Flexibility of human muscles

You don't say how old you are.
When I was a kid I could play football all day no prob'.
As I got older I found I actually needed to warm up...I'd previously considered such practices as girlie tosh.
I then found as I aged further that I'd need pain killers (Ibuprofen, with it's anti inflamatory properties was good).
I can't get through a full round of golf without the knees and hip playing up, I'm currently on doctors orders of NO painkillers as they can be bad for you kidneys.

Just play untill you feel you are no longer able. I gave up playing in goal aged about 40, I could sail through the air, tip the ball over the bar, but found I was landing with the grace of a sack of sh sugar. .

But having said all that... use it or lose it.
My Son is just out of hospital having had spinal surgery...he needs to work hard to regain the lost muscle tone and upper body strength that's been lost in 2 weeks.
It's tough for him being in a wheelchair.
So enjoy what you have...
Oh and the drink? There is so much bull spoken about drinking 2 zillion litres of water a day.... drink when you are thirsty, eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired......hmmm must go have a cat nap.
Del
(Your name isn't Beckham is it?)

BTW. OF course you ache the next day, it shows you are working hard and your muscles will respond by growing. Any sportsman will feel it the next day...unless they aren't trying.

When I was a kid I could

I know about tadpoles growing into butterflies, but goats to cats ?!?

drink when you are thirsty, eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired

That sounds like very good advice to me, though if I get really wrapped up in some job that interest me I tend to forget such things ! Honest - even though a smoker, I don't miss it at all if my hands are busy (that sounds very wrong, but I'm sure/hope you know what I mean !)

Don't know if it's true, but I heard that part of the pain when exercising was due to tearing the muscles ? Sort of making micro-tears that somehow heal and increase the overall muscle size ? Anyway, a little pain from exercise is good, a lot of pain isn't (!). On top of that is the muscles griping because they don't have enough oxygen to do what's being demanded of them (although I could just be talking a load of cramp again ). I've completely forgot the wording of the question, so shall go back to read again.......

'Warm up' sounds good to me - you wouldn't drop your car straight into top gear and expect it to sound good.

.....

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/injuries/a/doms.htm

http://www.fitnessfuture.com/how-to-avoid-muscle-cramps-during-exercise.html

http://www.healthline.com/hlbook/nut-fluid-intake-after-exercise

http://www.time-to-run.com/nutrition/optimal.htm

Usual disclaimers.

"'Warm up' sounds good to me - you wouldn't drop your car straight into top gear and expect it to sound good....." yah thats r8 but what if u want to increase ur car's top speed after pushing(giving enough time) it in top gear...

....If you really want maximum speed, you can tune and tweak various parts of the vehicle, but I wouldn't recommend fuel additives that it's not designed to take. Nitro might make it look impressive for a while, but the vehicle won't last as long (or it will crash horribly) and you'll be lucky if you can find a replacement. Be happy with it's design limitations, and just keep it regularly serviced.

just want to optimize it sir....!!

....and that's a fine thing to do, very much in the spirit of most people here - looking at a system, understanding it, and finding out how to make it work to it's best potential.

Would I be correct in thinking you are the same person who asked the original question ? Whether you are or not, welcome upon joining us !

I'm slightly puzzled ; your location is India. It may be a misguided perception on my part, but I'd have though India was an excellent place to be for advice on such things as exercise/diet/muscle tone etc (with yoga and such as mentioned by Del). Conventional Western-style sports training is probably very different from the yoga type exercise/tradition, I wonder if some sort of meld of Indian/western type excercise regime exists ? Activities such as yoga and Chinese Tai-Chi may be as much spiritual as anything, but they appear (from my couch-potato perspective) to be the types of activity that encourage flexibility and muscle control/tone.

Have you tried searching the internet to see what exercise routines are used by various football teams ? Another possible source of information is academic institutions - Loughborough University in the UK has a reputation for it's courses related to sports. There are a number of other threads on CR4 related to excercise/body-building etc.

I'm going to risk pushing against the desk and see if my chair will glide to the kettle. If I can simultaneously achieve a 180^o swivel, I'll be satisfied that my strength and agility meet my essential needs. As you will deduce, I'm reading this thread more to learn than to demonstrate any great knowledge on the topic !

yes sir I m the same guy who put this ques.

yes ...ofcourse india is the born place of yogas...my perception was they are for concentration, maditation & for increase body imunity ....in short it teaches us better living methods...

But does it teaches regarding body stamina..n all these...?

Better living sounds good....concentration, meditation, yeah....but body immunity? There might be a connection, but it'd be off-topic (and I never do that ). It must help you achieve flexibility? - I've seen pictures of people tie themselves in knots that I couldn't possibly do !

Not so sure about stamina, though yogic flying looks like it need a lot. It would be more useful if they actually flew, but it looks energetic all the same. I wonder if a yogic flyer will come forth and tell me it's all mental or something ?

I'd go for some limbering up type exercises, a few laps of the pitch, then just get stuck in and play. I say 'I' in a general sense, as I'm more likely to be watching and eating a few pies.

Good luck with your fitness program and, most importantly, enjoy your sport !

Ur r8…..basically it deals with inner beauty..n yes I heard by controlling our breathing process while meditating helps increasing our immunity power to an xtent..

Well sir.. I love soccer n enjoying a lot though it involves injuries (smtimes).

Have a nice time…!!

thanks ... i m 23 n still i have 17 more years to improve my performane in soccer r8...?

I'd suggest maybe some contrasting activity, maybe Yoga.
A little simple easy Yoga even just 5 mins first thing in the morning is very invigorating for the day ahead.
Forward bends, warrior, triangle, cat, dog (ugggh shudder) is a great help in loosening up.
Del

(What position do you play, and what level?...)

"Forward bends, warrior, triangle, cat, dog (ugggh shudder) is a great help in loosening up." sorry but i couldnt get this line...

BTW i play left Outer n thats 4 full 90 mints wid 10 mins of half time...

I got a good sprint but only for limited period (as lepard does but only for 90 seconds..!!)....then i play rest of the game at moderate level..

Forward bends, warrior, triangle, cat, dog .
They are Yoga poses.

You sound a bit like me...I have no duration or stamina, but have more explosive power.
That coupled with a high stupidity factor meant I ended up in goal.
One sprint shouldn't knock you out for the rest of the game at 23!
Maybe you need some stamina work...or play in goal
Del

more stamina..... yah but how.... running.....running......n ...running...?!

Play soccer carrying a sack of coal or a couple of small boys?
Sorry I don't know the answer, I've always worked with my natural strength and agility, limited though it is, I'm not into 'training' as such, sometimes I'll practice something, but for me all sport is fun rather than competition, as soon as it gets competitive some people get nasty and gamesmanship comes into it.
Del

ok... thanks for ur support in this discussion...

have a nice time.....

"inspite of worm up exercise b4 play"

I think that's your probelm. You're supposed to warm up before playing, not worm up .

Seriously, do you really stretch until your body is actually sweating, or just do a bare minimum?

yeh.. warm up.......actually i m confused upto what extandi should let my body warm up...? i must have enough stamina to play the game as well(after tiring warm up session)......

Play soccer more often, you won't get the day after effects when your body is really toned up.

The next day effect is about ligaments that have stretched and are then contracted after cooling off. Try stretching and a hot bath after the soccer, and stretch again the next morning before you go about your day. If you're hurting a bit, stretch! before it gets worse. Do it slowly, very gently, never bounce. Just as far as you can, hold for three breaths, and change. If it's too bad, get in a hot shower and stretch. Do relaxation exercises through the day: swing your limbs or shake em out periodically.

Try a high carbohydrate meal right after the soccer, to stock up your muscles with glycogen. The metabolic pathways activated by the recent exercise and depletion of glycogen stores, will turn pasta into glycogen and stock those muscles up pronto. That way you shouldn't get any depletion-associated pain the next day.

Thanks a lot Artsmith 4 ur valuable advise….

Well after a play I usually drink lots of water &/or lemon juice that I merely eat dinner….I mean my body wants liquid than solid food …..

Judging from your other comments, stamina is an issue: that is about the glycogen stores in your muscles, exactly. If you want to increase your stamina, the high carb meal after the workout is the thing to do.

I personally never liked work or exercise on a full stomach. So instead of eating before your exercise, keep it to a chocolate bar. that way you'll be hungry enough to down a meal with lots of rice (being india, pasta is probably out!), soon after the workout.

Try doing this every day for a week: Do vigorous exercise for an hour before your usual meal time. Do some sprinting, work those muscles out so that your glycogen is depleted just before eating. Make sure the meal has lots of carbs. Then play your soccer game, and come back and tell us, did your stamina increase.

wow......!!

I think ur Suggestion will increase both ..stamina as well as moral....i'll bounce back after a week or fortnight..