Posts Tagged ‘stretching’

See a video showing an easy, mechanically sound way of achieving the side split. It is at https://www.stadion.com/an-easy-way-to-a-side-split/


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 […]


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 […]


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 […]


There were some rainy days in Northeast Kingdom so I spent them reviewing and commenting video recording of my last seminar on combining strength and flexibility training. At the seminar I had the participants go through exercises that simultaneously stretch and strengthen the involved muscles, and even help with posture correction. One of these exercises […]


In its July 2009 issue, the Black Belt magazine published my article on stretching. The article got a sloppy edit. If you have read it (say, in the course of researching the m.a. market), you probably wondered why would I have written such a disorganized piece. I would not. Here is the real deal:  In […]


At first, I thought of naming this post “On Mixing Apples and Oranges or Empty Your Cup” but then, who would find it? Now, to the point . . . A former gymnast writes: > Hi Thomas, > > I’ve recently begun using your program to increase my flexibility. I > used to be a […]


Click on the following links to see photos of New England Patriots players as they prepare for practice: http://content/usatoday.com/…/Athletes/NFL/Larry+Izzo/… New England Patriots linebackers, from left, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Larry Izzo stretch during football practice in Foxborough, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008 http://content.usatoday.com/…/Athletes/NFL/Ty+Warren/… New England Patriots Richard Seymour and Ty Warren talk while stretching […]


Soccer match on a cold October day. A cold northerly wind blows. The coach (school’s P.E. teacher) conducts the pregame warm-up. It begins with players (6th and 7th grade, from 12 to 13 years old) doing static stretches—first pulling arms across chest, then other arm stretches, followed by trunk stretches and leg stretches. The leg […]