This question regarding stretching comes from Stuart in Canada. "At the ripe young age of 53, I've decided to take up TaeKwonDo ( although I studied Martial Arts back in my 20's ). My question to you is, do you have any tips or suggestions for stretching exercises?"
Can you believe there are people younger than you that claim they are too old to be involved in martial arts? I have a student who is almost 50 and began about 9 months ago and has competed in an international tournament and has a goal to compete in the US Taekwondo Open.
Stretching is a crucial part of living healthy. It's also an important part of any taekwondo training. Here are my suggestions to you:
1. Warm up prior to stretching. Don't waste your time and suscept yourself to injury. Stretching before you ever increase your body temperature will not allow your muscles to become elastic enough to do much good. In this case, your time is being wasted. If you continue to stretch while your muscles are cold, then you increase your chances of tearing or straining. Our muscles are much like taffy. When they're warm, they stretch easily without tearing. When they're cold, the stretching is much more difficult and tearing occurs much easier.
Spend anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes working up a light sweat. I recommend jogging in place or up and down your floor. I prefer jogging forward, then backward. Upon returning to your starting position, switch to high knee jogging, then high heels, skipping,and lastly- Taekwondo footwork. Then, go up and down your floor executing basic hand techniques and slow to medium paced kicks. Kick at 50% of your maximum height.
2. If you tend to be overly-tight, then I would recommend doing the drills above with warm ups on. The warm ups will help your body retain the heat, thus making it a little easier for your muscles to become more elastic and comfortable for stretching.
3. Go for static stretching over ballistic stretching (bouncing). Ballistic stretching engages a reflex response that prevents your muscles from elongating as far as they can. Stretching slowly will help to prevent this response and allow your muscles to stretch properly. Allow your muscles 20 to 30 seconds to stretch before switching.
4. Stretch to prevent injury and stretch to improve flexibility. Right after my warm up, I am stretching to continue my training without injury. At the end of my workout, I will stretch again, but this time more intensely. When I stretch after the workout, I am 100% warmed up and can really push my muscles even further. Of course, I listen to my body and never push through pain that I feel is not associated with normal stretching. Stretching should provide a mild pain that is uniform throughout the muscle and the same on both sides. If you begin to feel a sharp pain, it is important that you stop immediately. A sharp pain is typically a sign of a tear or strain.
5. Do not stretch out an injury. I would not recommend stretching a pulled or strained muscle. Our first instinct is to stretch that muscle out. That ultra tight hamstring that feels like it needs just a little extra stretching may not need any stretching at all. It may be torn! The tightness you feel is the body's defense mechanism so it can heel. My recommendation is to do a thorough warm up, then do a light stretch. I have always had success with contrast heating and cooling. I would apply a heat pad for 15 minutes, then ice for 15 minutes. I would repeat the process if I had time.
6. Set goals. If you're interested in increasing flexibility, find a way to measure your flexibility. No need to get fancy, simply use marks on the floor or other means to measure distance. Always strive to go just a tiny bit further each week.
7. Mix it up. I believe that it's possible for your body to become accustomed to a particular stretch. Whether it's a physical plateau or a mental one, your body will benefit from a change.
Good luck with your training!
Respectfully,
