Taylor Ryan is a personal trainer dedicated to educating women to get the best body they can get. Her company TotalTonedWomensClub stresses the importance of weight training as a method to get the toned and strong body they want. Check out http://www.totaltonedwomensclub.com for more.
I recently received a question from an avid kickboxer. She stated that her kicks just were not making the cut in height and what could she do to turn the "medium kick" into a real life high kick?
My answer starts with one word... flexibility. Being able to extend your leg up to a powerful kick actually comes from the hip joint. Thanks to the strength in your quads and hip flexors you are able to get the joint to move. Moving is one thing, but moving it well is another.
To get results I suggest some simple stretching and some active stretching for every day. The more you stretch the faster and better the results and I would say in a matter of a few weeks (probably 2-3) you will see your kick coming higher.
Some basic static stretching (stretching in which you hold a position for 20 seconds) includes:
1. Butterfly: sit on floor with the soles of feet touching and heels being brought into the body. Try to lower your knees down to the floor.
2. Lunge: Get into a lunge position with the back knee completely on the floor, slowly lean the body forward till you feel a nice stretch and hold.
3. Ballet squat: Think squat but open legs a bit wider than shoulder width and toes pointed out, try forming a line that can run from toe to toe. Lower as far as possible to get stretch and hold.
Some Active stretching:
1. Walking deep lunges- do two sets of 10 lunges to get the muscles loose and ready for kicks
2, Leg walk- if you are able to this is a great stretch. Stand facing a wall, place 1 leg on wall (with straight legs) and slowly try to slide your leg up the wall as if you were doing a split against it. This can also be done on the floor. Make sure not to strain, go only till you feel a good stretch and SLOWLY return to start.
ANOTHER GREAT IDEA: try yoga before bed every night. This is fun and a great workout. Not only are you going to gain a ton of flexibility but strength will be thrown in for a bonus. Plus, it is a great way to unwind.
Like I said before stretching needs to be done every day to see the best results. So if you start now soon your kick will be the talk of the class.
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