Having good flexibility provides your body with plenty of benefits and with our current lifestyles it couldn’t be more important to make sure you stay limber and moving well. Everyone has a different level of ‘ideal’ flexibility with some people needing to be more flexible than others depending on their goals and needs.
Some benefits of increased flexibility include:
- Increased range of motion
- Improved posture and balance
- Reduced risk of injury and pain
- Relaxation and positive state of mind
- Improved movement patterns and performance
Now i know what you are thinking and no, improving your flexibility isn’t just achieved by sitting around and doing static stretching. There are a variety of ways to make great improvements in your flexibility that are more interesting and can also help you achieve more at the same time.
Ways to improve your flexibility:
- Strength Training – Strength or Resistance Training is a great way to improve your flexibility remembering to do so while working through a full range of motion.
- Yoga & Pilates – Yoga and Pilates are a fantastic way to not only stretch but also increase your strength through larger ranges of motion and develop stability in the joints.
- Exercise Selection – Choosing exercises that work through a full range of motion and focus on speed/technique
- Warm-Up/Down – Using your warm-up and warm-down to get your body moving through a full range of motion.
- Breathing – Use deep, slow breathing to help relax and move further into stretches. Plenty of options to try here.
It’s also important to note that you should always warm up with dynamic stretches; stretches where you are moving throughout the stretch. Avoid static stretching prior to training and instead, use it to finish your session. Holding stretches for anywhere between 30sec-90sec.
Nathan Spring
