I really should create a new category on the site "stretching" along with many more. Project on hold for now though - maybe soon! So much to DO . . . so little TIME . . . Hehe. Gotta prioritize!

Anyway, I dont know if Van Damme patented those splits, but he might well have.

It's also basic training in Karate, Taekwondo etc (part of basic training) - if you haven't done it with partners forcing your legs open (no puns please) - then you ain't really trained any sort of martial art, period.

Unless you consider boxing to be a martial art where it's not heavily emphasized...

But anyway - this one stretch, my friend - I've been taking it easy for the past couple of days, and haven't done a lot exercise wise (though what I did do is enough to kick most people in the can anyway) and so something was off, I felt it today.

I did squats, pull-ups - and animal kingdom workouts - felt great - but something was still OFF.

I couldn't pin point it, then instinctively I dropped down into the splits. Something I could never ever even start to do - not even when I was training Taekwondo as a kid without being assisted, let alone properly.

Today, I can get almost all the way there myself (side splits).

And the key isn't just "getting there" - its how you do the damn exercise.

If you're slouching while doing it, you ain't doing it right.

The focus should be there and felt on the groin, hips, lower back and core - truly the seat of POWER in your body!

You might not think its a lot.

Let me tell you though, those of you that haven't done it, even sitting in that position with a straight BACK - will have your heart beat go UP within no time at all.

If you bend any which way - caution. You might feel muscles you haven't worked in years as beads of sweat trickle down your sides.

Wait a minute, you say.

There's no cardio here, it's just splits!

But trust me, my friend, it isnt just that.

You BREATHE right while doing any exercise, it becomes cardio to an extent, and when you're in that sort of position, and get good at it, you will understand why it's needed to execute those flying kicks and such - but also the way it works EVERYTHING in the entire body.

I only did this for a few minutes before writing to you - I'll do it for longer later, but my lower back, core, all is aligned again.

And I feel great.

It isn't the only exercise by far that works the entire body.

The "Rahul Mookerjee patented" squat in Isometric and Flexibility Training - another one!

When I was young - my Dad once told me my back would hurt if I sat in that position.

Sat?

I couldn't even get into it - ditto until the age of like 40.

Yes, thats right, I couldn't do it even when I was in the best shape of my life at 37 but today?

I can literally teach entire classes while squatting in that position, and not "feel it" at all.

Trust me, there is a skill to getting off that position using your legs alone and not your hands (try it the next time you rise out of your chair for one).

Isometrics, my friend - there is a reason the old timers relied on them extensively and used them damn near daily.

So should you, they work the whole body and take your health and fitness to newer, far more SUPREME levels.

Get started NOW.

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee