Flexibility, Highly Admired Yet Least Acquired

Flexibility, if not practiced habitually, is one of the first physical abilities we lose as we age. I’ve heard so many friends and family laugh off their inflexibility. It’s entertaining to watch an inflexible young person (mainly because they have plenty of time to regain and retain flexibility) not so funny for middle-agers — when one wrong move can set you back weeks.

This blog post was inspired by the young and inflexible but certainly applies to all.

Setting up a stretch routine is good practice – before and after exercising.

Before beginning a workout – dynamic stretching (moving through a full range of motion around a joint) prepares the body for the physical work to come. It warms your ligaments, tendons, muscles, and that vast sausage skin-like web they’re covered in called fascia (which can harbor many adhesions, aka knots).

After exercise your body is best prepared for static stretching (non-moving sustained stretch).

The heat created by exercise warms all the connective tissue and muscles, facilitating the stretch. The goal of static stretching is to improve flexibility. It’s best to hold stretches for at least 30-60 seconds and repeat 3-4 times. Your body needs this – to retain flexibility, to remain functional, no laughing matter.

There are various ways to stretch.

I offer my clients (actually, it’s mandatory:) a specific active/assisted/passive stretch with the aim of retaining the elongation that occurs when going through the actual stretch. It’s a form of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) often used in rehabilitation settings. There are a few techniques in the PNF method. They all involve some form of muscle contraction followed by a passive stretch. It improves flexibility and range of motion.

Implementing a stretch routine is a simple thing you can do now to combat postural stress, muscle imbalance, chronic tension, and age-related functional decline – to name a few.

Contact me to discuss an integrative functional training program that will address your flexibility needs.

Stand tall Breathe deep
– Corina