Yesterday I could go farthest in my attempt for side splits. And it was not even painful; it felt quite easy. Today, I tried to replicate it but could not. The only possible reason why it went so well last night was that I started out yesterday's workout with practice of footwork, punches and kicks before moving on to stretching. Did practicing side kicks help me achieve more flexibility for side splits?

If you practice kicking before you stretch, your initial hip flexibility will be better when you stretch than when you do without prior kicking. That's just natural and that's not what I am talking about; I am talking about the final maximum flexibility for the day. What I find puzzling is today I could not reach yesterday's level no matter how much time I spent on stretching. Today I did not practice kicking but I spent good 30 minutes doing cardio in the beginning. That makes me think that it's kicking, not warm-up in general, that made the difference, and that its effect may extend beyond the initial flexibility.

This sounds almost backwards. You stretch to kick better. You don't kick to stretch better. But it may go both ways. This is definitely worth further experimentation.

 

Talking of my hip flexibility, in "Health Update" (Wednesday, October 28, 2009), I wrote the pain I used to get in my right inner thigh when I stretch with my right leg propped up completely disappeared after taking a break from workout for 10 days or so because of illness. I had some pain back tonight. I wonder if it is because I am not stretching correctly.

Postscript: I had a different theory the next day. See "Less Flexing Seems to Be the Key" (Tuesday, November 03, 2009).