Improving Flexibility

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Ghossein

Ghossein

Norm Smith Medallist
Veteran
Jul 16, 2009
8,579
9,518
Perth
AFL Club
West Coast
hey all, i've noticed over the past few months that the flexibility i have in my legs is quite low, which is causing me to be prone to injury and is affecting my running. whenever i run i always feel a painful tightness in my legs (mainly calfs), even though i do stretch. it's restricting my running and making me a slower sprinter. i'm 16 years old, 190cm, 78kgs, and generally play tall forward (hence sprinting being a problem), though i'd like to be able to push into the midfield if required. would be great if anyone could recommend some simple stretching exercises.

thanks in advance
 
I've actually found yoga helped immensely for flexibility - probably gained an extra 7-8 inches in terms of how far down my shins I can reach in 12 months.
 

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"I do stretch" in football terms = I stand on a fence and talk to mates after a lap.

If this is really bothering you need to be stretching properly for at least 15 minutes a day, and definitely get fitted with a decent pair of shoes
 
your definition of stretching and the proper clinically relevant stretching is probably different. for gaining length in the muscles i would say to hold your stretches for a good two to three minutes at a time and do this multiple times per day. for the calf, do both straight knee and bent knee stretches and preferably off a step since it will give a better stretch.

although with your symptoms you may be suffering from a few things that are not related to flexibility
 
some symptoms might have to do with my flat footed-ness

but the fact that i struggle to get my leg in the air when having a shot at goal is pretty much proof that i battle with flexibility.
 
Ghossein said:
some symptoms might have to do with my flat footed-ness

but the fact that i struggle to get my leg in the air when having a shot at goal is pretty much proof that i battle with flexibility.
Click to expand...

Definitely get a decent pair of shoes then - Try Active Feet they will fit you up real well.

Struggling to lift your leg in the air has to do with tight hamstrings/lower back so focus on them areas.

If you stretch properly daily you will find dramatic changes in just a couple of weeks.
 
try this:

1 - test hamstring flexibility

2 - roll the sole of your foot over a golf ball x 1min each

3 - re-test

4 - thank me

please don't stretch the lower back and i'd also think twice about hamstrings too
 
cptkirk said:
try this:

1 - test hamstring flexibility

2 - roll the sole of your foot over a golf ball x 1min each

3 - re-test

4 - thank me

please don't stretch the lower back and i'd also think twice about hamstrings too
Click to expand...

This helps a lot. People don't seem to realise that the muscles in your feet can get tight as well.

But even if you don't have problems with your flexibility, you should do this.

It massages your feet and feels very relaxing.
 
I've found that a tennis ball is too large for me, possibly because I have small feet.

Sitting down is how I do it but I guess you could do it standing up as well.
 
Whomb said:
I've tried it with a tennis ball.

Do you guys do it standing up, leaning against something, or just sitting, pushing the ball around on the bottom of your foot?
Click to expand...

do it sitting down
you can target the really gungy areas of the foot that way, and its way more comfortable. you can also fill up a 600ml coke bottle and freeze it, and use that to roll your foot on
 

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if it's the one i'm thinking off it's hips and glutes depending on your leverages

the lower back, or the lumbar spine to be more precise, is a joint built for stability, not mobility
 
My tight back improves with a good hamstring stretch, that's sort of what I was getting at.
 
lets look at this different way

when you stand you're hips are more then likely in anterior pelvic tilt putting your lumbar spine into hyperextension even if very minor

now what this does is compress the vertebrea together and squeezes everything btw them...grab a comp and pull both ends with the "comby" bits on them together and see what happens, everything closes up aka - the lower back stretch

now when you do a hamstring stretch you go into lumbar flexion which is the opposite so you're now lengthening the gap btw each vertebrea...grab that comb and now try and bend the ends together via the hard side

so now is the hamstring stretch giving you back relief or the lumbar flexion involved in the hamstring stretch?
 
Hey guys,

I saw only 1 mention of Yoga in this thread and a little surprised. I am now a massive advocate for yoga for full body flexibility/conditioning.

To use myself as an example, I have been out of football for a couple of years due to lower back/hamstring problems and have only this past summer taken up 'Bikram yoga' which for those that have not heard of it, is a form a yoga done in a temperature controlled room kept around 41 degrees. It consists of 26 poses over 90 minutes and is VERY intense.

Over the past 2 months I have done approximately 20 classes and for the first time in that 3 years I am back on the track running at full pace and participating in all the full ground drills. The biggest area of improvement is mobility through the hips and groin which in essence were putting additional strain on the hammy's.

In addition to the yoga I stopped weight training which I will abstain from for the remainder of 2011, much like Shane Watson did after all his injury problems.

At this rate I may even get the body back to match fit.

So to the original poster, in summary I would highly suggest getting into some form of yoga, ideally bikram as its the only one I have tried. People told me for the past 3 years to try it and I wish I had listened earlier.

Cheers
Luke
 
Like the above post says, Yoga is anyone's best bet for better flexibility. Also, it is a brilliant addition to your core routine and in fact works to strengthen many joints in the body.

Whilst I wouldn't recommend jumping straight into Bikram (as it's a little above beginner level), going to a normal or 'hot' yoga session will do you wonders. I prefer the 'hot' sessions as the room is warmed slightly and assists you in loosening. One thing you'll instantly notice if you ever have a male instructor is how bloody cut they are. It's a nice ego buster the first time you're asked to do a shoulder stand and realise your core isn't really up to the task.

Edit: As if you needed any more motivation, yoga isn't the Zumba (rhymes with fatty boomba). If you're a single man those session are quite enjoyable ;)
 
And at what age should one start yoga ?
My young bloke is 12, very fit and goes ok, but his flexibility is terrible.
Is there actually any evidence that the more flexible you are, the further you kick ? I know most of it is about technique, but he cant get his foot up high at all to follow through with his kicks.
Surely being flexible would help ???
 
personally a don't rate yoga of any sort

unless you can dictate what is being lengthened and what isn't, then you're very well stretching area's that you shouldn't or need to

ans also static stretching doesn't carry over to on field performance, it makes you better at yoga and your resistance to stretching "pain' but that's about it

if he is lacking flexibility on his kicking follow through then he needs to dynamically and ballistically stretch those muscles and the actual kicking motion, not just a bunch of random muscles
 
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