To all the 35+,
What does everyone do for flexibility and or mobility?
Until recently I would spend 5-10 minutes doing some basic work before training. Recently due to some knee pain I’ve cut back on the treadmill ( my winter cardio work) and started a more dedicated stretching program. My hope was to try some beginning yoga, but after about 3 minutes I was in way over my head. I’m now progressing from the “warm up stretches”to being able to do a little bit. It’s been about 4 weeks.
Feeling a little less general soreness and slightly more mobility.
I’ve tried things like this in the past with little lasting success.
Anyone else have any experience with yoga?
I’ve never done it as a discipline, but only for the effects certain movements deliver.
Downward dog for upper back realignment
Cobra for scapular stability
I don’t know the name of the one where you stretch up as high as you can, like you’re trying to touch the ceiling…
Tai Chi movements are good for strength-in-extension too in some ways.
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My ex-wife taught yoga. I was never good at it, but I still do some of the stretches in the morning. And just touching toes and doing knee bends help, too.
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I used to be big into circus arts and flexibility - had front splits, back bridge, etc. Generally I’d spend 15 minutes a night stretching, bumping it to 30 on days I didn’t workout.
Flexibility improves through repetition. You don’t need to do a lot, do it often.
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I love doing stretches and yoga poses for about 15minutes but I do them in the middle of my gym time. More for a rest or break between say back and chest.
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To add a bit more… finding yoga for men, who are a little older, but not nursing home , is a little challenging. I did find a little bit on YouTube I liked.
Any recommendations appreciated.
Interesting. The gym I use starting 1/1/23 has yoga. The fireman who did a walk thorough with me said the teacher is a 74 yo lady. Precisely the agility I’d like at her age.
Thing for me is, I’ve never done anything close except TKS + Tang Soo Do, so I’ll be going in blind.
That’s fine. All adults. I’ll do my best. Nobody should ever have a problem with that.
A really serious concern, we’ll two, are:
- A LOT of scar tissue in my cervical spine area, and
- There’s a medicine pump implant that is visible through the skin in my left abdominal area that can hurt like Hades when it pushes against my lower rib.
These are things with which I live and for which I’ve made adjustments to lifestyle so I’ll expect I’ll be able to adapt to some poses on a mat. Not like there’s a score kept similar to “Cobra beats downward dog,” you can’t come back! Seriously, without me committing a criminal act the odds of being ejected from a class have to be low.
As for the “why,” I’ll recommend a review of this:
Who doesn’t want to feel better throughout every non-yoga moment of the day? It loosens up tight muscles, improves flexibility which translates into more power (strength + speed), along with a ton of benefits I’m trying for but would sure as hell be glad to take
The sticking point for me has always been, “yoga is for women.” Tell ya what, if yoga will give me half the mental strength and emotional strength as my little wife then I want to do it almost exclusively bc I’m THAT impressed! Not one woman who has given birth and raised a child is weaker than any man in those areas. Physically a bit weaker physiologically, yes. But in no other case at all.
That’s to say I think very highly of mothers and women in general if an “in general” even exists.
Fact is there’s some Fn strong women who are def worthy of emulating in many many ways.
K that’s all I got.
You all take Care!