Is it just me or has anyone else watched a dog stretch and thought, “that looks like it feels so good!” Ha! I am pretty sure that my Yorkie-Poo, Maddux gets more calisthenics work and stretching done in one day than I do in one week. Watching Maddux perform his downward and upward facing dog positions, I have decided to incorporate more movements that will help increase flexibility, improve stability and hopefully contribute to further developing my overall performance.
How do I plan on incorporating this?! Pilates movements.
I have been practicing Pilates on and off for several years and have recently discovered the benefits of combining fundamental movements with my CrossFit training. I don’t want to completely bore you so I will refrain from extreme detail, but if you are interested in learning more please ask me to show you a few movements before or after class sometime.
Leg Circles: Strengthen and Stretch the muscles of the upper thigh and hip joint
Single Leg Stretch: Strengthen the core and thighs while increasing back and leg flexibility
Rolling like a Ball: Improve stability while focusing on core strength
Spine Stretch: Increase flexibility in forward bending movements
Neck Pulls: Challenge shoulder stabilization
These are but a handful of the movements I have been doing on my own and have found that they are definitely contributing to increased flexibility and stability.
Very interested to know what everyone else is doing for flexibility and stability…
Aw, am I really that boring that I deserve no comments...there should be an award for that
ReplyDeleteNo, not boring at all! :)
ReplyDeleteI used to go to yoga a couple times a week, and stopped once I started CF. I would love to incorporate yoga/pilates into my routine. I can tell a huge difference in balance and flexibility now that I have stopped.
Maybe you should teach a warm up or cool down after class. :)
You are far from boring Rae! I've been traveling for work and I just now got to check out the blog. I have taken both yoga and pilates before. They provide great stretches but u honestly get bored doing them. Short attention span. Lol. I will totally do some moves with you next time though. I'm sure my back and shoulder would be in better shape if I took stretching more seriously:) Great post!
ReplyDeleteI don't do enough stretching/flexibility work outside the box. BUT, what i have been doing is the 10 minute squat test pretty frequenty. I've noticed a lot of improvemen in me flexibility in a deep squat.
ReplyDeleteI just go ass to ankle usually w/ my feet in a standard squat position and just hang out for a few minutes. sometimes i'll switch up how wide/narrow my feet are but my toes usually point out at 45 degree angles regardless.
This one has helped a ton. Check it.
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Rae, I love the write up. You literally took words from my mouth when I saw the pic of the dog. Those fuckers sleep all day and generally don't do shit, so they better know how to stretch when they wake up.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge advocate of the double paw push-out stretch (see pic 2 and imagine me doing it). I'm also a huge fan of the Cat Puke: http://www.walktallshoes.com/hc_images/Cat_St1.gif
I love the cat puke, it aligns me so well - hate all you want, I don't care.
On a serious note, I've incorporated a lot of stretching at home and it's made a world of a difference. Ever since Rudy did an analysis on me and I realized how out of whack I was/am, I figured it was time for change. Here is what I've been doing at home (I work from home, so I suppose I have an advantage on this front):
I bought a 10ft pvc, cut it into two and do pass throughs alot and a few other drills to improve my posture.
I have a foam roller, what more can I say about that.
I stole lacrosse balls from my old lacrosse teammates. I love those things. I just lay on them.
I have a single elastic band that Kari gave me - it's small, but it works when stuff is tight. I need more bands!
... I'm sure theres more, but this is getting long. If there is one thing I'd like to see more of I would say post-wod/lifting stretching. People just do the post-wod and bounce 90% of the time. Stretching down is important as hell. Stick around and stretch for 10 more minutes and it will make you feel a hell of a lot better the next day, trust me.