Stretching...

innersmile · Post by **innersmile** » 30 Sep 2004 02:39

Hey,
Ok, we all know it's good for us aspiring shredder to stretch BUT, one thing I have noticed really conflicts with what I have learned form my other training. Why do you guys stretch to warm up? I always warm up to stretch. I know you should loosen up first and get your body ready but stretching should come at the end of a training sesh, be it footbag or other. There are other ways of relaxing the body and warming it up like joint rotations (not spliff smart ass!), light running on the spot and a zillion others (skipping is the bizomb!).

The reason for this is that when the muscle fibers are stretched, the muscles lose coordination and need time to recover (this may not be exact but, do the research yourselves and see what all the fittness books say). Your legs may be looser but the coord is not there. Anyway, stretching at the end of a sesh is a great way to cool down, relax and to avoid being stiff the next day.

Anyway, I just want ot hear why shredders stretch before the sesh. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm open to ideas and improving my ways.

Thanks,

millenniumtree · Post by **millenniumtree** » 30 Sep 2004 05:20

My brother is a Marine, and they always stretch AFTER their crazy long runs. I think it's because you can stretch a lot more effectively when your muscles are warm. Some people warm up a bit, stretch, shred, then stretch again, and I seem to think this is a good way to do it, but a little overkill. (unless you do crazy 3-4 hour shred sessions. :P)

Jas · Post by **Jas** » 01 Oct 2004 00:57

well i personally stretch before i have a huge session. U dont need to necessarily have to stretch after a session, just as long as u walk around and breathe some fresh oxygen into ur body and u wont get lactic acid. This is only for solo players. For people that shred together in a circle, u wont be able to walk as much so u just stand there, and by doing this, the lactic acid just stays in ur muscles and buils up and the muscles become sore. Stretching after a session after playing with a group is alright/good.

Air · Post by **Air** » 01 Oct 2004 11:04

I never stretch and I play almost everyday at least one hour. And my legs never feel pain.

underooninja · Post by **underooninja** » 01 Oct 2004 11:38

a great deal of the time i get so amped to kick that ive forgotten to stretch beforehand. i feel stretching works best for me during and after a shred.

blackcrown · Post by **blackcrown** » 01 Oct 2004 11:48

I strech a couple of times a day regardless of weather I'm going to shred or not.

Eric

ShredPirate · Post by **ShredPirate** » 01 Oct 2004 12:06

i only stretch if a muscle feels tense. other than that, i dont bother. stretching doesnt make me shred better, definitely doesnt reduce injury (it takes away from that invincible feeling), and yes i do feel like it takes away from my precise movements. stretching after a session is probably better.

edit: actually, stretching is only good if you do isometrics along with them. otherwise you focus too much on muscle looseness, and not enough on their strength.

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 01 Oct 2004 13:53

Usually for me, I warm up with some kicks and some alternating toe stalls. Then I stretch my ankels, pelvis, and knees. I also do some dexercise to loosen my knees up.

And then from there I do alternating insides, clipper drill, and then my last drill just to (again) loosen up me knees, Atw In> Op Atw In>Op Atw Out>Op Atw out. Then I go into strings or work on some things.

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 01 Oct 2004 14:12

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 01 Oct 2004 16:06

I think I posted on stetching in another thread about when we are 40 or something like that.

but yeah, flex is right. I don't stretch. I dont' fight for moves. I don't go for crappy passes. I use my motions and hit my tricks, my way. If you have to play with people who are self serving nazis, then you might need to stretch to accomodate all the random motions you will be making before you ever get warmed up. I'm not into that crap, so I just catch the bag and drop it to myself.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 01 Oct 2004 17:10

AA wrote:I never stretch and I play almost everyday at least one hour. And my legs never feel pain.

How old are you? I used to be this way, but as I have gotten older, I found that my body isn`t invincible. I think stretching and taking care of your body will lengthen your footbag career.

Air · Post by **Air** » 01 Oct 2004 23:21

C-Fan wrote:
AA wrote:I never stretch and I play almost everyday at least one hour. And my legs never feel pain.
How old are you? I used to be this way, but as I have gotten older, I found that my body isn`t invincible. I think stretching and taking care of your body will lengthen your footbag career.

I'm 14. And I've found out that streching doesn't make me more flexible or anything.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 01 Oct 2004 23:28

I felt the same way. I played for 4-5 years without stretching and I was fine. Now I am injured and haven't played for half a year and I'm pretty pissed off at myself for not taking a few minutes every session to sit on the floor or hold onto my leg. It's pretty simple and after bothsidedness I think this is the MOST important thing in footbag if you're serious about playing--probably more-so, but I'm stubborn.

I made chocolate peanut butter cookies today. My mom bought 4 jars of "chocolate peanut butter"; it pretty much just tastes like peanut butter, but you can taste the chocolate in the cookies! (Plus I learned how to use semicolons!)

AIvanyo · Post by **AIvanyo** » 02 Oct 2004 08:21

I usually stretch before a warm-up, but I've been thinking of trying warming up then stretching. Sometimes I don't need to stretch before I play, but I always stretch after.

off topic: does anyone know how to stretch your calf?

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 02 Oct 2004 08:25

Andrew:

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Gastrocnemius/Wall.html

Air · Post by **Air** » 02 Oct 2004 09:35

chan wrote:I made chocolate peanut butter cookies today. My mom bought 4 jars of "chocolate peanut butter"; it pretty much just tastes like peanut butter, but you can taste the chocolate in the cookies! (Plus I learned how to use semicolons!)

Cool!

Today I played for five hours. I didn't stretch, I didn't warm-up and my legs don't feel pain.