becomes increasingly important as we age.
So 100 pounds would not be sufficient? Should I up my goal to 300? At what point do we draw the line between practical and impractical?
There is not a line to be drawn at any weight. It's all the same practicality.0 -
These are YouTube vids for a couple of stretches we rowers - who really care about tight hamstrings as a performance issue - use:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hC0oIy2Xz4
Note the "hold for 2 minutes" comment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyfHz1AC0Es
With this second one, you can add pushing your heel into the wall (opposite the direction of stretch, keeping leg straight) at the end of the first stretch, just before scooching closer to the wall to get the next little deeper stretch.
You can do the same basic stretch, if you have initial flexibility to do so while remaining relaxed on your back, by reaching your hands around either side of your thigh or calf, pulling the straight leg toward you for the stretch phase, then pushing in the opposite direction (against resistance from your hands) for a few seconds, before pulling with hands back into a deeper stretch.
If you can't do that, another option is to have a standing partner gently lean into your leg to get the stretch for some time, then you push back firmly against their shoulder before the next slightly deeper stretch. The more dynamic versions (with the push) don't need to be 2 minutes per stretch - 30 seconds or so should be fine, with the push much shorter, maybe a slow 3-count.0 -
For most non-pro-athletes I would imagine flexibility is an achievement much like the other stuff we pursue, because we can and because we like goals and personal benchmarks. Stretching a little more and more often isn't going to turn someone into a Cirque performer accidentally.2
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My powerlifting coach (Westside) explained it to me this way: You want to stretch, and the older you get the more often you need to do it. But don't spend half an hour in a splits. If you over-stretch a muscle you can weaken it, and you'll lose athletic performance. You want tendon strength and muscle strength and flexibility, and that is a balancing act.
Now, having said that I'm a total hypocrite. I'm gung ho on the weights and a slacker on stretching. But at least I'm an honest hypocrite.1
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