WAG Flexibility

[Deleted member 15064]

LL is 7 years old. She's a work horse. Poised. Good control. Strong/muscled. Picks up skills quickly.

She's not super stretchy/flexible.

Is there anything she can do about that, besides what her coaches have her do for conditioning? Is flexibility a trait that is malleable?

 

[Seeker]

How in-flexible? Can she do splits? How is shoulder flexibility? Or all just generally tight?

Flexibility is something that can be worked on, but it will likely require more than what they're doing in the gym if the issue pre-dates her time on team and pre-team (you've probably seen as much improvement as you're going to get). I would probably look into a weekly yoga class or try to find a physiotherapy is that works with athletes. She is likely tight is very specific spots that impact her overall. They can probably identify those issues and she should see all around improvement.

 

[Deleted member 15064]

How in-flexible? Can she do splits? How is shoulder flexibility? Or all just generally tight?

Flexibility is something that can be worked on, but it will likely require more than what they're doing in the gym if the issue pre-dates her time on team and pre-team (you've probably seen as much improvement as you're going to get). I would probably look into a weekly yoga class or try to find a physiotherapy is that works with athletes. She is likely tight is very specific spots that impact her overall. They can probably identify those issues and she should see all around improvement.

She can do her splits, but not completely flat on side split if that's what it's called. Shoulders not sure. She is doing a BHS on beam for her L5 routine instead of a BWO, but I don't know if that's due to flexibility or lack of.

She does NOT look like the picture in your avatar, lol.

Hadn't thought of yoga - was leaning more toward ballet training. Your idea is intriguing. Thank you.

 

[Sasha]

Sounds just like my DD. So I'm in the same boat with wondering how it's going to work as she advances and needs split leaps and all... Here's our story so far:

DD started rec at age 6 3/4 1 hour/week just about 1 year ago. Her 'best' leg splits were still 9-10 inches away from being flat. Middle splits were probably also good 9-10 inches away after stretching. And her 'bad' leg - yikes. Super strong, not flexible.

After about 4 months of rec, and then a few months of pre-team (2x week), her middle splits have gotten to maybe 5-6 inches away from flat after stretching (obvious improvement), and her 'good leg' about 2 inches away (also obvious improvement). However, while other girls have continued to improve, hers have stayed there for the last few months with no improvement with just the 'in gym' stretching of twice a week, both at the beginning and end of class, including oversplits training.

Earlier this month we put a rewards chart up on our wall at home for DD and also my DS who is in the same boat. They get a "Star" for every day they do their warm-up+splits part of flexibility sequence at home, and a 'bonus' star if they do oversplits on a pillow/roller (all 3 ways). They usually do this in the 15-20 minutes before bed on non-gym days. If they fill up every day, they get to pick a special activity (movie, bowling, etc.).

In the 2+ weeks that we started this, I have seen more improvement than in the last 3-4 months of her only stretching in class. We'll see if this has longevity, but my DD now HAS HER SPLITS in 1 direction (good leg) after stretching, and is at least 2 inches closer on middles after stretching. She is so pleased with herself, which makes mom happy

I don't know what specifically your DD struggles with, but for us, after watching her for a year struggle with only the stretching in class not paying off enough, we decided to try the 'every day' thing based on some other posts here. I hope it keeps working for her sake! I think I am going to throw a big, freakin' party when she finally gets those darn middles!

 

[Sasha]

She can do her splits, but not completely flat on side split if that's what it's called. Shoulders not sure. She is doing a BHS on beam for her L5 routine instead of a BWO, but I don't know if that's due to flexibility or lack of.

She does NOT look like the picture in your avatar, lol.

Hadn't thought of yoga - was leaning more toward ballet training. Your idea is intriguing. Thank you.

I posted before I saw she already has her front/back splits - awesome! If she needs middles faster, or has struggled with them and isn't already streching every day at home, that is so far working for us. Ballet, I'm told, does have it's whole own stretching routines, so I'm guessing that would really benefit too

 

[LIGYMMOM]

Sounds like my dd too. Super strong, not so flexible. One of her old coaches explained to me once that usually when they are naturally very strong, that can "take away" from flexibility. And vice versa, but naturally flexible can build up their strength, and the strong ones can work on flexibility. It's very rare to be both very strong and very flexible. DD's leaps do not come close to 180 but she's got a nice straight arm kip!

 

[Deleted member 15064]

Sounds just like my DD. So I'm in the same boat with wondering how it's going to work as she advances and needs split leaps and all... Here's our story so far:

DD started rec at age 6 3/4 1 hour/week just about 1 year ago. Her 'best' leg splits were still 9-10 inches away from being flat. Middle splits were probably also good 9-10 inches away after stretching. And her 'bad' leg - yikes. Super strong, not flexible.

After about 4 months of rec, and then a few months of pre-team (2x week), her middle splits have gotten to maybe 5-6 inches away from flat after stretching (obvious improvement), and her 'good leg' about 2 inches away (also obvious improvement). However, while other girls have continued to improve, hers have stayed there for the last few months with no improvement with just the 'in gym' stretching of twice a week, both at the beginning and end of class, including oversplits training.

Earlier this month we put a rewards chart up on our wall at home for DD and also my DS who is in the same boat. They get a "Star" for every day they do their warm-up+splits part of flexibility sequence at home, and a 'bonus' star if they do oversplits on a pillow/roller (all 3 ways). They usually do this in the 15-20 minutes before bed on non-gym days. If they fill up every day, they get to pick a special activity (movie, bowling, etc.).

In the 2+ weeks that we started this, I have seen more improvement than in the last 3-4 months of her only stretching in class. We'll see if this has longevity, but my DD now HAS HER SPLITS in 1 direction (good leg) after stretching, and is at least 2 inches closer on middles after stretching. She is so pleased with herself, which makes mom happy

I don't know what specifically your DD struggles with, but for us, after watching her for a year struggle with only the stretching in class not paying off enough, we decided to try the 'every day' thing based on some other posts here. I hope it keeps working for her sake! I think I am going to throw a big, freakin' party when she finally gets those darn middles!

That is so cool. Creating a solution/plan. Kids follow through - and you see results!

I will ask LL if she is up for something daily like this.

 

[thefellowsmom]

It can also depend on what is limiting her flexibility. There is more to it than muscle length and stretching. My dd is pretty bendy in most areas but struggles with certain things so I started searching around. Turns out in addition to needing to build some strength in some places she is super tight in this muscle that runs accross her bum that limits her ability to get everything turned out and spread out properly. Through deep massage and specialized stretching and some odd things I would have never thought of related to fascia and nerves she has increased her flexibility in all area and her jumps and leaps are starting to come together although she has a road ahead still.

Just saying this as it is not always just muscles and static stretching that will work, especially for the long term. I researches theballetblog.com and found some great info about all kinds of flexibility stuff.

Also, regimen really is the key to making progress quickly. When my dd was trying to get all three splits down her coach had her sit in each position for 2 minutes every single day, no exceptions. She was amazed and motivated by the quick progress she made and wanted to keep going. When we started this new stuff she did it every day (after workout, not before - they can hurt themselves I hear) and made very quick progress. now we are down to 3-4 times a week with a focus on non gym days.

I am just a parent and know nothing. Take it or leave it.

 

[iwannacoach]

Muscularity has little to do with potential flexibility. Sure there are some kids that can stretch farther than others, and again kids that remain slightly behind the average. The thing is..... the norm is that there is no normal that comes with a narrowly defined range of motion. Stretch more and you'll have more, and if you stretch less you'll have less.

I think thefellowsmom has learned some things from her own research as well as contributions from her child's coaches. That seems to be the key. Find out what your child's skeletal and muscular structure has to do with her stretch ability and find a way to motivate her and provide the time to work on her key issues.

I can start you out with a few general stretches if you can't find any on your own, and will send them to you if you'd like them.

Other than that, the most important part of a flexibility program is a quick warm up to tire the muscles enough that they want to relax, and then it boils down to frequency and duration.

 

[Deleted member 15064]

thank you @iwannacoach. i would be interested in some general stretches to start with. i do wish she was a tad bit older so she could take ownership of the regime, but we'll see.

i'll try finding out what i can from LL's coaches about where they think the tightness resides, but i'm not sure how far i'll get.

@thefellowsmom - thanks for the ballet blog URL. i will check it out and see if i can pinpoint better what LL is dealing with.

 

[iwannacoach]

A visit with a physical therapist could be pretty helpful in finding limits that aren't apparent to regular people like you and me. I'll dig up a few exercises for you and her to try as long as you let her decide if she wants to do them. Leading the horse to water is fine as long as you don't water board the horse once you get there.

 

[Kiwi]

There is more to it than muscle length and stretching. Through deep massage and specialized stretching and some odd things I would have never thought of related to fascia and nerves she has increased her flexibility in all area and her jumps and leaps are starting to come together although she has a road ahead still.

Just saying this as it is not always just muscles and static stretching that will work, especially for the long term. I researches theballetblog.com and found some great info about all kinds of flexibility stuff.

Totally agree, it isn't just about muscles. Also, the tightness can sometimes be in different places than you might expect. Neuromuscular therapy has helped my DD a lot with her flexibility - involving specific deep massage techniques and some specialised stretching as you mention. Lots of static stretching doesn't seem to help DD a lot.

 

[aileenmaryf]

This probably is not be the case of your daughter, but I just want to say there are some flexibility issues that can never be fixed. When I was in gymnastics, I had fairly good flexibility: my left split was all the way down, my right could do a foot in over splits, okay back flexibility, and amazing shoulder splits, but the one thing that got me was that I had TERRIBLE middle splits. On a good day I was 8-10 inches off the ground and a foot off on a normal day (Now its more like a foot and a half ). But I stretched EVERYDAY for years and they never went anywhere. I tried everything from butterfly stretch to hurdler stretch to over splits to frog stretch, etc. I just couldn't get them anywhere near the ground and I was so frustrated . A couple years ago, my sister found out that her hips have some problem that does not allow her to physically do her center splits, and I realized I probably had the same problem. However it didn't do me any good, seeing that I was done doing gymnastics anyways.