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the next step to fitness -
for FLEXIBILITY & RANGE OF MOTION
Why
do we need flexibility and range of motion?
Flexibility
is the part of fitness that seems the first to dwindle away. Little
by little, day by day, night by night, slowly you lose flexibility
and a little voice in your head whispers to you, "I'm getting
old".
The loss of
mobility and lack of flexibility you experience as you age is caused
mostly by environmental factors, not some internal "aging"
time clock. Bad working posture such as hunching over a keyboard
for hours at a time cause joint and back pain, and carpal tunnel
syndrome-RSI, Joint injuries from sports or accidents, forced inactivity
from injury ,arthritis and fibromyalgic pain, improper exercise
that overdevelops one muscle group while neglecting the opposing
group, such as doing many sit-ups to strengthen abdominal muscles
and no exercises to strengthen the lower back, poor general posture,
wear and tear, and overfatness that leads to injuries and inactivity.
These are the causes of the loss of flexibility
These factors,
plus our society's goal of a sedentary 'couch potato" lifestyle
and a rocking chair retirement mentality, reinforce the vicious
cycle that leads to chronic loss of mobility and flexibility. As
your habits become more sedentary it is hard to detect the subtle
decreases in endurance and strength that occur rather slowly but
you can detect "stiffening" in yourself daily.
Concern for
the maintaining and improving flexibility can be found as far back
as ancient Greece, Hippocrates claimed that all parts of the body
that have a function become healthy, well developed, and age slowly
if exercised; however, if they are not exercised, they become liable
to disease, defective
in growth, and age quickly. His claim was made with reference particularly
to joint and ligaments" (Withington,Hippocrates, with an English
Translation 1927 HMp28).
What
is static stretching?
 Developed
in the training of Olympic athletes, in the 1980's static stretching
has become the recommended method for improving everyone's flexibility.
Static means, "NO MOVEMENT". Static stretching is similar
to yoga in that you get into a stretched pose, hold it for a short
period and then relax. Static stretching is not like yoga in that
there is no contortion or extreme twisting of the body. You do not
have to have the flexibility of a very young person to execute the
poses.
Static stretching
is the preferred method of sports medicine professionals and athletic
trainers for children and adults of all ages and fitness levels.
It is effective in relieving the pain and stiffness of midlife "couch
potatoes" in our program. The physically elite United States
Navy SEALS use static stretching exclusively in their training program.
Their latest training manual advises their crack recruits to, "
(static) stretch to tightness, not to pain and hold for 10-15 seconds.
DO NOT BOUNCE."
Click
here for The Static Stretches
WARNING:
the animation on this page may take a few minutes to load....
but
it's WORTH IT!!
Available
for purchase:
STATIC
STRETCHING
VIDEO or AUDIO
Ease tension, joint and back pain
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