CharlieHechlerNonFiction

It has now been 6 full weeks. Stretching has been extremely painful, even though I have been taking it easy and not fully pushing myelf to full depth in all my stretches. However, my hip joimt have been in good working condition. I have also made changes to how I am approaching the middle splits and stretching on the ground instead of painfully descending from a standing position.  Between all the soreness from PE and running club stretching has been made extremely unenjoyable because of my tight hamstrings. Still however, there is something very satisfying about pushing through that pain and relieving some immobility in my sore muscles. As we approach the final weeks I am becoming very concerned that I will not fulfill my goal. However, I was inspired by a youtube video of a man miraculously learning the splits in a single week. We shall see how I do.

Stretching sucks in many ways, but I have discovered some ways that are specific to the splits. This may be caused by my lack of knowledge and lack luster technique, but nevertheless my hips are in a bit of pain. I have come up with a quality stretching routine that I have experimented in the past week. First, I started off with a brief warm up of leg swings. Next, I stretched my hamstrings and hip flexors for 30 seconds on each side for 3 times to warm up to my front splits. Then, the descent into the front splits for the same time duration. Middle splits did not receive the same attention, but I did a few stretches to open up my hips to make the descent less painful and reduce my risk of tearing anything. Finally, I stretched my glutes as they would normally start to cramp a little from the middle splits and arching my back. I also threw in some shoulder stretches cause why not.  This week was suprisingly productive, however I am unsure of any progress that has been made. I will ...

Recently, I have began to complicate my stretching routine. I have began to stay in each stretch for longer and implementing PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) into my stretches. This technique is where one pushes against the direction of the stretch to build mucular control in the stretched poition. In this case, when in the middle split I will start in a position where I feel a slight stretch, and squeeze my legs together pushing against the forces of gravity. Then after about 5 seconds I relax and descend lower, repeating the process until I find I can descend no further. I apply the same technique for the front splits. The actual length of my stretching sessions have extended to anywhere from 5 - 10 minutes. It is quite relaxing and fun to stretch, however, there is not enough time in the day and some days have gone by without any stretching especially when I spend so much time at school. Of course, with this upcoming break, there will be plenty of opportunity to make ...

 Hello my fellow bloggers! Progress has been made. Over the past week I have been almost completely consistent with doing the splits both ways at least once a day. Although I do not have photographic evidence of the progress I have made getting down into the splits is much easier and I am closer to the ground. Now it is time to stretch for longer. I have only been just getting down, and after a few seconds it becomes painful and I exit the stretch. For the following week I will force my way through the pain to my goal! I will hold the split for 20 seconds each way after doing a short warm up to prevent injury. I am unsure if I am on track to get the full splits by the end of the semester, but the goal does not matter! It is all about the journey of pain, suffering, and the pursuit of some arbitrary and meangingless goal. Thanks for being a part of this extensive journey my fellow bloggers. Until next time...

Struggling with conistency will be the largest challenge for me throughout this process. So far I have unfortunately been unable to make any work or progress towards a lengthy stretching session everyday. On the first day, I made a small attempt at one and discovered the pain which is stretching. As I descended into my attempt at the splits my inner thighs began to burn.  If I do not become more consistent with my stretching then I will not achieve my goals. I am going to set myself the goal of doing the splits for once a day for this week to establish the habit of stretching into my everyday routine. From there I will build on top of that and improve and lengthen my stretching routine without ever making it too unbearable for myself.

For the next 8 weeks I will be improving my flexibility. My plan is to be able to do splits both ways. legs in front and back, and out to the side, by the end of the semester. I am mostly just interested in this skill because it seems pretty cool to me. Also, as a generally athletic person this would help me from getting injured. Yoga and these sorta of relaxing exercises can be coupled with meditation to make me feel more spiritually centered through the day. I have always wondered what all the hype is about with yoga. Anyways, every day for the next 8 weeks I will be stretching all the muscles in my body at least once. Hopefully I'll learn more through online resources and develop a good daily stretching protocol by the end of the semester.