Do you have areas in your body that don't seem to loosen up even after stretching, attending Pilates classes, or working on your core? Here's the reason why:
Typically, exercises you do yourself involve active motion, meaning movements you generate. One reason they might not be effective is the limitation of these active motion exercises.
For instance, if muscle fibers are extremely flexible or longer than average, there might not be enough tension in the muscles at the maximum joint range, rendering active motion exercises ineffective.
The solution lies in incorporating "two-motion exercises" such as active motion exercises along with massage.
Taking the quadriceps femoris muscle as an example:
- Sit in seiza position (sitting on your heels) and extend one leg forward.
- While supporting with your arms, arch your upper body backward to stretch the front of your thigh.
- If the quadriceps femoris isn't adequately stretched, additional approaches like targeting the inguinal area or the tendon of the quadriceps femoris above the knee can be effective.
A reliable way to determine if you're stretching adequately is to physically feel the muscles.
By neglecting this simple step, many ineffective conditioning practices become prevalent.
The essence of conditioning lies not in continually adopting new methods or increasing time but in understanding the purpose of conditioning and ensuring the effectiveness of each approach.
By personally explaining two-motion exercises to all patients, I've achieved positive results in long-standing issues.