X-Git-Url: https://code.kerkeslager.com/?p=wiki-pages;a=blobdiff_plain;f=flexibility.md;fp=flexibility.md;h=75f0ca2c86de93c27de5f3066d53a55b2d61c1e1;hp=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000;hb=b5446eb910c2ed624ae47ad3f3cc3867b6b79e38;hpb=72e0aac0a5c6870cb45ee69f01f487dd75bd8591 diff --git a/flexibility.md b/flexibility.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..75f0ca2 --- /dev/null +++ b/flexibility.md @@ -0,0 +1,113 @@ +My flexibility training for climbing has primarily focused on two areas: groin +(side splits) and hamstring. + +I've seen really fast gains from *strength-at-range* training, which basically +attempts to strengthen the muscle at the limit of its range of motion. The +reasoning I've heard for why this is effective is twofold: + +1. Your central nervous system will hold you back from stretching beyond where it + feels strong to prevent you from hurting yourself, so *strength* is somewhat + surprising limiter on flexibility. I should note that this is effectively + hearsay: while I've heard this from a few reputable sources, I'm not aware + of any scientific way of proving this. +2. It doesn't matter for your climbing if you're able to get your foot into a + certain position if you're then unable to pull from that position. This is + analogous to problems with out-of-context finger strength, where you + may be able to grip a hold but not move off it, because the arm system as a + whole is unable to maintain strength while changing position. + +Because strength at range exercises stress the muscle as it lengthens, they are +particularly likely to cause delayed onset muscle soreness. You can see +[DOMS](delayed-onset-muscle-soreness) for more information, but the takeaway is +to start with low weights, and do a light version of the workout a day or two +after; the chemical reactions which cause DOMS also have a preventive effect +which treats existing DOMS and prevent further DOMS. + +# Side Splits +A key here for me has been understanding a particular gotcha of the side splits. +There's a bony protrusion on the outside of the femur, and when toes are forward +and pelvis vertical, splitting the legs causes this bony protrusion on the femur +to run into the pelvis long before you reach the full range of motion of the +muscles. Before I knew this I ran up against this for a while, seeing no progress +in my side split and even causing a bit of pain which would cause me to stop +stretching at times. + +The solution to this is to bring the pelvis into a right angle with the femur, +which puts the bony protrusion behind the femur. There are two ways to do this: + +1. Point the toes and knees out instead of forward. It's really the knees that + are connected to the femur, but the knee is not a ball joint so if you don't + align the knee with the foot you're going to have problems. +2. You can also tilt the top of the pelvis forward. Note that this doesn't + necessarily entail tilting the entire upper body forward. + +There are three exercises which I use: + +1. **Butterfly** which hits the muscles of the groin which are most active + when the knee is bent (TODO: get the names of the muscles and maybe some + pictures?). With your butt against a wall, place dumbbells (starting at + around 10lbs or 5kg) on your knees in butterfly position. Extend to your + range for 3 seconds relaxed, then flex the muscle, bringing the weight + up just a tiny bit, for 3 seconds. Do this for 2 sets of 20 reps each. + + Progressing this exercise is a bit tough: raising the weight is easy but + I've quickly gotten to the point that my knees are resting on the ground + while not fully extended. Elevating by sitting on a 45lb barbell plate + has allowed my to drop my knees further, but now my shins are running into + the plate and I'm haven't found a good narrower surface to sit on. I'm + not too worried about it at the moment because I can still progress + strength without progressing range (higher dumbbell weights), and this isn't + the position which is most relevant to climbing. + +2. **Wide squats** This hits all the muscles of the groin in a position which + is somewhat relevant to climbing. You can "heel-toe" your feet out to get + a rough measure of width, then holding a dumbbell (starting at 10lbs or 5kg) + squat down as far as you can, remembering to tilt the pelvis to avoid the + femur colliding with the pelvis. When your femurs are horizontal, you can + go wider. Hold for 3 seconds at the bottom of each squat, and do 2 sets of + 20 reps each. + +3. **Unsupported splits** Hits the muscles of the groin which are active with + straight knee. With the body upright-ish, spread the legs straight to a + position with a light stretch: you can spread the toes to avoid the + femurs colliding with the pelvis, but for balance purposes it may be + beneficial to tilt the pelvis forward a bit and keep the toes pointed partly + forward. Then, importantly, don't support your hips with your arms: keep + your hands away from your hips, legs, and lower torso. Instead, support + your weight with the muscles of the groin. + + You should aim for a width where you can hold the position for about 45 + seconds: if you're able to hold it for 60 seconds, you can go wider, + if you're only able to hold for less than 30 seconds, you should ease off + a bit. Do this twice. + + Tracking progress isn't strictly necessary unless you believe you are + hitting a plateau and want to verify this. You can track progress by + taking photos and measuring angles, or measuring foot width on the ground + with tape. However, if you just go to the end of your range and hold there, + you'll probably find holding this challenging. + + It's also not necessary to add weight to this, because as your feet + go wider, your muscles are at a greater biomechanical disadvantage due to + the lever physics. It's quite common for an increase in range to greatly + decrease how long you can hold the position, as the strength required + increases greatly with even a small increase in range. + +# Hamstring +A peculiarity of the hamstring is that it's difficult to isolate since it works +in conjunction with the entire posterior chain. The glutes and calf can loosen +as you stretch the hamstring, causing you to have to increase the intensity +of the stretch midway through, so it's beneficial to stretch these muscles before +you stretch the hamstring. It may also be beneficial to stretch the distal hip +flexors (pigeon pose) and/or the groin for similar reasons. + +I've been doing offset-leg good mornings to work these, however I'm not as happy +with the results. I've experimented with good mornings on one leg with the other +ankle tucked above the knee; these seem only slightly more effective and have balance +issues. I'd like to experiment with nordic leg curls but these require a barbell. + +# Opposing muscles +It's worth noting that while the groin and the hamstring do the lengthening and +then pulling at that range, the opposing muscles (distal hip flexors and psoas, +respectively) have to be strong enough to get the leg into position. To work +these I occaasionally do fire hydrants and standing forward leg lifts.