Klawdya Rothschild's Vortex

Stretching… for Bondage                                                                    with Klawdya Rothschild

Why Stretch?

• Stretching prevents injury in activities demanding a high and varied range of motion. The reaches in tennis, sprints in basketball, quick bursts in martial arts demand high range of motion.

• Activities that consist of low intensity muscle contraction cycles, like biking and swimming need less flexibility, but stretching reduces the stiffness & soreness these activities cause.

• Flexibility decreases with age; stretching can help keep activities enjoyable with less discomfort..

What is Flexibility?

–A joint’s ability to move freely through a normal range of motion—not just do the splits.

Things that Affect Flexibility:

• the type of joint (some joints simply aren’t meant to be flexible)
• the elasticity of muscle tissue (scar tissue from previous injury is not very elastic)
• elasticity of tendons and ligaments (ligaments don’t stretch much and tendons shouldn’t)
• the elasticity of skin (skin has some degree of elasticity, but not much)
• the ability of a muscle to relax and contract to achieve the greatest range of movement
• warmth of joint and tissues (more flexible at temperatures 1-2 deg. higher than normal)
• the time of day (more flexible in afternoon than in morning, peaking about 2:30pm-4pm)
• the stage in the recovery process after injury
• age (pre-adolescents are generally more flexible than adults)
• gender (females are generally more flexible than males)
• the restrictions of any clothing or equipment

Types of Flexibility

• Dynamic flexibility: performing movements with muscles to bring a limb through its full range of motion in the joints.

• Static-active flexibility: ability to hold positions using only the tension of the agonists and synergists while the antagonists are being stretched. (eg. lifting the leg and keeping it high without any external support (other than from your own leg muscles).

• Static-passive flexibility: ability to hold positions and maintain them using only your weight, the support of your limbs, or some other apparatus (such as a chair). The splits is an example of static-passive flexibility.

How To Increase Flexibility

• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)
• Static Stretching
• Strength Training
• Isometric Stretching

The Best Way To Increase Flexiblity

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Faciliation or PNF for short, is the most effective way to increase flexiblity. Also known as contract-relax stretching, PNF involves stretching a muscle slowly and gradually until you reach maxium resistance without pain. You hold this stretch for 6 seconds then contract the muscle you are stretching for a couple of seconds, release the contraction, and immediately take the stretch a little further. Anytime you stretch a muscle, the stretch reflex  contracts the muscle to protect against injury. PNF inhibits stretch reflex.

Incorporate reciprocal inhibition by contracting the opposing muscle then taking the stretch even further.( ie. when attempting to increase hamstring flexibility go through the PNF sequence, and after you’ve completed it contract your quads and try to take the stretch even further. If you have really tight hamstrings you may want to try this first before starting with the PNF sequence)

Warm Ups:

1. joint rotations

2. aerobic activity

Begin with joint-rotations, starting from your toes and working your way up. This facilitates joint motion by lubricating the joint with synovial fluid. You should perform slow circular movements, both clockwise and counter-clockwise, until the joint seems to move smoothly. You should rotate the following IN ORDER:

1. fingers and knuckles

2. wrists

3. elbows

4. shoulders

5. neck

6. trunk/waist

7. hips

8. legs

9. knees

10. ankles

11. toes

After joint rotations, do five minutes of aerobic activity such as jumping jacks, running in place or  jumping rope ;), to increase cardiovascular output (i.e., get your blood pumping). Increased blood flow in muscles improves performance and flexibility and reduces the likelihood of injury.

Routine(s)

As a general rule, you should usually do the following when putting together a stretching routine:

• FIRST: stretch your back (upper and lower)
• stretch your sides after stretching your back
• stretch your buttocks before stretching your groin or your hamstrings
• stretch your calves before stretching your hamstrings
• stretch your shins before stretching your quadriceps (if you do shin stretches)
• stretch your arms before stretching your chest LAST

Stretching routines for flexibility should accomplish:

• Training stretch receptors (Proprioceptors) with PNF to adjust to greater muscle length.
• Reduce the resistance of connective tissue to elongation

~ by Klawdya Rothschild on May 30, 2009.

Posted in Bondage, Hand outs, Presenting
Tags: anatomy, Bondage, fitness, flexibility, Kink, klawdya, muscle, stamina, stretch routine, stretching, warm up