nathanlowe

Just read through the beginner compound topic and noticed that you should add in some flexabilty work.
Im interested in adding some in mine but couldnt find anything in the stickies about it.
Now my workout it push,pull,legs
push - bench press, millitary press, dips
pull - chinups, pullups, bent over BB row
legs - squats, deads, calf raises

And at the end of each workout 3 x 10 , 10kg weighted situps
10 minutes on treadmill and 10 lengths of swimming ( so far )

What flexability work should i add in ?

Cheers

AussieMarc

10 min stretch at the end buddy...

I like to start from my feet and work to my shoulders/neck.. so calf, hammies, quads, glutes, abs, back, chest, shoulders, neck.

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nathanlowe

What stretches do you do ?

My big problem is my tight hamstrings. I think its a combination of long legs and short hams.

I can stretch one leg out and really struggle to reach my toes.
But i cant bend down and touch the floor.

How can i improve this ?

GYMBABE

nathan look up information about PNF stretching.

when doing a stretching routine - make sure you stretch after every workout and to develop your flexibility each stretch should be held for a minimum of 30 secs

AussieMarc

calf stretch
- up against a wall or pole, toes as high as you can with your heal touching the ground and pull your body closer to the pole..


hamstring stretch
- one foot against the other knee, straight leg.. aim for your toes.. if you can't touch your toes you can use your bent leg to pull yourself a bit closer to your foot..

quad stretch
- fairly stock standard.. standing up, fold one foot towards your buttock.. hold onto something if you need to for balance...


hip stretch
- standing up, one knee bent slightly and the other foot resting on the slightly bent knee.. lean over and push the raised knee towards the ground..


glute stretch
- one leg should be as close to your chest as you can with your knee at a 90 degree angle. play around with the positioning .. bend the other knee up. if need be you can rest your foot on the other knee and pull your leg closer to you.


ab stretch
- picture is pretty self explanatory.. lie on your stomach. get in a pushup position.. keep your hips on the ground but straighten your arms.


lower back stretch..
- lie on your back.. one leg straight, cross the other leg over the top, slightly bent.. shoulders remain on the ground.. (your foot does NOT have to rest on the other leg's knee)


upper back stretch
- i personally like to do this standing up but i couldnt find a pic.. grap onto a pole or something similar.. relax your whole back and let your body drop backwards so you should have a curve in your back like above..


chest stretch
- you see everyone do this walking around the weights room.. stand in a squat rack / door frame or next to a pole... hold onto it and then take a step forward.. relax your shoulders. i personally like doing both arms at the same time. stand in a door frame and take a step forward - easiest way to explain it.


shoulder stretch
- one arm straight but across your body, other hand over the top pulling it backwards... pic pretty self explanitory.


neck stretch
- head tilted to one side... use your hand and pull your head down towards your shoulder if you would like..
you can also rotate your head around in circles for more of a dynamic stretch..

all of the above are fairly basic.. there are a thousand stretches and i only covered one on each..

as nip said, if you are after improving flexibility.. hold each one for about 30-45secs.. (can go longer if you like).. you will find the pain start to fade.. when that happens push a little bit further.. should take you 10-15 mins..

if any particular muscles are fairly bad, try and do it when you first get up in the morning and after a workout.. so that is twice a day..

hope this helps.. if any of these stretches need clarification, just let me know.

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Jock

Good post marc reps for that.

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genan

I always stretch like crazy(actually I do it slowly as you should) between sets, it feels damn good and somehow I feel safer doing heavy compounds afterwards.

There are so many ways to stretch for chest for example doing slow and concentrated lightweight flat bench Dumbbell Flyes is excellent.

I never wanted great flexibility tbh but thanks to stretching I got it