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Off-Topic Shameless Self-Congratulations - Flexible Steel Participant Comments

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Steve Freides

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Senior Certified Instructor Emeritus
Elite Certified Instructor
I taught my first Flexible Steel workshop yesterday. What's below was taken from the feedback I received from the participants:

"From a slow beginning and very basic stretching the class become more interesting and more progressive. Things I was doing prior do this workshop and as a SFG1 instructor, and thought I was doing right, were not that right. My partner corrected it all and everything was done with a smile. My back felt fantastic, so did my shoulders, back, ankles. The progressive split stretches are worth the price of admission.

I truly recommend this special workshop. It is a must for your future progression in flexibility. Thank you."


"Today's user course was very educational. As a fitness professional I am always looking to expand my knowledge base of movement skills, either familiar to me or foreign. Coming from a mobility background I found it incredibly helpful to find new ways of safely increasing range of motion that enhance flexibility."


"This was a phenomenal day of learning and I am incredibly thankful for the skills I now have with me to use on myself and with my clients. Thank you very much!"


"Steve is a humble knowledgeable coach and inspirational human being.

The principles taught are gold. The mental approach is a missing link to the true flexibility one can attain.
Mobility in itself grants a tremendous increase in flexibility. The different mobility, rnt, pnf, partner drills bridge the gap to next level strength and flexibility. I gained confidence from the practice of trying and succeeding in different splits and stretches. Practicing tension and breathing carried over into actual real time strength gains."


"I thought it was a great course. This is my third time going through and really liked some of the new cues. (Waiting out tension)."


"Thank you for today. I wasn't sure what the workshop would cover exactly. I came on Scott's recommendation. Surprisingly, I was actually familiar with several of the concepts discussed. I've done some research on my own and I think have one of Pavel's books.

For me, the extra attention to the mobility helped me see some issues I've been having from a different perspective. I will surely be working on these with a new awareness. I don't really have any criticisms."


"I thought the class was very insightful, motivating as well. The flow of the class was very engaging. It made me very aware of the importance of incorporating flexibility into your workout routine.

"Prior to this weekend I was extremely tight - and I almost just did a split! That helped me realize that working out is not just repetitive weight lifting . I would recommend this class for sure! Thank you!"


" I really enjoyed today's workshop. All of the information that I've read regarding gaining flexibility efficiently were covered throughout the whole day. I thought it was very helpful to actually see it and experience it in person with a certified instructor rather than doing it on my own and wasting my time practicing the wrong way. I'll definitely recommend this to those who are in pursuit of gaining flexibility and at the same time stay strong throughout each movement. Thanks, Steve!"
 
I just received my copy of flexible steel yesterday, part way through it. Was wondering wether there is an accompanying dvd, as I seem to pick things up better when I can watch someone do the exercises?
 
No DVD but you could go to the web site Contact Us button and make that suggestion.

I would, BTW, be thrilled to teach more of these 1-day workshops if anyone else is interested. I've got a couple more in the works already.

-S-
 
I was hoping to get your opinion on my flexibility routine please Mr @Steve Freides. Would love to go to flexible steel workshop, but as I live in Australia not sure it's possible. I have the following resources: super joints book/dvd, relax into stretch book/dvd, fast & loose dvd, original strength book/dvd, & I've recently acquired & read flexible steel book. I'm 43 & currently doing s&s by the book 5/6 days a week aiming for simple goal. Currently do sj & os every morning & ris once/twice a week depending on soreness. I concentrate on hip flexors & hamstrings with ris practice as I drive a truck for most of the day. I have also recently added the frog series from fs to my daily efforts. 16yrs ago I had the pleasure of a back injury very similar to yours, I'm pretty much past that now pain wise, but have lingering inflexibility, mainly due to a lack of attention to the problem. My progress is very slow, I think due to trying to hard & becoming sore esp with ris. My goal is to be more mobile, flexible, strong & less aches & pains. If I end with the splits one day that would be a dream come true although not necessary. Not sure if I gave enough info, but would love your input & help putting it all together with the resources I have.Thank you kindly dc
 
I was hoping to get your opinion on my flexibility routine please Mr @Steve Freides. Would love to go to flexible steel workshop, but as I live in Australia not sure it's possible.
If you're willing to help us arrange it, I'm sure one of us would be delighted to come to Australia and teach a Flexible Steel workshop. Our current "main" event is a 1-day instructor cert. PM me here or contact me by email via the link at kbnj.com if you want to continue that conversation, please - I'd love to see this happen.


I have the following resources: super joints book/dvd, relax into stretch book/dvd, fast & loose dvd, original strength book/dvd, & I've recently acquired & read flexible steel book.
This is a good collection. (You and others might find my page at Flexibility Guide from kbnj.com helpful - it discusses these resources and several others, too.)


Currently do sj & os every morning & ris once/twice a week depending on soreness.
That sounds OK. Master SFG Jon Engum, who created the Flexible Steel program and authored the book, recommends RIS type stretching three times in two weeks; I have been successful with 2-3 times per week. How often you can do it depends on how hard you push yourself, among other things.


I concentrate on hip flexors & hamstrings with ris practice as I drive a truck for most of the day.
As long as that's what you need, it's fine. Are you doing the Cossack sequence from Super Joints? That's a good one, and it hits the things you want to hit but some of them indirectly, which can help.


My progress is very slow, I think due to trying to hard & becoming sore esp with ris.
Here's something to consider - if you push too hard, you can develop an aversion to your practice. While that's not good for strength training, but it can be more than not good, it can be the death knell for flexibility training where success involves learning to relax your muscles. Don't push too hard. Maybe a little less hard, and a little more often will work better for you.


My goal is to be more mobile, flexible, strong & less aches & pains.
Your goal, my goal, and the goal of a lot of other people, I'm sure - that's a worthy list of objectives. :)


If I end with the splits one day that would be a dream come true although not necessary.
Splits are achievable. If you haven't started working them already, start now - the work you do will help with other things.


Not sure if I gave enough info, but would love your input & help putting it all together with the resources I have.Thank you kindly dc
The devil is often in the details - it sounds like you have a good understanding of what needs to happen, so be alert to overdoing it, and carry on with what you're doing. The usual combination I advise is what you're doing - mobility to start every day, and a good stretching session a few times a week. One more thing to consider is the timing of your stretching session - Pavel recommends trying it at the very end of your day, and I agree with that recommendation. I started when my children were still pretty young, and I would work on my splits while watching a little television with my wife at 10 PM or so, after the kids had gone to sleep. For me, it was a good plan.

Best of luck to you, and let me know if you can help us bring FS to Australia.

-S-
 
Argh. This workshop was definitively on my to-do list and you now announce that you will do one in Prague just one month before my SFG cert. The timing might not be the best for me...
 
Thank you for your answers, @Steve Freides and @Pavel Macek I am very interested. Just need to get the clearance from my significant other. :)

I see it is an instructor certification, which fits well with my yearly plan. Even if no prep is necessary, are there any expectation from students? What about teaching skills? Some minimum level?
The flexible steel website does not say much about this point.
 
It is a Level I instructor certification - we expect that you will learn enough to not only improve your own flexibility but that of any students you may choose to work with. We typically work in partner pairs throughout the day so you will get lots of time helping at least one other person. We expect you to be a responsible adult with an open mind, and we encourage you to read Super Joints, Relax Into Stretch, and Flexible Steel, all before you attend the workshop. See

Flexibility Guide from kbnj.com

for more information about these three books.

-S-
 
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Did you have anyone attend the workshop with a history of hip cartilage injuries Steve ?

I'm hypermobile in most of my joints but after being hit by a few cars and trucks in my cycling days my old hips don't respond very well to any mobility work.

I've got Relax into stretching and Super joints and the hip mobility work in them kills me (when I do them and for days afterwards). I don't really feel a stretch in the hamstrings or groin, just pain in the joint itself. The opposite side to what's being stretched seems to cramp up and prevents me going any further a lot of the time too.

I'd love to get some more flexibility and improve my ROM because the restricted movement in my hips carries over into my lower back.
 
@Tarzan, sometimes the devil is in the details. It's really tough to say without seeing you. You will need to find a way to open up the joints, to spread the load around and not have it focused in just one place, your hips. These are concepts we talk about all day long at a Flexible Steel workshop and Jon talks about right in the beginning of his book of the same name.

The fact that the opposite side cramps up isn't a problem, uncomfortable as it is. It's pretty normal, actually. A story for you:

I was at a flexibility workshop about 5 years ago that Pavel was leading. We were stretching our lower backs and I got a cramp in my abs, never a fun thing. (This is an example of the opposing muscles cramping up as you were saying happens to you.) Pavel expressed his concern for me and kept an eye on me, and when my abs had finally relaxed, he took the opportunity to tell me a joke because when you laugh after you've had an ab cramp, guess what happens? Your abs cramp up again! He was enjoying himself, and I have to admit that, although it hurt, I found the whole thing pretty funny, too, as did my training partner and some of the other people around.

You'll figure out the opposing muscle group cramping thing - it might still happen sometimes, but just back off on the intensity a little and you should be OK.

-S-
 
Thanks Steve

Maybe it's just my impetuous nature and me wanting it all to happen straight away. I'll back off a bit and work around my issues.
 
Mr @Steve Freides im very sorry for the tardiness of my reply, I have been struck down with illness & my top priority was surviving. Melodramatic I known, but at times that's how I felt.

I would love to bring fs to Australia, I would love for you guys to bring any form of training workshop to Australia. Unfortunately I don't believe I'm in a position to help facilitate that at the moment due to a number of circumstances. Basically I'd hate to put myself in a position to let you down. But now that I know that it is a possibility, I now have a future goal to look forward to & will definitely be in contact with you regarding this once I'm in a better position to help.

Thank you kindly for your thoughts on my routine. It has cemented what I thought was right & fine tuned what I was having trouble with. Besides fatigue, loss of strength & reverting back to a tin man full of aches & pains, I'm no longer ill. Due to this situation I'm concentrating on the above flexibility routine & your advice for a few weeks. I'll ease back into s&s training via deadlifts as preps for swings, as I have trouble with swings due to afore mentioned back injury. I was swinging in my s&s training before I got sick but believe I would benefit more with some deadlift prep as I've read you've mentioned in other threads. I own pttp, would you recommend the rep/set from that? Or do you have a more appropriate one for prepping for the swing? I own double kbs from 16kgs up to 36kgs, & also have an apollon axle bar with 70kgs worth of plates so can do both kb & bb deadlift variations, is that recommended or should I stick with one or the other? I have set myself a goal of the simple s&s standard & will not give up until it is achieved. Before I got sick I was making gains in strength, mobility & flexibility. Slow gains but still progress. I've been given the all clear to begin training. I'm taking this illness as an opportunity to start from scratch again, only this time with an even more appropriate approach for me hence the deadlift prep. I don't know if this is the right thread for this, but I would love to hear your opinion/advice on my above plan. Thank you kindly dc
 
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