A few days ago I came across something called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or PNF stretching for short. In this method of stretching, you hold a stretch for 10-20 seconds, and then tense up and contract all of your muscles for 10-20 seconds, and then relax them so you can go into a deeper stretch. I decided to try this out with my splits and have seen some progress. I've gone from about 5" off the floor to around 3". I thought I'd share this video with you.
**Always warm up for at least 10 minutes before stretching and always cool down after stretching. Do not try this without permission of a dance teacher or doctor. Do not do PNF stretching more then 3 times a week. If it hurts, STOP. Your body knows what it can handle, and pain is it's way of saying it's too much.
This sounds interesting. I think I'll try it.
ReplyDeleteThat seems interesting! My friend (who does gymnastics) coach told her this same thing, so she could get a deeper stretch in the splits. It's funny to hear it again.
ReplyDelete~Skates and Slippers:)
how long did it take u to go from the 5" - the 3"? :)
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm not quite sure actually. I would estimate it took about a month and a half of daily stretching. Thanks for the comment!
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