Martial Arts Stretching – The Importance of an Effective Routine- writedeal.com

Dec 31st 09 Posted by Donald Borah in Blogging

Martial Arts Stretching – The Importance of an Effective Routine

You need a lot of flexibility if you are going to easily be able to effectively and powerfully perform the moves in any type of martial arts that require extended range of motion. If you want to be skillful in any martial arts style, you need to have flexibility, focus, and strength.

The quickest way to make progress in your flexibility is to have a proper martial arts stretching routine. Routines that have worked the best have a light morning stretching workout, a light evening stretching routine, and a powerful main workout during the daytime. While this routine sounds excessive, it has been proven that an aggressive schedule similar to this will increase your flexibility 2-4 times faster than a martial arts stretching schedule that is less dedicated. After having reached the level of flexibility that is sufficient, you will be able to lighten your routine quite a bit.

One should practice general loosening and active flexibility stretches both morning and evening. Avoid more intense passive forms of stretching like isometric, or PNF stretches during the morning and evening workouts. It is not advisable to stretch on a full stomach so begin your morning routine of flexibility stretches before breakfast. Do not try to divide your blood supply between physical activity and digestion at the same time. The evening stretching is best completed an hour or so after dinner while at least an hour before sleep. Keep the morning and evening workouts relatively brief at fifteen to thirty minutes but perform them 6 days a week.

The primary martial arts stretching workout is strenuous and should be limited to two to four days per week. Your body needs plenty of time to completely recover from the intense stretching routines. Your main workout should start off with some cardiovascular fundamentals paired with mild dynamic stretches that will incrementally ramp up in intensity as your body begins to warm up. Your workout will then segue into martial-art specific movements that will prepare your body for executing the actual techniques of your particular art. The core of the martial arts stretching routine is next in the workout, and it includes relaxed stretches, PNF stretching, and isometric stretching. Following this portion of the workout, static stretching and active flexibility stretches that are not so strenuous should be employed as the body cools down.

How often you do you main martial arts stretching workout, how long each workout is, and how much time you need to spend on each part of the workout (warm-up, main routine, and cool down) depends on how experienced you are and what your proficiency level is. If you are a beginner, you should have longer warm-up and cool down periods, accompanied by a shorter main routine. If you already have a fair level of flexibility, you can spend more time on the specific exercises and flexibility stretches in the main routine. If you have a high level of flexibility, you are able to have a shorter workout all together. Your main focus is to maintain your level of flexibility. The type of flexibility exercises you want to have in your program will depend on your experience level and the type of sport or martial art you are practicing for.

If you are a beginner, it is important to focus on generic flexibility exercises. For the intermediate and advanced level students, isometric, PNF and relaxed stretching methods are more important.

Those who specialize in martial arts forms which utilize high kicks should be careful to stretch their hips and legs; grapplers more on back, shoulders and arms. Careful attention in creating your martial arts stretching routine which takes into consideration your experience level and your art will provide better and faster gains in your flexibility and improvements in your overall performance.

Devotion to your plan will help you achieve your goals.

If you want to learn much more about the latest martial arts stretching, flexibility stretches and routines that will boost your flexibility and progress, visit www.MartialArtsStretching.com.