hideouse
02-27-2008, 06:32 PM
I once read in some of Coach Sonnon's writing a very negative opinion of stretching. Based on that idea, I haven't been doing much of any and in that way I have failed to compensate for my resistance training. Now I have come to realize that it is not "stretching" that so offends coach, but improper methods of relieving residual muscle tension, typically labeled as "static stretching" and "ballistic stretching". In my previous experiences, these two types of stretching occurred when static solo and partner exercises involving moving various skeletal articulations past their limit, in the belief that this would increase that joints' range of motion by making it more flexible. Taken to an extreme, this ends up like the training of sumotori, literally tearing the muscles and tendons of the body. One may end up able to do side splits eventually this way, but personally I lack the intestinal fortitude to take this road.
Contrast this then with the gentle but active movements of prasara, which encourages a trainee to activate the musculature to move in a particular direction, thus deactivating the antagonists, allowing the antagonist muscles to relax and then lengthen, in effect stretching, but in a natural and healthy manner, avoiding the potential for small tears in muscle fibers and other connective tissues. An excellent example is Coaches' instructions on forward bends taken from Walking Seal in the 4x7 program dvds. He instructs one to flex one's knees, bring ones' belly to one's thighs, then gently extend the knees. Doing this relaxes the antagonist glutes, allowing the fibers of those muscles to relax and lengthen slowly and safely.
I believe that many reading Coaches' words on this subject have misunderstood them as I have, and the misunderstanding hinges around the use of the word "stretch" and the different ways it may be interpreted. It does mean different things to different people, especially if one has seen it used in an unhealthy way.
As a mechanic in my day job, I'm reminded of the way my peers use the terms "stress" and "strain". "Stress" is force that deforms a structure within it's ability to return to it's original form. "Strain" is force that deforms a structure beyond it's ability to recover from. Let's all try to avoid "strain" stretching, because it hurts and slows down our training.
Now on to my title. The use of the word "mobility" implies directed movement, active movement, and with that, control. The use of the word "flexibility" lacks those connotations, being limited to "range of motion" without regard to one's ability to control that movement.
From a CST perspective, increasing one's flexibility without correspondingly strengthening one's musculature to control that movement risks injury. For myself this means I've got to do more lumbar circles and clovers and start doing rishi twists and twisted chairs, all of which may be though of as "stretching"... to the unenlightened :).
I hope this makes sense, and beg your pardon for any confusion I may have inadvertently caused.
Contrast this then with the gentle but active movements of prasara, which encourages a trainee to activate the musculature to move in a particular direction, thus deactivating the antagonists, allowing the antagonist muscles to relax and then lengthen, in effect stretching, but in a natural and healthy manner, avoiding the potential for small tears in muscle fibers and other connective tissues. An excellent example is Coaches' instructions on forward bends taken from Walking Seal in the 4x7 program dvds. He instructs one to flex one's knees, bring ones' belly to one's thighs, then gently extend the knees. Doing this relaxes the antagonist glutes, allowing the fibers of those muscles to relax and lengthen slowly and safely.
I believe that many reading Coaches' words on this subject have misunderstood them as I have, and the misunderstanding hinges around the use of the word "stretch" and the different ways it may be interpreted. It does mean different things to different people, especially if one has seen it used in an unhealthy way.
As a mechanic in my day job, I'm reminded of the way my peers use the terms "stress" and "strain". "Stress" is force that deforms a structure within it's ability to return to it's original form. "Strain" is force that deforms a structure beyond it's ability to recover from. Let's all try to avoid "strain" stretching, because it hurts and slows down our training.
Now on to my title. The use of the word "mobility" implies directed movement, active movement, and with that, control. The use of the word "flexibility" lacks those connotations, being limited to "range of motion" without regard to one's ability to control that movement.
From a CST perspective, increasing one's flexibility without correspondingly strengthening one's musculature to control that movement risks injury. For myself this means I've got to do more lumbar circles and clovers and start doing rishi twists and twisted chairs, all of which may be though of as "stretching"... to the unenlightened :).
I hope this makes sense, and beg your pardon for any confusion I may have inadvertently caused.