Can you bend over and touch your toes? If you answered “no” to this question, you’ve come to the right place.
You might think that flexibility is something you’re born with, that you either have it or you don’t. While your level of flexibility has a lot to do with genetics (not everyone can become an acrobat), you might be surprised to learn that you can build flexibility just like you can build muscle strength. endurance Or speed up by stretching.
Naturally losing some flexibility is also one key to healthy aging, but low-impact exercise options are most helpful.
Like anything else, increasing flexibility takes practice. And just like building muscle, it takes consistency. It may not be easy at first, but you’ll soon relax, know you’re doing what you can to improve your flexibility, and get used to the feeling of a good stretch.
Here are some important points to keep in mind as you get started. And of course, if your health conditions limit your movement or cause you pain, be sure to talk to your doctor about a plan to increase your flexibility. And don’t overdo it. To improve your flexibility, remember that slow and steady wins the competition.
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1. Static stretching at the beginning and end of each day
Static stretching allows you to perform deep, individual stretches.
Static electricity retention stretch It may be the easiest way to improve your flexibility. Static stretching includes any flexibility exercises that involve holding a muscle in a stretched position for a significant amount of time (usually about 30 seconds). This allows you to isolate and deeply stretch your muscles. Just 5 to 10 minutes of static stretching to start and end his day will make a big difference in your daily muscle flexibility.
Already well-known static stretches include:
Advanced static stretches include:
2. Perform dynamic stretches before and after exercise.
Dynamic stretching improves mobility.
Dynamic stretching, in contrast to static stretching, continuously moves muscles and joints through a full range of motion. This type of stretch feels much more active than static stretching and can also increase your heart rate.
Dynamic stretching does not isolate the muscles as much as static stretching. Rather, this type of active stretching works multiple muscles at the same time and teaches muscles and joints how to work together to support deeper, smoother movements. Performing dynamic stretches before your workout is a good warm-up. Also, a few stretches after a workout can help your body return to a rested state (in addition to stopping you from getting cold after a heavy sweat session).
Examples of dynamic stretches include:
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3. Exercise your muscles several times a week
Foam rolling helps loosen tight muscles and fascia.
Adhesions in fascia, a type of connective tissue that covers muscles, bones, and joints, can make you feel less flexible. What people refer to as “muscle knots” actually often occur in the fascia (although muscle tissue can also develop knotted areas).
If you tend to develop adhesions due to prolonged sitting or strenuous physical activity, try adding self-myofascial release to your daily routine. Self-myofascial release is essentially a self-massage aimed at “releasing” tight knots from the body’s tissues. You can perform self-myofascial release using a foam roller, lacrosse ball, muscle roller, massage gun, etc.
These myofascial release exercises will:
4. Practice rotational movements
Although often overlooked, rotational movements have a huge impact on flexibility.
The ability to fully rotate your spine and ball joints (hips and shoulders) greatly influences your overall level of flexibility. Your spine, hips, and shoulders determine most of the movements you perform on a daily basis, whether you realize it or not. Every time you step, reach, bend, turn, sit, or stand, you also use your spine, along with your lower back and lower back. shoulder. If you don’t actively practice rotating these joints, you’ll be missing out on your flexibility potential.
Try the following rotation exercise to improve your flexibility.
Creating a flexibility training program
In addition to your regular exercise routine, such as weightlifting or walking, try spending a few minutes each day doing flexibility training. It can be difficult to prioritize flexibility exercises due to time constraints, but if you really want to become more bendable, you need to practice regularly.
Here’s one way to incorporate flexibility training into your workout routine.
- Morning: 5 minutes of static stretching, focusing on the lower body.
- Pre-workout: 10 minutes of full-body dynamic stretching
- Post-workout: Do 5 minutes of myofascial release of the trained muscles.
- Before bed: 5 minutes of static stretching, focusing on the upper body
By investing just a few minutes at a time, you can get close to 30 minutes of flexibility training each day.
You can reduce your active exercise time slightly and incorporate flexibility training. For example, if you normally walk 60 minutes a day, walk for 50 minutes and finish with 10 minutes of stretching. At the end of the day, increasing flexibility is about prioritizing it as a goal.