[La photo ci-dessus est issue de cette pub Volvo qui cumule des millions de vues sur Youtube. Jean-Claude Van Damme, les pieds sur deux camions roulants, y effectue son célèbre grand écart pour promouvoir la précision et la stabilité directionnelle des véhicules Volvo. La vidéo a été tournée sans trucage : Jean-Claude sait toujours faire le grand-écart, même à 53 ans, avec un visage hyper lifté. Il a cependant été accroché à des lignes de sécurité qui ne sont pas visibles dans le film, au cas où il se ramasserait (voir cet article de Voici.fr 😉]

Audrey, a reader, requested me in a touch upon the location to jot down a publish about my “stretching” routine. Request granted on this particular article on stretching and mobility.

I am removed from mastering the Jeau-Claude facial splits, however right here is my stretching routine in a number of strains:
■ At the beginning of a fitness center session, throughout the warm-up, I apply joint mobilization actions.
■ After the warm-up, I do some energetic / dynamic stretches.
■ On the finish of the session, I apply joint decompression actions and a few static stretching.
■ On days when I haven’t got the urge / time to go to the fitness center, I do an internet yoga session.

Energetic, dynamic, static stretching, joint mobilization and decompression… The place do I get these sophisticated phrases from and what do they imply?

I take them out of the ebook “Savoir Stretch” by Christophe Carrio. It’s a very full ebook on stretching. Christophe Carrio, as a former world champion in creative karate, actually is aware of what he’s speaking about. The one draw back to this ebook is that the content material is usually a bit sophisticated if you do not have the need / time to delve deeper into the topic. This is a little bit simplistic abstract:

Joint mobilizations

These are easy actions geared toward activating the sensations of “mobility”. These sorts of small actions are helpful for waking up the joints, particularly in case you have simply spent a number of hours sitting down and dealing. The purpose is to not drive however to activate and lubricate the joints gently and steadily. Examples: head and shoulder rotations, hip rotations, knee flexion / extension and so on.

Energetic stretching

These actions mobilize a muscle whereas barely stretching the other muscle. For instance, doing knee lifts, stretching the hamstrings (the again of the thighs) by straightening the leg, then take one foot and convey the heel again in the direction of the buttocks, to stretch the quadriceps (the entrance of the thighs). In contrast to static stretches, you maintain the positions for just one to 2 seconds, and do a number of quick repetitions.

Dynamic stretching

These actions are helpful for sports activities that require flexibility corresponding to martial arts or dance. They intention to steadily enhance the pace and vary of motion.
Examples: swinging the leg backwards and forwards or to the aspect, opening the arms sideways, whereas steadily growing the amplitude. Dynamic stretching is practiced on the finish of the warm-up, if you end up already “sizzling”, in order to not get strained.

Not concrete sufficient all this? An excessive amount of discuss? Right here is an American Youtube video that mixes joint mobilizations, energetic stretching and dynamic stretching. You may as well see Christophe Carrio in motion on his Youtube channel.

Joint decompressions

This sort of train can relieve the joints on the finish of the session. These are mild, light pulling workout routines utilizing both gravity or rubber bands. My favourite train after a weight coaching session stuffed with squats and lunges: decompress the backbone by hanging myself on a set bar for 30 seconds.

Static stretching = basic stretching

Static stretching is the commonest type of stretching. They encompass taking a pose and sustaining it for at the least 20 seconds. Don’t jerk, however preserve the posture by respiratory slowly. They’re practiced after coaching or on relaxation days. On the whole, I like to finish a session with a number of static stretches on the muscle tissue being labored, to “finish” the session, however in some fitness center courses, corresponding to CrossFit courses, there isn’t any static stretching in any respect. . Apparently, their position on the finish of the session is in query, as a result of they’d not reduce the aches the following day. They need to be averted at first of the session.

Stretching

Yoga courses

Yoga courses naturally mix joint mobilizations, joint decompressions, static stretching and muscle strengthening (in several proportions relying on the kind of yoga). On days off, or days when I haven’t got the urge / time to go to the fitness center, then I do an internet yoga session.

My fitness center would not supply yoga courses, however I do it at house with movies, which is cheaper than paying for additional courses within the studio, although I selected a paid video subscription plan. . As well as, the movies mean you can do 20-30 minute mini-sessions when you could have little time. The one draw back is that nobody corrects the postures. However that is additionally the case in lots of very busy ‘actual’ courses, the place the trainer doesn’t take the time to individually right the postures of the individuals.

When it comes to yoga, as I’m troublesome to fulfill relying on the kind of class and trainer, taking video courses permits me to decide on solely those who I actually like. Some yoga academics annoy me and I do not like their model, particularly after they play it baba-cool-gurus-hip. I choose extra down-to-earth academics.

Ekhart yogaWhen it comes to yoga movies, I took a subscription to the ekhartyoga.com website and I’m very glad with it. I had adopted their free movies on Youtube a number of months earlier than I joined. In the mean time, it’s by far the perfect yoga class website for me: there’s a big alternative and you may cross-search by period, by sort of yoga, by trainer, by purpose. Lessons are in English with academics of a number of totally different nationalities. There are a number of websites for yoga courses in French however I have not discovered any which are price it.

If to not encourage my boyfriend to do yoga with me, I do courses every so often on the free Youtube channel Man Circulate Yoga, which provides men-oriented energy yoga courses.

Hyperlaxity or the “disarticulated doll” syndrome

Good to know: doing an excessive amount of yoga and stretching while you’re a younger lady will not be essentially factor.

Girls are inherently extra versatile than males as a result of feminine hormones stretch the ligaments. In the event you’re a lady, you are younger, and also you’re already naturally versatile sufficient, doing static stretching very usually with out doing sufficient muscle constructing is like turning into a disjointed doll, susceptible to sprains (ankles, knees) and different ligament pathologies. That is typically the case with 20-year-old ladies who declare to be a fan of operating and yoga and who don’t do weight coaching.

Based on Christophe Carrio “a physique program based mostly solely on yoga or stretching can have damaging long-term penalties by additional growing joint laxity.” He even advises: “Energetic stretching is healthier than static stretching in girls.”

I put 2 hyperlinks to articles if the topic considerations you (in English as a result of there should not many articles on hyperlaxity amongst younger athletes in French):
How Hypermobile Are You?
Stretching Myths: Why You Want Extra Than Stretching To Forestall Accidents

A phrase concerning the facial splits

Lastly, to return again to Jean Claude Van Damme’s break up, not everybody can “mechanically” carry out the facial break up. Based on Christophe Carrio (positively my guru by way of stretching), “we now have a bone, the larger trochanter on the aspect of the femur which, relying on the posture (arched or not), can contact the bone of the hip when attempting to open the legs laterally. Not everybody can mechanically carry out a facial break up ”.

In distinction, “anybody can do the lateral splits (one leg in entrance, the opposite behind), as a result of the hip structure is designed for it.” So for this large hole, it is only a query of coaching. By being effectively warmed up, I generally nearly get there, but it surely’s nonetheless a matter of standard apply to progress …

And also you, what’s your stretching routine? Do you apply yoga? In that case, underneath what formulation? (fitness center, studio, movies…) If not, had you ever seen the Volvo advert with Jean Claude Van Damme? Your opinion on facelifts and coloured / transplanted hair in ageing males?

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