Stiff as a board

B

bluetortilla

0
Hi. I'm a male, but this seemed like the best place to post.
I am VERY stiff. I cannot get 8" from touching my toes (I'm 6' 2"). I tried a little yoga one time and couldn't get into ANY of the positions. The only thing I do are some stretching exercises before cycling or running.
Any suggestions?

Philip (42 going on 30 :cool: )
 
Drinking plenty of water will help. Yoga is also a great idea for improving functional flexibility. If you can't get into the poses, just get a close as you can to it. What style of yoga did you try? Take up Bikram yoga, A.K.A. hot yoga once or twice a week. It will limber you up in no time.
 
I dont have much experiance with yoga.

I wanted to try and got a dynamic yoga DVD, Its been very easy to learn from the DVD and has made some improvement in just a week of doing the 1hr workout 4times.

But then I have nothing to compaire it to.

Crazy legs - I have started yoga as I am rapidly loosing flexibility due to weight training. I have got this DVD


Is this Bikram yoga, any diffrent, or will it not make any diffrence as a Noobie?
 
I recommend you foam roll. Foam rolling is a activity called myofascial release. It helps to "un-tie" muscel knots and relax muscles. Google teh term and you will get mroe info.
 
Flexibiity Program

The American College of Sports Medicine states that reductions in flexibillty often become evident by the third decade of life and continues to progress with aging. Flexibility is highly individual, specific to each joint, and affected by many factors, including muscular strength and disease. In order to help improve your joint motion, it is recommended that you perform different types of stretching techniques. Static stretches involve slowly stretching a muscle to the point of tightness (without discomfort) and then holding that position for 15 to 30 seconds. The greatest change in flexibility has been shown in the first 15 seconds. The optimal number of stretches per muscle group is 2 to 4. Dynamic stretching, which involves bouncing motions, should be avoided because it tends to induce injury. Finally, PNF stretching involves a combination of alternating contraction and relaxation of major muscle groups and usually requires the use of a partner. It is important to understand that stretches must be performed properly in order to aid in improving and maintaining range of motion in a joint. Flexibility exercises should be performed in a slow, controlled manner with a gradual progression to greater ranges of motion. **Warm up for a couple minutes before stretching to elevate muscle temperature** **Perform a minimum of 2 to 3 day/week** For additional information on stretching, refer to the ACSM website. Good Luck.
 
Thanks for the great advice so far everyone. It's going to take me a while to investigate it all. I'm a 6'2" 42 year old cyclist, so it's not surprising that I'm stiff.
Very interesting stuff.
 
I think you should strethch every morning you get up and every day when you go 2 bed, it shouldnt hurt but u should be able to feel it, also try stretching before AND after you run or cycle because running and cycling shortens your hamstrings and hip flexors ect. um hold each stretch for about 15 - 30 seconds and breath out as you go into the stretch... do this every day and you will c a big difference :)
hope it helped
good luck
 
also funny enough it has been studyed and men are generly less flexible than women because of a hormone thing ... i found it interesting :) lol
 
Bikram yoga is performed at 42 degrees celcius with 50% humidity. Unless you are very flexible, every move is a stretch. These are ideal condidions for promoting flexibility. So yes, it is very different from other types.
 
The sites below are what a previous post was referring to...the first url gives all the info..the second one is the how to....its a long info site.






In general you should devote simply 20 minutes to a half hour just to warming up as your excercise...this can include stretching sometimes but mostly warming up...stretching is an outgrowth of the warm up. Take some time to look at the second url which give tips on a particular order to work in...though of course you can be creative and autonomous about it once you are more familar.

Rub hands, feet, massage your legs and arms not rushed and remember posture with out being rigid because you are engaging in awakening your muscles, body, mind, and blood supply. Use breath full and relaxed not shallow and unaware. Because we only learn to take air into our chest-out-military dramatic fashion...learning how to breath in a full, deep, and more controlled manner can be like an art to itself as well as something we can learn. Breath has a lot to do with flexibility in the long run.

By the time you start stretching you should be fully warmed up all over. If you are really stiff you have to take the time to communicate with your body, mind, and unwind them first before you get to stretching...and never bounce please that doesn't really help. What can be a tremendous help is music that can take your mind and body elsewhere while still being in the moment. Silence as they say is golden and can be a great healer as well when warming up, stretching, excercise..etc. There are supplements, warm oils;creams and herbs, herbal forumlas than you can look into to help.

As for men being stiff thats not so new...however, if they start from young especially before or at least teen years like dancers, martial artists, etc.. or 20s even...they have just as good flexibility as most women because they've already trained their muscles and body plus in those fields you train every day. Once you get to be older in general you start to see or feel a difference.
sooner or lately. Although there are lots of people because their whole life has involved with physicality as such for example that they maintain themselves comparable to or optimal than many younger than them.

If with injuries older or not ..men..women or not....then no matter how much you've been a human gumby in the past this can be an issue. If you are not injured or dealing with scar tissue from past injury that is a plus. In these cases like with stiffness you have to slowly and gently work the body into this renewed or new sense of itself...patience is the key, it can be fun (yes frustrating too :p ) and enlightening to see what your body has to tell you about it/yourself.

Lastly, who has time for all of these timely measures if you are in a rush...do your best to make the time when you have some quite to yourself. If you have to shorten the warming up and/or stretching...do it more often or regularly. If you haven't already you might also want to try chi kung. ...
There are lots of tapes, dvds out there maybe a live classe...why not take a beginners ballet class...seriously. :cool: (make sure you warm up well or find one with a floor-barre/warm-up first)..might be interesting...

Kylee
 
AHHHH! Been on the net for a couple of hours. This is all so confusing. :confused: Info overload.
Anyway, I don't know if I want to join a yoga club- I've never really been into the group or gym thing. But yoga seems really cool. Can't I do it alone?
But I also wonder if stretches will give me all I need. Anyway, there are no Bikram classes anywhere near me.
Also, Bikram is very much of the attitude of 'no pain no gain' and calls his class 'the torture chamber.' I was very surprised, because I've NEVER heard that in reference to yoga or stretching. I always thought that was very dangerous. Ehhh? :confused:
Philip
 
If there is a yoga class near you then try it. If you dont like it you dont have to show your face ever again.

Classes are to learn Yoga - your still supposed to do it every day on your own as well.
 
Stretch every single day. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds. Yes, try yoga. Any class will do, but I recommend a gentle hatha yoga class to start. This is a good way to learn the postures. There is a DVD called "Yoga For Cyclists."

You should stretch every day but focus on stretches that work the are you are tight in. Im going to assume hamstrings and lower back since you cycle. Try these:

Seated Forward Fold (sit and reach) Sit down, legs straight out, bend from hips and reach fingers towards toes. Hold for 30 seconds and breathe.

Standing Forward Fold- Stand, deep breath in as you lift your upper body and hed to the sky, on the exhale bend from the hips and try to touch your fingers to the floor, breathe, hold for 30 seconds and INHALE AS YOU SLOWLY COME UP

Bound Angel- Sit down and place the soles of your feet together, allow knees to relax.

These are yoga poses and you can find more at

Yes you can get away with basic stretches, but focus on the tight areas.
 
I recently started yoga - Im fullu aware that streches should be help for a reasonable amount of time due to my Karate training.

However in all classes and DVD's the poses are only held for a short time.

Why is this? - is it just to make it more interesting by fitting more poses into the class?

Im hoping to learn a format so i can hold poses for much longer without tutors rushing me on.
 
Different yoga classes are taught using different styles. I teach yoga and my classes are based on holding poses for at least a minute. But we also focus on the breathe much more than most yoga classes.

Power yoga, Ashtanga yoga, PiYo, and most "gym yoga" classes are geared towards strength and not endurance or spiritual work.

I recommend trying out a few more classes but search for words like "hatha yoga" "gentle yoga" "beginner yoga". Also call a yoga center and ask what is the best class for you to take.

Yoga has turned into a business recently. The classes are totally different than they were a few years back. To answer your questions... yoga had to adapt to fit a routine that most people found non-threatening. That equates to a routine based on fitness and appearance and trendiness as compared to... well to spare a debate here... less than normal attributes :)
 
Trainer Lynn said:
Yoga has turned into a business recently.
Click to expand...


Very ture, Just like when Karate came over, and later Kung fu, Tai chi. Even things like Feng Shui.

The more people you get interested, the more diluted these art forms become, making people not understand them.
 
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