Why does my back refuse to bend forward when I stretch???!
Question:
Why does my back refuse to bend forward when I stretch???
Hi, I'm 20 years old, and in very good shape. I've been taking karate for years and plan on becoming a police officer. I consider myself to be in great health, but there is one problem that I've had since I was born....
Stretching.
In the warmup session of my karate class, we do a lot of basic stretches, but when its time to do the split, I embarass myself. When I was a beginner I didn't mind it as much, but now since Im a higher rank, I HAVE to improve or I risk making the teacher look bad.
If I sit down on the ground and am asked to reach out and grab my legs, my back REFUSES to bend forward. This seems to be my worst problem of all. It's hard to describe, but no matter how hard I try, I cant lean forward, and get an effective stretch, which the whitebelts are capable of doing easily.
Does ANYONE know, or have any suggestions on how to improve??? This could even affect my career because for certain law enforcement agencies you are required to stretch.
Answers:
The only way to improve it is to keep on doing it. Find some yoga poses online and do them every day. Stretching is just as important as the actual workout; you don't want to have back problems when you're 40.