Does anyone know of any techniques to get a good balance between the Hams and quads?
I few months back i started training in Wudang form , which is very low and demands a great amount of Quadricep strength. I also feel that this has led to slight shortening of my hamstrings which is quite literally a 'pain in the arse'.
Apart from practicing the forms forward and backward, anyone have any tips for equally strengthing the hams for better overall muscle balance?
I'm not really interested in going to the gym :rolleyes:
INDO
Hi Indo,
when learning something new sometimes we take on to much too soon therefore strains occur, after some recup time give your body some time to adapt to the new demands (low stances). Standing practice will be helpful and diferent kinds of warm ups too (body weight exercise). If you find a muscle weakness try to work the complimentary muscle and stretch the other.
Not everybody who does Wudang form suffers this problem, so there will be factors that are unique to you. If done properly, there should be minimal problem, remember that technique with Tai Chi feeds from philosophy also. So if you treat your discipline as a race, you may take short-cuts that you regret.
That said, when squatting low, the hips also flex, not just the knees, so there is an element of self-adjustment in the hamstrings. Make sure that you are not allowing your pelvis to tilt too far forward or too far back - your teacher should guide you in this.
Remember not to let the knee creep forward of the big toe, or stability of the knee is lost. Also if you are doing any kind of stretching to stretch the adductors (inner thigh muscles) and glutes as well as quads and hamstrings. Don't forget calf muscles, as these influence the knee too.
However, this kind of imbalance often has its origins in the low back and pelvis. I already mentioned pelvic tilt - if you are letting the pelvis slump one way or the other to enable you to sink, then you are either going beyond your limits or using bad technique.
And the behaviour of the pelvis is coordinated with the shoulder, so surprisingly one of the best exercises for this may be the kind where you gently and slowly twist your hips one way and the shoulders in the opposite direction. Remember, the object is to balance the pelvis. Again, get your trainer to help you with this, as good technique is important.
However, the pelvis is also subject to twists and turns of all kinds. And among the considerations are the health and function of ankle, knee, pelvis, spine, ribs, neck and shoulders. The pelvis is especially relevant being the baseline for the legs and attachment for the hamstrings.
And if there is a history of injury, you need to get this sorted. Hence a few sessions with a good osteopath to try and level things up might reap big rewards. It could be that you are doing everything right, and simply have an obstruction that needs sorting, your sport has just brough this to light.
So in summary, I would suggest mention this problem to your trainer. Also getting a course of treatment from a good osteopath might be money and time well spent.
Indo, being aware that "he who speaks does not know, and he that knows does not speak!" I'd add that to target one area of the body in isolation to the rest probably goes against most Taoist principles of bodyworking. Our sifu, a Taoist monk, always got us to balance any heavy, low work with lots of stretching. From experience, if my knees ache from sitting too low too often, I now work on the whole of the "superficial back line" rather than just the hamstrings. Having said that, I'll often work the individual sections, especially the gastro/soleus, but that's more down to an old injury (the old spiral fracture of the tib-ruptured peroneus tendon-bent Bonneville combo!). Usually stretching the whole of the back line is enough for my problem though- I do it by standing with my toes on a step, drop the heels down and then bend down to touch the next stair with my palms, and tuck the chin under. No more problems since I discovered this.
Quad stretches are a bit harder- we sit with our lower legs bent so we're effectively sitting between our heels, then lean back SLOWLY. The most agile can lay flat, alas to say I can't do it as well now I'm getting older!:(
I know what you mean about the gym- I look dreadful in lycra 😮 Style, after all, is everything!
hamstrings and quads
Indo, for any groups of muscles to work efficiently, you need to have flexibility there. In order for your your quads to shorten (hence tense and strengthen, the hamstings need to give way and viceversa. You must incorporate a muscle releasing (stretching) :eek:programme the whole time.
I hope that helps.
Perihan 😉
Indo, being aware that "he who speaks does not know, and he that knows does not speak!" I'd add that to target one area of the body in isolation to the rest probably goes against most Taoist principles of bodyworking. Our sifu, a Taoist monk, always got us to balance any heavy, low work with lots of stretching. From experience, if my knees ache from sitting too low too often, I now work on the whole of the "superficial back line" rather than just the hamstrings. Having said that, I'll often work the individual sections, especially the gastro/soleus, but that's more down to an old injury (the old spiral fracture of the tib-ruptured peroneus tendon-bent Bonneville combo!). Usually stretching the whole of the back line is enough for my problem though- I do it by standing with my toes on a step, drop the heels down and then bend down to touch the next stair with my palms, and tuck the chin under. No more problems since I discovered this.
Quad stretches are a bit harder- we sit with our lower legs bent so we're effectively sitting between our heels, then lean back SLOWLY. The most agile can lay flat, alas to say I can't do it as well now I'm getting older!:(
I know what you mean about the gym- I look dreadful in lycra 😮 Style, after all, is everything!
needled BL60, GB34 which releived it for a few days, then an hour Thai massage concentrating on the hips, hams and lower back. My right quad group is slightly overdeveloped compared with the left. I have problems with flexibilty in my aductors anyway which does not allow me to sink too far.
Shaolin training can be hard at times, and i ain't getting younger, just wanted to see if anyone had any tips.
I tell you when i do feel it! if i stretch the hams with a straight leg i feel it in the lower region insert, if i bend my knees slightly i feel at the origin which is where the build up is.
More training will sort it! and a medicine ball massage.
Thanks for the input guys!
have a look at Propreoceptive neuromuscular facilitation as a means of overriding the stretch relfex, the biggest problem I see on a day to day basis is the number of trainers looking to condition the hamstrings with a leg curl exercise, this is non specific as the hamstring in actities for daily living develops tension as it lengthens (hence pnf) . the hamstring can be likened to the hand brake in your car, if you drive with it on, the car's performance is limited, tight hamstrings will result in poor performance and associated compensatory strategies using glutes and or adductors. a simple test lying with face up, keep leg straight and raise one leg, observe any tendency to flex knee, raise contra lateral hip, flex contralateral hip or brace the abdominals ( other than normal TVA action) and see if you can achieve 90 degrees, which s normal in the average adult. I look to achieve 100-120 as a minimum for my athletes. more where flexibility in sport is required.
just another perpective on what is a common problem from a society that spends most of its time in sedentry work positions, as opposed to the labour intensive work force of some 3 decades ago.
there is quite a good ""Corrective Exercise" book, published by Hodder Arnold, written by Kesh Patel that gives some good basic balancing principles that come from a slightly more scientific route than the posts above, again just a perspective not a critisism of what others suggest
regards
BGFL