Flexibility and Injury

I've been busy recently with work and that meant I had forgotten to post a link to this excellent piece by Colin Gordon of Edinburgh Deep Tissue Massage on Flexibility and injury:

When we talk about the need for improved flexibility in injury prevention we are not talking about the need to develop the range of movement demonstrated by a gymnast merely that we have the normal range of movement for our joints....

If we are to tackle flexibility issues fully with we need to think beyond simply stretching, in any form, as to why we lack ROM within a joint but that whilst stretching will not prevent injury, there is no evidence that it does, there is no reason not to utilise various stretching type techniques to help regain our normal range of motion.

Go and read the whole thing

Sometimes you need flexibility

Image from Scott Sonnon

Old School Flexibility

I spotted this photo of the great John Grimek over on BeastSkills (a very good resource by the way) and thought I'd reproduce it here. Not much to add really!

The Van Dam Lift.

This one is a definite "Do not try this at home" (although some people are trying it!)



ouch

Superb Deadlifts- one Romanian, one stiff legged

This is from Gym Jones:

Hamstring flexibility determines the depth of the RDL. Shoulder blades could stand to be pinched together ...

And again:

How much additional (hamstring) stretching need be done?

I wonder what Esther would make of those photos?

Hip Mobility...

Mobility is really important.

Scott Sonnon has a nice little free booklet of mobility moves - Are you free to move? - which explains the benefits of keeping mobile.

Here are a couple of hip mobility drills from Mountain Athlete

HIM:




HAM:

Kicking

I have this guy's DVD on Splits and Flexibility which is pretty good.

This is a trailer for one he is doing on kicking. Flexibility helps but this guy is quick!