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What is Flexibility?
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Flexibility is a vital part of your overall fitness. Simply defined it is the ability to flex, extend, or circumduct your body's joints through their intended full range of motion. Flexibility can be affected by past injuries, strength levels, core body temperature, time of day, mood, stress levels, and personality type.
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While the benefits of flexibility cannot be overstated, sometimes some very flexible people tend to overdo stretching. You frequently see this in the gym where highly flexible individuals do nothing but stretch. By the same token, it is just as common to see very strong but inflexible individuals who do nothing but lift.
Since your overall level of fitness improves when you address the weakest link, if you are strong but inflexible, stretch, and if you are flexible but weak, lift. As with all components of a solid fitness program, you need just enough flexibility for the demands of your life plus a little extra. The good news is that flexibility is like strength and endurance, it can be developed by anyone at any time.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FITNESS TRANSFORM STRETCH LIBRARY
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In addition to stretching, you might want to consider adding the foam roller to your program. The foam roller is one of the most effective self-maintenance tools you'll find for releasing tension and improving your overall range of motion. |
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| Foam rolling involves slowly rolling across a particular muscle to release the knots, or adhesions. The idea is that just as a knotted rubber band can't stretch to its full capacity, neither can a kinked muscle.
The technique, known as self myofascial release, or SMR, involves using your body weight to sandwich the roller between the muscle to be released and the floor.
To begin, roll at a slow pace until you find a spot that's tender, pause and rest on the area until you feel it release. Then continue rolling or move on to another muscle.
In the above photo, my client Krista is demonstrating the technique on her Piriformis muscle. You can begin this stretch by crossing your foot over your opposite knee, as shown, and rolling on your posterior hip.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FOAM ROLLER
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