Flexibility in your workout?

**mattwildchild** · Posted On: 12/10/2008 2:10am

After a recent training seminar with jujitsu and pot smoking legend Eddie Bravo I realized more then ever the importance of flexibility and range of motion in grappling/mma competition and I was looking to get some advice, techniques, routines etc. (besides the normal stuff) that other people use and how much do you focus on flexibility in your workouts? Since Eddies seminar I have focused a great deal on it (45-60 min each day) and my ground game has greatly improved. Here is a video link to his ideas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LgZCXCf0lk

**oldman34** · Posted On: 12/10/2008 5:52am

I do a Pre workout stretch and a post workout stretch. About 20 minutes total. I workout 5 days a week so about an hour a week or so.

I think that it a very important part of it, but an hour a day seems like a bit much.
A book I use for a routine is "Ultimate Flexibility" by somebody. I cant remember his name...Sun Park Kim or something.

**acidcrakker** · Posted On: 12/10/2008 2:14pm

Streching has always been a time of partial meditation for me, it helps to relax the body.

It will help you, but mostly in staying focused better, so that you think its really helping you gain.

I really dont stretch any more. Mabey a few times a week, and mabey for like 10-15 mins a time. Then again, Im really not training in MMA right now anyway.

**E-Van** · Posted On: 12/10/2008 2:18pm

I have helped several friends with stretching.. being a big man myself and having excellent flexibility realy helps my game. Its like having the best of both worlds.

One.. I stretch every day after workout.. I cool off.. grab my towell and my water and sit on my ass for 10 minutes stretching and BSing with my partners.

Two.. Jump rope at home and do a basic work out .. sit ups.. push ups.. get a swet going THEN STRETCH.. What I find to be the perfect routine is to watch say.. a foot ball game..
Every comercial do a blitz.. get the heart rate up and get those muscles wormed up..
Then as your watching the game.. crack your beer and eat your dorritos inbetween hits off the bong while you stretch.. rinse and repeat.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 12/10/2008 2:25pm

This is good stuff. I'm tight as a drum. I'm going to try to take stretching more seriously.

**rucass** · Posted On: 12/11/2008 9:23am

Scott Sonnon's Intu-Flow and Prasara are ideal flexibility and range of motion , as well as rehab and recovery programs for fighters.

**cyrijl** · Posted On: 12/11/2008 10:01am

Eddie was the one who got me stretching. I do yoga in a class at least 2x a week on my own once or twice, stretch before class and during instruction.

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 12/11/2008 10:13am

I thought this was common knowledge, but if you want to improve your range of motion, don't do it before your training. Your muscles still have work to do, so it's better to focus on moving through your existing range of motion than expanding it by inducing microtearing.

Immediately after a workout should be fine, and I've been doing a "stretchdown" before bed for a few weeks now. Seems to be working okay.

Also, Joe DeFranco (the Westside For Skinny Bastards guy) has a pair of articles about stretching on his site - I've read the first one, and it was quite interesting.

**E-Van** · Posted On: 12/11/2008 10:58am

Yah you can hurt yourself if you do serious stretching before warming up.. some light joint stretching is all I do pre-workout

**simo** · Posted On: 12/17/2008 8:30am

hi, here's some important tips:

Warm ups and pre workout:
Loosen up the body and get the muscles engorged with blood, but do not stretch for increased Range of Motion (ROM), but only to loosen up!

once warmed up:
Strech out comfortably and proceed to working out. Do not go out side of your comfortable ROM during workout too often or you will suffer a strain or pull

After workout:
at least once a week do active and passive AGGRESIVE flexibility training. Create a flexibility training regimine as you would a strength training regimine, with at least 2 days of recovery per muscle group.
Increase amplitude in your ROM gradually during your workouts, and avoid jerking movements in your stretching exercises.

Remember:
Flexibility training is just like strength training in that the muscle fibers have been torn and need recovery time. During recovery time, do not over use that muscle group that was trained, in order to prevent injury and to recover quickly.

In flexibility training, you will see results in about 8 weeks.

a good resource for muscle flexiblity training is the book Rhythmic Gymnastics by Jastrjembskaia and Titov, in cooperation wtih USA Gymnastics.

Pages129 - 133 have scientific and cutting edge information on Flexibility training. The studies that they used to pull their information on Flexibility training from were studies conducted by the top National teams in the International Gymnastics Federation - so you pretty much can rely on this information and one of if not the top sources available.