Flexability workouts and exercise?

[sk8erboy]

just curious as to what everyone does for flexability improvement? i am already decently flexable, but looking to become even more so! i'm guessing most people stretch after a warm up of somekind, and after workouts, and skating? but is that all?

i was interested in some yoga classes? is this a good idea? please post what you do? details also helps, like best stretches for each body parts etc. :)

thanks.

[sue123]

i like pilates for flexibility as well as strength. but be warned, if you're not used to it, it's hard. it's supposed to give you long, lean muscles. But i like it more than yoga because you're doing flexibility and strength at the same time.

sorry this short post isn't coherently put together, i just ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine.

[sk8erboy]

hehe... thanks for ther reply! much appretiated!

any other input?

[nerd_on_ice]

My coach teaches a mixed yoga/Pilates class each week right after my on-ice lesson (how convenient!). Yoga is great for flexibility and also for balance, and I have gotten stronger from it as well. The Pilates matwork we do is all "core strength" (read: abdominal) exercises. It's very challenging and it definitely works.

My favorite and most essential stretch was linked recently in this thread (http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=15643) : sit in a chair and cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Lean on the knee of the "crossed" leg to stretch the piriformis muscle. If I don't do this stretch before skating, my hip joints will pop when I'm stroking--it's not painful, but it is very disconcerting! From what I've read, stretching the piriformis also helps stave off sciatica.

[doubletoe]

Yes, hip and piriformis stretches are really important for skaters!

Here's another very good piriformis stretch:

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/piri.2.html

And a very good hip stretch:

Stand with your left hip against a surface that is hip-level (like your bathroom sink counter, or the back of your couch). Lift your right leg, bend it, turn it out, and place your right foot on the surface in front of you so that the outside of your right foot is resting on the surface. Now rotate your shoulders to the right and lean forward a little until you feel the stretch in your right hip. For a deeper stretch, bend the knee you are standing on. Now do the same thing on the opposite side to stretch the left hip.