Peregrino Posted October 3, 2006 Once again, Tom Kurz, age 50, proves why he is a master in both the theory and the practice of stretching. You'll need to scroll down a little: http://www.stadion.com/secrets.html (There's also a version on youtube.) Â Right now I'm taking his advice and adding weights to my splits by holding light dumbbells as I do the PNF reps. Will post the pics when I reach full side splits again! Â He doesn't pay me a penny to say this, but I can't recommend his materials enough. My only major difference with him is on the issue of stretching machines (he's against them, but I think they work great IN CONJUNCTION with his method), but that's neither here nor there. This guy has my deepest gratitude for immensely magnifying my kicking power and giving me the gift of vibrant mobility as I make my way through the daily round. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
... Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) LOL, I just realized who you remind me of in your avatar-- Â zoolander O_O LOL Â ah man, I am just kidding. Edited October 3, 2006 by ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wanderer Posted October 4, 2006 Amazing! This guy would put most 20-year-olds to shame in terms of stregnth and flexibility. Definitely gives 47 year old guys like myself a shot in the arm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peregrino Posted October 4, 2006 LOL, I just realized who you remind me of in your avatar-- Â zoolander O_O LOL Â ah man, I am just kidding. Â Ha--I loved Zoolander! But now I'm kinda beardy and shaggy. Life was too tough always having to be so really, really, really, really, ridiculously goood loooooooooking . . . Anyway, after I managed to perfect the "steel blue" look I got bored. Â So, next goal, after getting back into full splits: building a Fabio chest! Â Oh, the world is too much with us . . . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peregrino Posted October 6, 2006 Weird--my avatar changed back to the ninja, BUT NOT OF MY OWN DOING!!! Must've been a member of my ninja crew warning me about the dangers of unmasking. Ninja, please! Â While we're on the subject of "peacocking," I was just wondering about your back-building routine, Triple-D. Do you primarily work with pull-ups, weights, or some combination thereof? Lately I've been doing lots of Pavel-style "greasing the groove" pull-ups from all different positions with very positive results, but I might throw in an incline bench rowing session or two per week if I hit a sticking point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
... Posted October 6, 2006 that picture was taken shortly after basic training/medic school... Of course it is impossible to lift weights during this period-- the only back conditioning was from carrying a rucksack. Â Nowadays I dp pullups, lat pulls, bench rows, shrugs. I recently found this great nautilus machine that has an AWESOME 'row' machine that works the entire back, it feels. Â I don't think it really matters what you do, as long as you're sore afterwards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peregrino Posted October 6, 2006 Funny, the GTG stuff doesn't make me sore, and shouldn't on principle, though it really seems to work. Still, it seems to be mainly increasing strength-endurance, so I probably will go for the one big sesh per weeks with some kind of rows. Â One thing that gets me about Matt Furey is that while calisthenics are extremely important for combat sports, I still think that for most combat athletes, weights still provide that extra edge. Furey was heavily into weight training when he won all his major wrestling championships, and the picture of him by the waterfall he so prominently displays on his website was taken while he was still lifting . . . I would hardly call him "fat" now (as some of his detractors at Bullshido.com do), but he's not nearly as lean and mean-looking in his post-weights incarnation. Â Back to my man Kurz: he's all for Pavel-style calisthenics, but considers weight lifting fundamental both for fast flexibility gains and for functional strength in martial arts. Maybe a combat athlete can get away without rowing, but he says squats and deadlifts are fundamental . . . Along with the oft-overlooked benefits of adductor flyes and psoas training, another thread I'll start up at some point! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloud recluse Posted October 7, 2006 (edited) Well,Peregrino,hes certainly an alternately inspiring/intimidating figure  Thing is,how is a nearly 40 yr old like myself supposed to train for this kind of flexibility,especially as I can only just touch my toes comfortably ? I mean ,what are the restrictions of age when your only just starting to seriously look at flexibility? When comes the point that you have left it too late?  Hmm,kind of morbid language.But what are the options for us aging less-than-buff types with no acces to gym equipment?  Regards,Cloud Edited October 7, 2006 by cloud recluse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peregrino Posted October 10, 2006 Howdy Cloud!  Kurz can definitely be blunt in the no-nonsense, Iron Curtain-refugee kind of way, but the bottom line for me is, his methods WORK!  It's certainly not impossible to achieve full splits without extra equipment, but weights will make the process that much faster, which is a big selling point for Kurz. Still, dramatic gains are feasible with patience, and the right combination of bodyweight exercises (e.g. high-rep adductor flys without weights, or lower-rep flys with ankle weights if you don't have access to a weight room to do adductor pull-downs). Ah, I would also add *ab*ductor exercises for the sake of joint integrity (balanced development on both sides of the joint). I also find that simple bodyweight abductor exercises combined with the adductor training really improve the stability of my side and roundhouse kicks.  The main thing is to incorporate the isometric contractions, as opposed to stretching statically. There's lots of info available online if you do a search under "PNF stretching" or "isometric stretching." You'll build strength naturally in those stretched positions and notice less pain (though perhaps a bit more fatigue) than what you'd get from static stretching. Splits-in-a-month or not, I think you'll be most favorably impressed by the results if you give it a go.  I must admit that I do miss my old "rack," or stretching machine. I just KNOW I could get back into full splits within a month if I could do my isometric stretches on one of those babies . . . I'm also considering experimenting with a "greasing the groove" approach to isometric stretching, as time and circumstances permit. Some people have brought that up on the Kurz forum at www.stadion.com, though I haven't read about any "field-tested" results, as of yet. Mind you, the isometric contractions for normal PNF stretching are supposed to be intense, and therefore shouldn't be undertaken every day so your muscles can adequately recuperate, though the GTG contractions by definition should be much lighter and therefore should help, rather than hinder, recovery.  Speaking of time limitations, looks like I'll have to head back out onto the pilgrim trail now! Oh, what a danger it is to get me started on my two current obsessions-- Kurz and squirts!  Best, Peregrino  PS A karate instructor called George Dillman managed to do the splits-in-suspension party trick at age 51 thanks to Kurz's methods. Don't know if he took on the weight training bit, as Dillman was working from an older version of Kurz's program that only highlighted the isometric contractions without going into detail about supplemental weights/calisthenics training. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trunk Posted October 22, 2006 Once again, Tom Kurz, age 50, proves why he is a master in both the theory and the practice of stretching. You'll need to scroll down a little: http://www.stadion.com/secrets.html (There's also a version on youtube.) I ordered Kurz's dvd, inspired by this thread, and am only part (most) of the way through it - and I am very impressed. The basic approach is that if your legs aren't strong, they're not going to stretch all the way out (too much instability I'd guess, so they seize up). So, Kurz has a really comprehensive set of leg strengthening exercises, from many different angles and using a variety of techniques. The strengthening complements the stretching. Â Looks good for sexual health, too, as all that angular leg-work (strength & flexibility) works all through the hips and pelvic area. (Kurz's video will almost certainly be on the page with squats, kb's, ab-wheel.) Â Peregrino: thanks for trumpeting Kurz's product! Â (later edit) Gotta add a picture of Kurz, here. Notice how this pic demonstrates both strength and flexibility, and try to get an idea of how healthy that implies the whole pelvic insides are. That's where this guy's program is headed; it's a whole arsenal of exercises that leverage into the pelvis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wanderer Posted October 23, 2006 Just curious, how does is new vid compare to the old one (Stretching Scientifically)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
