Flex Mutant stretching-program

written by Flex Mutant et al

transcribed by Stick
INTRODUCTION
Quote:
...They took people in nursing homes and had them doing the splits in less then a month.
The purpose of the study was to show ways of prolonging life. At age 65 many seniors break their
hips by falling, if they are more fleible they are less likely to break their hip. !reaking a hip at 65
is "onsidered a life threatening in#ury at that age.
$ ha%e taught many people to do the splits. &any adults "annot belie%e that after being terribly stiff
most of their li%es they "an now do the front and side splits along with many other stret"hes.
$ tried to outline my method that has worked for my students for '( years. )ong slow stret"hing. $t
sounds "ra*y and it is. $ ha%e spent + hours stret"hing and ha%e students that ha%e done the same
thing. After a few weeks they are doing the splits. Then they "an drop ba"k to the '( to '5 minutes
of stret"hing that lets them maintain their fleibility.
$t,s mu"h like weight lifting. To get gains you ha%e to work %ery hard. !ut to maintain you don,t
ha%e to do -uite as mu"h.
.o a stret"h until you begin to feel main. !reath in through your nose out through your mouth and
rela. /ait until it does not hurt and then push out a little farther. 0epeat. .o it as long as you
want. The longer you spend the faster you will see results. $ don,t like spending mu"h time on
stret"hing so $ prefer to get people fleible -ui"kly and then help them to maintain it.
There is nothing spe"ial about stret"hing. As a matter of fa"t, $ had in#ured my leg and that kept me
from doing the splits. Then $ took an offi"e #ob and basi"ally did not train or stret"h for almost 1
years2 at least, not seriously. 3o $ probably had 45 degrees when $ did the 3ide split. ' month later
$ am now able to do the split again. )egs out "hest flat on the floor. $t will be a few more weeks
before it is "omfortable, but $ did it.
$ ha%e retrained myself to do the splits se%eral times due to in#uries and simply being la*y and not
trying to maintain. $t su"ks to do it and seems like it takes way to long. !ut if you really want to be
fleible try it seriously for a month. $f you ha%en,t gotten mu"h more fleible then you didn,t do it
long enough ea"h time you stret"hed.
And this way is a lot safer than !allisti" stret"hing, or pressing against the stret"h when you are
maed out 56789. $,%e seen people in#ured many times from doing stret"hing this way.
$ was ha%ing real hamstring problems 5do"tors said $:d ne%er ha%e full use of my leg again9 and $
got in a toe tou"h position and read a book that way. $ ha%e ne%er had that type of hamstring
problem again.
THE PROGRAM

8irst it is important to follow some simple rules if you want to in"rease fleibility.
'. 3tret"h after working out to impro%e fleibility.
1. All mo%ements should be done slowly while stret"hing.
+. 7e%er boun"e 5;ballisti" stret"hing;9 < you will get gains, but it will in"rease the risk of in#ury
dramati"ally.
4. .o not for"e a mus"le to go beyond its range of motion.
5. =pe"t pain, but it should not be etreme.
6. $f you suffer a pulled or strained mus"le rest a few days before attempting to stret"h for fleibility
again.
>. As for times to hold the stret"h: minimum of 6(, unless you get stabbing type pain < in whi"h
"ase stop the stret"h or rela it a bit. ?old the stret"h as long as is ne"essary. $f you start it and it is
hard for you hold for a minute and see if you "an in"rease the stret"h, keep trying hold, stret"h, hold
stret"h to work your way down. @n"e you feel you ha%e made suffi"ient progress for the day you
"an stop. $,d say ' to 5 minutes as a guideline but you ha%e to learn to listen to your own body.
A. !reath deeply when stret"hing, !reath out as you go down into the stret"h and "ontinue to breath
deeply.
First stretch
3it on the floor with both legs dire"tly in front of you2 both feet should be tou"hing. 6ull yourself
down to your knees using your arms. 5$f this is diffi"ult, wrap a rope or belt around your feet and
use that to pull down9. ?old position for 5 minutes or until pain subsides. Then pull down until
"hest is against the knees 5or as "lose as you "an9. Try not to ar"h your ba"k. Bontinue this for as
long as you want, up to about +( minutes. .@ 7@T bend the knees.
Second stretch
3tand, and pla"e legs together. 6la"e left leg behind right and pull yourself down to tou"h your
toes. Then swit"h legs and repeat.
.o not bend knees any more than ne"essary.
Third stretch
3it on your feet in the kneeling position. And simply lie ba"k until you are lying on the floor. .o
this %ery slowly until you are sure you "an do it without in#ury. ?old position until pain subsides
and go further down. ?old for ' to 5 minutes on"e you are able to lie all the way down on the floor.
5$f you ha%e knee problems be %ery "areful with this stret"h9. This stret"h < when held long enough
< has a C=0D relaing effe"t on your entire body.
Fourth stretch
3it and pla"e both soles of your feet together. 6ull your feet towards you and push down on your
knees until they tou"h the floor. Then try to put your nose to the floor.
Fifth stretch
6ut your legs up against a wall or other sturdy ob#e"t, and let them slide out into a split. This stret"h
should be the one you hold the longest of all the stret"hes. $f, for some reason, you are unable to
find a wall, then do a simple C<sitEstraddle instead.
$ ha%e got people in their 6(,s down to the splits this way within a month. 7@T=: after you are
done stret"hing, pull yourself ba"kwards and let your legs "ome together, then use your hands to lift
them up at the knees and shake them a bit to warm them up before standing.
.o not bend knees. .@ 7@T !@F7B=GGGGG