Flexibility how often should you stretch

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[jfearon]

I have been doing Aikido for about Six Months now, and I am still not very flexible. How often does everyone else stretch. Does anybody know any good stretch's.

[akiy]

I try to stretch after every class for at least five minutes, something I think people should do (as the muscles are warmed up, oxygenated, and usually more relaxed than before class).

I usually don't stretch very intensely, although I do sometimes (perhaps once a month?) do some "heavy duty" stretching exercises that leave some people cringing...

A good place for stretching information is last week's Link of the Week (http://www.aikiweb.com/link_w/) which was Brad Appleton's stretching and flexibility FAQ (http://www.enteract.com/%7Ebradapp/docs/rec/stretching/).

Hope that helps.

-- Jun

[runner]

I agree with Jun: stretch your muscles while you're still "warmed up".

Three to four times a week, I do 15-25 minuite workouts consisting solely of stretching. My flexibility has increased significantly since I started doing this four to five months ago.

As with all other forms of training and exercise, a little bit is always better than nothing. So at least try to do a few stretches daily.

[eric]

hi, if i may suggest a video called "the navy seal workout challenge"
it has alot of good stretching in. ex: in 3 months i can now split and
almost touch the floor, bend almost completely backwards..

[chrisinbrasil]

Hi,
Strectching, I agree, should be done after a run, practice, or some other physical exercise. However, doing said exercise can be detrimental to cold muscles. I would suggest light and complete stretching before, then sustained, heavy stretching afterward. Never stretch far enough to feel burning or tearing sensations. There should be no problem with stretching everyday. Sometimes the exercise you do before stretching shouldn´t be done everyday, for example heavy weight training. Before and after yields great results.