Flexability

[ReverseLunge]

I have the longest and fastest lunge in my club. When my lunge is at full extention, my butt is like only 4 or 5 inches from the ground. But, if you ask me to simply stand and try to touch my toes while keeping my legs straight, I just van't do it. Too painful! Thats just how unflexable I am.

Any explainations?

[Phoenix]

try to little by little stretch out your muscles. You probably aren't using those muscles. Don't worry, over time, the more you stretch them, the more flexable u will get. Just hold the position for 8 seconds. or more if u can. Go as far as you can go. Try to do this everyday, or whenever u are fencing. Try to go a little further each day.

Slow and stead with stretch your legs ^_^

[noodle]

I have the longest and fastest lunge in my club. When my lunge is at full extention, my butt is like only 4 or 5 inches from the ground. But, if you ask me to simply stand and try to touch my toes while keeping my legs straight, I just van't do it. Too painful! Thats just how unflexable I am.

Any explainations?

meh.
me too. my lunges are very long long and reasonably fast when i want to do a lunge like that. can't touch my toes though, never could.
i can do other stretches reasonably well, though, and its not like i've never tried. when i was practicing martial arts i stretched for flexibility daily for a good 12+ years. got nowhere with the toe-touching.

good thing you don't have to touch your toes to score a point, eh?

[glowstix]

I have the longest and fastest lunge in my club. When my lunge is at full extention, my butt is like only 4 or 5 inches from the ground. But, if you ask me to simply stand and try to touch my toes while keeping my legs straight, I just van't do it. Too painful! Thats just how unflexable I am.

Any explainations?

flexibility in the lunge has to do with the hip flexors. standing upright and then bending to try to touch the toes is about the hamstrings. its possible to be extremely flexible in one region and not the other. i know so many girls that can do splits but can't touch their toes. if touching your toes is such a priority then you'll just have to stretch you hamstrings out.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

does it have something to do with the way you're lunging? : )

[ReverseLunge]

flexibility in the lunge has to do with the hip flexors. standing upright and then bending to try to touch the toes is about the hamstrings. its possible to be extremely flexible in one region and not the other. i know so many girls that can do splits but can't touch their toes. if touching your toes is such a priority then you'll just have to stretch you hamstrings out.

Thank you. That explains it.

So is there any benefit to being able to touch my toes when it comes to fencing?

[The0ne]

I hope not, beacuse I can't touch my toes without extreme pain! I also have a pretty long/powerful lunge (or I like to think so! ) so I must have those hip flexors well stretched out.

[ArcherUK]

I have no idea, I was happy that I can get my hands flat on the floor with my legs straight. I was told that folding your arms and getting the elbows to touch the floor was the next step....is that right or was my chain being pulled ?

[esskreemr]

I think that a standard that they use for flexibility tests is that the average male should be flexible enough to touch the floor with the second knuckle. I think this comes from the "sit and reach" method where 1.5" past the toes is considered passing for 18 to 30 year olds.

[glowstix]

Thank you. That explains it.

So is there any benefit to being able to touch my toes when it comes to fencing?

not really.

[Artisan]

Remember, just touching the floor or your toes while standing does not tell the whole story. If your hip muscles are tight, you can achieve this by bending more at the lower back. When I played hockey and developed strong hip flexors from skating - and did not keep up with stretching, my lower back took more punishment in making up the range of motion (and because it was hockey). While rehabbing the resulting herniated disk, one component of the therapy was to improve the hip flexibility to allow more bending to occur at the hips and less at the lower back.

A better way to stretch JUST the hip and upper thigh is to stand, put one leg up on a counter or bar, and reach for the toe of the elevated foot. Alternatively, lie on your back with one leg up 90 deg. vertical, the other with the knee bent and foot flat on floor. Reach for the toe of extended leg.
Both methods limit the rage of tilt of the pelvis, causing the stretch to happen in the hips and leg rather than the lower back

[handartista]

If you cant pull your knee up to your face then fencing isnt the sport for you

[morael]

I'm overall quite flexible but I cannot touch my toes. I tried to gain this ability, I'm sorry to say, pretty much using Phoenix's method, and ended up with sciatica. Not fun! Luckily I found a chiropractor who fixed me, but it still comes on a little from time to time, a reminder that some people are just not cut out for touching their toes!

So when the coach has everyone on the floor grabbing their toes, I settle for hands somewhere along my shins. For leg flexibility, most important for me at least is inner thighs and hips, so the knees are in proper alignment (over the feet) when en garde, instead of sagging inward.

[Peach]

I can put my palms flat on the floor in the toe-touch, but my lunge is very short. Of course, I'm finding more and more that I don't need a long lunge for much of anything.

[usfafencer]

Thank you. That explains it.

So is there any benefit to being able to touch my toes when it comes to fencing?

Yes. All around flexibility increases athletic performance, decreases the chances of pulled muscles, and is generally seen as one of the main ingrediants to a balanced training regime. If you can't touch your toes, your hamstrings, glutes and low back muscles are all tight. All of this can lead to injuries in those and other parts of your body due to your body's compensation in terms of movement for tight muscles in one area and not another.

There seem to be two camps when talking about flexibility - those that like it and those that don't. I fall in the middle. For stretching before work outs, I use active stretching, ie stretching done by moving (walking, skipping, running etc.) After the work out, I do a stretching routine that incorporates Yoga stretches and static stretches...