Archive for the ‘Flexibility and Stretching’ Category
What Is Functional Training?
In the YouTube video below, Coach Tumminello talks about the use of the term functional in sports and fitness training and gives a useful definition of the term. What is Functional Training? The Real Definition My definition is similar to that of Coach Tumminello but briefer and wider. I define functional exercises as those that […]
Filed under: Endurance Training for Sports and Martial Arts, Exercises and Workouts, Flexibility and Stretching, Principles of Sports Training, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | Leave a Comment
Tags: Coach Tumminello, functional fitness, functional training, sports training
Fear of Overtraining
Today a post from Stadion’s Discussion Forum with questions on overtraining and recovery from injuries, followed by my answers. First the whole post: I am a taekwondo’er, been away for some months (bad ankle sprain that had me undergo surgery, which has taken months to recover) . . . anyways enough of my sorry story, […]
Filed under: Endurance Training for Sports and Martial Arts, Flexibility and Stretching, Sports Injuries, Sports Nutrition, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 1 Comment
Splits Without Trying
A recent exchange on training for strength and flexibility between Mr. E and me: Mr. E.: I have been using your video Flexibility Express, and I definitely see major improvement, though not as quickly as you indicate I should. One question regarding the squats into splits routine: How frequently should I be performing that series […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | Leave a Comment
Tags: deadlifts, exercises, Flexibility, splits, squats, strength, Thomas Kurz, workout
Age, Gender, and Stretching
Two new articles on stretching and flexibility are posted on stadion.com. The first is titled “Age and Stretching” and the second, “Gender and Stretching.” In those articles I answer questions from athletes and martial artists on relation of age and gender to flexibility. Some older martial artists ask whether it is possible to improve flexibility […]
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Tags: age and stretching, gender and stretching, martial arts, stretching and flexibility, Thomas Kurz
Does your flexibility improve when you stop training? If yes, then you have the same problem as the martial artist who wrote this: > As a martial artist I stretch a lot but nothing happens. In fact when > I don’t train I become a little bit more flexible than when I train. > It […]
Filed under: Exercises and Workouts, Flexibility and Stretching | 2 Comments
Tags: exercises, Flexibility, martial arts, sports training, stretching, Thomas Kurz
A reader of Stretching Scientifically has sent me this: “Hi. I have bought the Stretching Scientifically but I think it is not for me… I have tight hamstring and I can barely reach my knees with my legs straight (reaching my toes is a dream…). I have also started karate and with the kicks I […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching | 6 Comments
Tags: flexibility training, karate, kicks, Lao-Tsu, Stretching Scientifically, Thomas Kurz, W. L. Bateman
Someone brought to my attention The Epic Split featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme (see below). I viewed it and was duly impressed. Then I read comments on YouTube and on other sites, such as huffingtonpost.com and mashable.com. Most comments on this video are Ok, but inevitably there are some from nobodies looking for faults in the […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Sports Performance | 4 Comments
Tags: hanging side split., Jean-Claude Van Damme, stretching and flexibility, Volvo Trucks
QUESTION: “Flexibility Express doesn’t come up with a set schedule for workouts like when and which ones to do. Before I bought it, it said that I need to workout 15-20 minutes twice a week to gain flexibility. How should I approach this program in terms of scheduling.” ANSWER: Do it on the same schedule […]
Filed under: Exercises and Workouts, Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts, Teaching Movement Skills for Sports and Martial Arts | 2 Comments
Tags: Flexibility, Flexibility Express, overtraining, strength, Thomas Kurz, workout schedule
The Right Stance for . . .
“Five-step” Horse-Riding Stance Question: First I wish to say thank you for sharing your information on flexibility training. I am an admirer of your work, and because of the information in Stretching Scientifically, my basic kicks got much higher than they ever were before—a lot of people noticed that in the dojang where I practice […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 7 Comments
Tags: deep squat, flexibility training, horse-riding stance, taekwondo, Thomas Kurz, wide squats
Sprints and Splits
Question: I am a sprinter, and I know that stretching can be detrimental to running speed, but I would still like to learn to do splits. Is there a way of learning splits that would not be detrimental to my sprinting, or even improve it? Answer: If, to increase flexibility, one does only the type […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | Leave a Comment
Tags: elastic energy, explosive power, Flexibility, running speed, splits, sports training, sprinting, stiffness of muscle-tendon unit, stretching, Thomas Kurz, weightlifters
