When it comes to exercise, there are two crowds of people:
1. the “go through hell” no matter what group and 2. the “train smarter” group.
The “go through hell” people insist you must constantly and relentlessly push yourself to the maximum to get results, while the “train smarter” group has a balanced approach. Sometimes you push yourself to the max – but most of the time, you don’t.
The “go through hell” people are quickly identified via the following slogans:
“get out of your comfort zone” “no pain – no gain” and “you must train to failure.”
The “train smarter” people recognize the value of pushing yourself beyond – but they are also aware that you can break through barriers faster when you stop knocking your head against the wall.
One of the realities that the “go through hell” crowd fails to recognize is that harder workouts are not always better – especially when it comes to gaining greater flexibility and overall mobility.
I tell you all this because when it comes to stretching, many people are under the impression that you need to “get out of your comfort zone.”
Supposedly, you should put yourself into an uncomfortable position and tough it out as you groan.
Yet, this is NOT the ideal way to gain greater stretchability.
The key is finding your comfort zone with loosening exercises and dynamic movements that get the blood and synovial fluid pumping. These exercises are NOT done to failure, or to the max, or any other equivalency.
Upon doing these exercises, you not only find your comfort zone, you EXPAND it. Without realizing it, you’re feeling so good you WANT to do more to feel even better.
The good feelings you are experiencing in your comfort zone lead you to PUSH yourself to do more, be more and accomplish more. And you DO more because you WANT to, not because you feel you must.
If you’re uncomfortable as you stretch, assuming you’re not recovering from a major surgery, I can assure you that you’re doing it wrong.
When you stretch properly, you feel better instantly.
And these good feelings lead to increased energy, overall well-being and mental sharpness.
As you move, you find yourself naturally going where you’ve ever gone before – which leads to more of the same in other seemingly unrelated areas of your life.
The methods you will learn in my Combat Stretching DVDs will show you the way. As you follow along, dramatically increasing your flexibility, you’ll not only stun your friends, but yourself as well.
And surprising yourself with what you can do NOW is perhaps the greatest surprise of all.
Matt Furey
