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Not so much interested in what you SHOULD DO. More interested in what you actually do. We all know we should but do we do it as much as we should? I'm pretty sure I don't….and pretty sure I'm not alone. I stretch for maybe 1 minute or so after 10 minutes of playing and then maybe again for a minute or two if I play an hour or longer. What do you guys ACTUALLY do?
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
I don't really stretch very much. I probably should though. Only after I already start feeling some tension I'll stretch out the fingers one by one by holding my hand out in front of me with the palm to the ceiling and pushing each finger down towards the floor one by one.
I don't do this a lot though. I do a pretty good job of staying relaxed when I play. If I start to feel tense it's usually a sign I'm trying to play something faster than I'm ready. I usually practice in slow motion anyway.
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
I recently started stretching because of being sore after tennis. I use the stretches I found in a tennis book. It feels so good, especially to get the hips loosened up. I bet most guitarists' hips are terribly tight. I stretch my hands forward and back fairly often as well.
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
Never. For left hand I usually start playin a classical song as 'lagrima', tarrega or 'romance anónimo' very slow, and I increase the difficult of playing progresively. For the righ hand... She is moving all the day doing compás. . My left arm is the most problematic.
Anyway I play old-style falsetas, my technique is crap and currently a I have few time to play (1 hour max). If I feel pain in any falseta (back, arm, hands,...)... I leave the instrument and start clapping.
Posts: 2007
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
I remember Grisha wrote to stretch before, during and after. since reading that, I've done more stretching of fingers and hands during practice sessions. I also get up every 30 minutes or so to make sure I still can.
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Mark2)
Current exercise philosophy seems to say that you should only stretch after the muscles are warm, as cold muscles are prone to damage. That being said, Grisha.
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
quote:
I recently started stretching because of being sore after tennis. I use the stretches I found in a tennis book. It feels so good, especially to get the hips loosened up. I bet most guitarists' hips are terribly tight. I stretch my hands forward and back fairly often as well.
I have had to stop playing guitar because my left hip(disguised as lower back) is really tight and painful during the serve. I am at the moment managing it well and doing frequent exercise, will return to the guitar shortly hehe
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
quote:
Not so much interested in what you SHOULD DO. More interested in what you actually do.
I do a little "finger yoga" to stretch every time I practice, and before I take the guitar out of the case. I also do it periodically after playing, and occasionally when I'm not with my guitar (e.g. at work). I think it helps alleviate the kind of stress that would otherwise incline me to crack my knuckles.
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
i sticky tape all fingers together so as not to use them in any way whatsoever during the day, this helps my fingers to build more of a relationship and only understand the guitar as all time is spent with it, and they wont get confused with doing other things
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
I made video showing how I stretch, but it was undignified because I was wearing my pants that are too loose and I kept hiking them up. It looks really sloppy so I can't let you see it, even though I know you want to.
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
For the first time I've realised that stretching is probably pretty important. I've stopped playing for a couple of days now because of tension and a dull throb in my neck and beneath my shoulder blade. It can only be from guitar as I'm not working at the moment and so have had ample time (too much maybe) to just sit about playing guitar all day. More than I've ever had the chance to before really.
Whilst wrist and finger stretches would be important I think it would be silly to neglect your shoulders as that really is where the majority of your power comes from. Lower back too for that matter.
I'd love to know if anybody has made themselves a routine which targets these areas in as little as say 5-10 minutes?
RE: How do you stretch??? Really?? (in reply to Leñador)
In the warmer months I take out my mountain bike to keep my body from seizing up in a cross legged pose. In the winter I stay seized up in a crossed legged pose until I thaw out in spring.
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. My left arm is the most problematic. 
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