Archive for the ‘Flexibility and Stretching’ Category
I just received your Stretching Express DVD, and it looks very interesting. However, I have heard for ages that deep squats, where the thigh goes past parallel to the floor, are bad for the joints (in particular the knee joint). Is this a problem or an old wives’ tale, and more recent scientific evidence has […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching | 1 Comment
Tags: deep squat, Flexibility Express, knee joint, martial arts instructor, partial squat, taekwondo, Thomas Kurz
The new year is the time for resolutions, for starting over, for trying something new. So here are a couple of resolutions for starting over and for trying something new: “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own” (Bruce Lee), and the Zen saying I had already repeated a […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | Leave a Comment
Tags: combat sports, Flexibility, martial arts, strength, Thomas Kurz, track-and-field
A few people have asked me, “What is the difference between the Flexibility Express and Secrets of Stretching DVDs?” Here is my answer: I made Secrets of Stretching when I was 35. I made Flexibility Express at 55, so the main difference between those two DVDs is 20 years of research and experience. The other […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 10 Comments
Tags: Bodhi Chenevey, fighters, Flexibility, Flexibility Express, martial artists, resistance exercises, Secrets of Stretching, strength, stretches, Thomas Kurz
Groin Pain: How Discipline Won!
This post is a follow-up to Groin Pain, or On Athletes, Pain, and Discipline, where I gave advice to a Kyokushin karate fighter who was experiencing groin pain (pubalgia). Recently he sent me this photo, showing the result of following my advice on dealing with his groin pain. Alan Bacci, age 43, does hanging side […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Sports Injuries | 2 Comments
Tags: Alan Bacci, Flexibility Express, groin inflammation, groin pain, hanging side split., Kyokushin karate, pubalgia, recovery from pubalgia, Thomas Kurz
It has been a long while since I produced any instructional material on training for sports and martial arts. The reason is a severe shoulder injury I had a few years ago. I totally dislocated and nearly destroyed my shoulder. (Full info on the injury is at http://atomic-temporary-4752433.wpcomstaging.com/2010/06/30/back-bridge-twist-seminar-excerpt and http://atomic-temporary-4752433.wpcomstaging.com/2009/10/22/no-sweat-workout/#comment-133.) Of course, I was not […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 19 Comments
Tags: back bridge, exercises, Flexibility, Flexibility Express, martial arts, shoulder injury, shoulder rehab, shoulder surgery, splits, sports, strength, stretching, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz
Non-athletes need discipline to keep working out; athletes need discipline to stop. Groin pain happens. It happened to one combat-sport athlete—a Kyokushin fighter and instructor—who then asked me for advice on dealing with it. Athletes, and especially combat-sport athletes, have high pain thresholds and high internal motivation. Those two traits combined make athletes vulnerable to […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Sports Injuries | 6 Comments
Tags: athletes, chronic injuries, discipline, dynamic stretches, early morning stretching, fighter, front splits, groin pain, injury treatment, Kyokushin, non-athletes, pubalgia, rehabilitation, side splits
Not All CrossFits Are Equal
I got the following questions from a reader of Stretching Scientifically. > I received your book, Stretching Scientifically, and have been very excitedly > attempting to develop side and front splits. I’ve recently begun taekwondo, > but I come from a background of CrossFit, where I’ve been doing deep squats and > other movements with […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 10 Comments
Tags: crossfit, deep squat, front splits, horse-riding stance, side splits, taekwondo, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz
A couple of days ago I answered these questions from a young fighter. I get similar questions from time to time, so I decided to share my answer with my readers. Questions: I am preparing for amateur matches in Muay Thai and boxing. I work out twice a day. In the morning I begin with […]
Filed under: Exercises and Workouts, Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts, Teaching Movement Skills for Sports and Martial Arts | 3 Comments
Tags: boxing, Control of the Training Process, Flexibility, isometric stretches, Muay Thai, optimal frequency of workouts, relaxed stretches, Science of Sports Training, Secrets of Stretching, sport-specific exercises, static stretches, strength, technical workout, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz, warm-up, workout
Here is info I forgot to post two weeks ago: Two “I told you so….” in recent articles from The Journal of Strength and Conditioning: 1. Effects of Static Stretching on Energy Cost and Running Endurance Performance Static stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running. Abstract […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Sports Performance | 3 Comments
Tags: dynamic warm-up, endurance performance, sprinting, static stretching
Just before Thanksgiving, a member of Stadion’s Discussion Forum posted info on a new book by Vergil Den that references my work (thanks Tmess!). Out of curiosity I downloaded the book. It is worth reading, well written, and not too long. It is titled The Stoic’s Burden. You may download it from the author’s site […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching | 5 Comments
Tags: dynamic stretching, Paul Ingraham, static stretching, stretching and flexibility, stretching and injuries, Stretching Scientifically, Vergil Den
