The overwhelming majority of people believe that flexibility is not necessary for the average person. Is it so?
Flexibility is the range of joint mobility and stretching of ligaments. This “span” determines a person’s ability to perform movements not only in the gym, but also in everyday life.
Why is flexibility needed?
A certain flexibility is inherent in a person by nature, but lack of training for a long time affects it negatively. This is first felt by those who have just begun to engage in physical activity. Lack of proper flexibility and lack of movement is the cause of many muscle blocks and spasms. The lower back and shoulder girdle react the worst to this. As a result, there is a violation of posture and coordination, while the person feels insecure and becomes truly clumsy.
But the visible aesthetic manifestations of a lack of flexibility are not the worst thing. Limited joint mobility leads to impaired blood circulation and lymph flow, leading to lymph stagnation and vascular disease, which, in turn, leads to the accumulation of toxins in the body and the formation of blood clots.
There are a large number of exercises to develop flexibility, and you can always choose the appropriate set from them:
In developing flexibility, you need to be patient. To ensure that the training process does not leave bad emotions and brings results, there are basic rules that need to be taken into account.
1. Before stretching, the muscles must be warmed up. Cold muscles stretch poorly and painfully. Such stretching will be of little use, and in this case the ligaments can easily be damaged. Light running, jumping, vigorous bending, rubbing, and even a hot bath are suitable for warming up.
2. At the beginning of the stretching course, you should not stretch the muscles to the point of severe pain, otherwise you will have to stop training for a while.
3. When stretching, you should try to keep your muscles relaxed. If they are clamped, they will hardly stretch, and you can’t expect results from the exercises either.
4. Avoid sudden pain when doing exercises - this has a bad effect on the structure of muscles and ligaments.
5. Movements when performing stretching exercises should be slow and smooth.
6. Fixation of the position with maximum muscle stretching for at least 20 seconds.
7. Stretching exercises should be regular and performed at least 3 times a week.
A flexible person, as a rule, moves beautifully and gracefully, and muscles strengthened by stretching are good protection for the skeleton and internal organs from blows, bruises, falls, etc.
Exercises aimed at improving the flexibility of the body are called stretching. Many of them are present in medical rehabilitation programs aimed at restoring body mobility after suffering certain injuries. In addition, stretching is mandatory in professional sports. It helps prevent injuries to ligaments, muscles, and joints during active loads, and improves the speed of recovery after intense training. Today, stretching has formed into a separate direction, which is becoming increasingly popular, because it has enough advantages. It is often practiced by girls whose main goal is flexibility and plasticity of the body, since stretching copes with this with a bang. Fitness centers offer group stretching classes. But you can also perform flexibility exercises for beginners and at home. The main thing is to study all the features of such activities.
Stretching and flexibility exercises are useful for absolutely everyone: both ladies who want to become more flexible and graceful, as well as male athletes and just people who want to improve their health and learn to better control their body. To ensure that the exercises bring maximum benefit and effectiveness, pay attention to the following nuances:
- Stretching is divided into two types: static and dynamic. The essence of the first is that you will need to stay in a specific one position in order to create maximum load on the target muscle groups. Dynamic stretching involves making sudden movements. Dynamic loads are not recommended for beginners, since if the body is unprepared, it can provoke sprains and ruptures of ligaments and tendons.
- Stretching gives quick results. Once you start exercising, you will soon feel how your muscle strength has increased and your well-being has improved, as the body is actively saturated with oxygen. The figure will become more slender and graceful. And even your skin will become fresher. But, of course, do not expect that the second time you practice, you will be able to do the splits. You will obviously become more flexible after about three months of training.
- You cannot stretch from a resting state. Flexibility exercises are performed after active warming up of the muscles. You can jump rope, do squats, and do leg swings. And only when you feel that you are warmed up enough, start stretching.
- Stretching exercises can be performed at any time of the day. However, experts believe that the best time for this is evening. Smooth and simple gymnastics will help you calm down and relax after a hard day.
During the exercise, you should only feel tension in the muscles and ligaments, but in no case pain. A sharp, severe pain indicates that something is damaged in the body. Do everything carefully and smoothly, listen to your body and give it time to get used to the stress. If you hear crunching or clicking sounds, feel muscle spasms, dizziness or severe pain, stop exercising.
An effective set of stretching and flexibility exercises
Do you want to improve flexibility, plasticity and grace, strengthen muscles and form beautiful body shapes? Then pay attention to the set of stretching and flexibility exercises proposed below.
Exercises to develop leg flexibility
1. Swing your legs
Swings help warm up the outer and inner muscles of the thighs, buttocks, calves, and hamstrings.
Stand straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise one of them slightly forward, keeping your balance on your supporting foot. Afterwards, slowly and smoothly make pendulum-like movements with your leg to the right and left, watching your posture. With each turn, try to achieve the maximum range of motion of the joint. One swing should be performed for 30-60 seconds, alternate legs. You can use a forward-backward trajectory.
2. Side lunges
These flexibility and stretching exercises are great for stretching your buttocks and inner thighs. You need to stand straight, put your feet shoulder-width apart, and place your hands on your waist. Step deeply to the right, bending your knee while keeping your left leg straight. For some time, shift your body weight to your right leg, effectively stretching the muscles of your left thigh. Then return to the starting position and lunge in the other direction.
3. High knee raises
This stretch combines regular lunges with high knee raises. This combination helps achieve excellent dynamic stretching for the calves, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors.
You need to fix your arms above your head and make a deep lunge with your right leg forward. When you come out, bend your back leg and try to raise your knee to your chest as high as possible. Returning to the starting position, immediately move into a lunge with your left leg.
4. Cross leg raises
Stretches the calf muscles, lower back, and hamstrings. You need to stand up straight, put your feet shoulder-width apart, and stretch your arms out in front of you, palms down. Perform cross leg raises, trying to touch your foot to the other palm.
Exercises for stretching and flexibility of arms
For arms, stretching and flexibility training may include the following exercises:
1. Compass
Well stretches the muscles and ligaments around the shoulder joint, preparing it for more active strength activities. You need to stand up straight, arms extended to your sides at shoulder level. Perform ten circular rotations forward and the same number back. Over time, increase the amplitude until the plane of the exercise is close to vertical. You can also perform versatile rotations with your hands, in which one moves clockwise and the other counterclockwise.
2. Scissors
This exercise perfectly stretches the arm flexor muscles. You need to straighten up, extend your arms straight in front of you at shoulder level. Start moving your arms in and out, imitating the movement of scissors.
3. Retraction of the arm behind the head
This exercise provides a dynamic stretch to the triceps. You need to raise your left arm above your head and bend it at the elbow. Then place your right palm slightly below the elbow joint and pull it back until you feel that the muscle is as tense as possible. Hold for a few seconds at the point of maximum resistance, then return to the starting position. Repeat the same with the second hand.
4. Shoulder stretch
To stretch your shoulder girdle, stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Stretch your left hand across your chest, take it by the elbow with your right and gently pull it towards you. When you feel a sufficient stretch in the target muscles, hold for 10-15 seconds, then do the same with the other arm.
Exercises to improve back flexibility
1. Step-tilt
The exercise improves the flexibility of the muscles of the back, buttocks, and the back of the thigh. You need to straighten up, take a step forward. Then, without rounding your back, bend over and try to reach your front foot. If you don't succeed right away, that's okay. Don't bend your back, just try to go lower and lower each time. Returning to the starting position, do the same with the other leg. In total, it is enough to take 12-14 steps.
2. Lazy stretches
This exercise is good for those who can do it anywhere – even in the office at their workplace, or at home in front of the TV. You need to sit on a chair, straighten up, tense your abdominal muscles. Now lift your right knee towards your chest without rounding your back. Place your hands on your shins and gently pull them towards you. Once you feel sufficient tension in your lower back, hold for half a minute, and then repeat the same with your left leg.
3. Seated bends
Such bends well stretch the deep muscles located along the spine. You need to sit on the floor, bend your knees and spread them wide. Keep your back straight. Inhale slowly and deeply, relax your muscles. Exhaling, bend forward as far as you can, extending your arms and trying to lie on the floor with your chest until you feel a sufficient stretch throughout your back. Hold the stretch for half a minute. It is recommended to repeat the exercise at least four times.
Stretch for pectoral muscles
The following exercises can be used for the chest muscles:
1. Camel
You need to kneel down, place your hands on the back of your lower back with your fingers down and tighten your stomach. Raise your head up, bend your torso back as much as possible, squeezing your shoulder blades. Hold for a few breaths, then sit on the floor. There is also a more complex version of the camel pose, in which you also need to grab your heels.
2. Bridge
This exercise stretches your chest muscles while strengthening your quadriceps. You need to lie on your back, bend your knees, place your heels close to your buttocks. Then lift your hips up as much as possible, press your forearms into the floor and further move your shoulders. Hold for five breaths at the highest point, then smoothly return to the starting position.
3. Applause
Stand up straight, extend your arms in front of you at shoulder level, press your palms together. Keeping your arms straight, move them back as far as possible, then return to the starting position. The movement should resemble broad applause. It is recommended to repeat it at least 15 times, periodically changing the intensity of the clapping.
Abdominal stretching exercises
1. Awakening
This exercise helps stretch both the anterior and oblique abdominal muscles, as well as the deep muscles that run along the spine. Stand straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Interlace your fingers and extend your arms above your head, turning your palms toward the ceiling. Inhale, squeeze your abs and buttocks while stretching your arms upward. Then exhale and lean to the right, keeping your hips tight. Hold for half a minute, then return to the starting position. Reach towards the ceiling again and tilt in the other direction.
2. Twists on a chair
An excellent exercise for stretching the abdominal muscles and lower back muscles, which are responsible for turning the body to the side. You need to sit on the front edge of the chair, with your feet firmly pressed to the floor. Then turn your torso as far as possible to the left and grab the back of the chair with both hands. Additionally, try to tighten your core muscles. Hold for a few seconds, then return to the starting position. As you turn further, try to increase your range of motion. Do the same in the other direction. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times in total.
The proposed set of exercises to develop flexibility is perfect for anyone who pursues this goal. Do it regularly and you will soon notice results.
Stretching at home: video tutorials
Flexibility is the ability of muscles and joints to operate through their full range. We are born with this ability, but in most cases we lose it as we age.
In hunter-gatherer times, people performed the necessary amount of movement every day to maintain flexibility and health. Nowadays we don’t need to move so much, on the contrary, many people are forced to spend half the day in a sitting position.
Even if you are active, by the time you become an adult, your tissues have lost 15% of their moisture and become less elastic.
Over time, your muscle fibers begin to stick to each other, forming cross-links that prevent parallel fibers from moving independently. The risk of injury increases.
Gradually, our elastic fibers are bound by collagen connective tissues and become more and more stubborn and rigid.
Stretching slows down dehydration processes by stimulating the production of lubricating fluids in tissues. The cross-links in the muscles are stretched, allowing the normal parallel structure of the muscles to be restored.
What are we really stretching?
Most physiologists believe that increasing the elasticity of healthy muscle fibers is not the most important factor in increasing flexibility.
According to Michael Alter, author of the 1998 book The Science of Flexibility, individual muscle fibers can stretch up to 150% of their original length before breaking.
This ability to stretch allows the muscles to move over a wide range, sufficient to perform the most difficult asanas. This means that it is not the muscles that limit our stretching.
There are two main scientific opinions about what actually prevents us from touching the floor with our hands. The first school argues that it is necessary to increase the elasticity of connective tissues, the second school speaks of training the nervous system.
The role of connective tissue in the development of flexibility
Connective tissue makes up the majority of our body. It forms intricate networks that connect all parts of the body and divide them into individual anatomical structures: bones, muscles, organs, and so on.
Connective tissue. biology.about.com
In the study of flexibility, we will concern only three types of connective tissue:
- Tendons. Serve to transmit force by connecting muscles and bones. Tendons have enormous tensile strength, but they are also quite sensitive to stretching. By stretching a tendon just 4%, you can tear it or lengthen it so that it cannot return to its normal position.
- Ligaments. The tendons can safely stretch a little more, but not by much. They bind the bones within the joint capsule and play an important role in limiting flexibility. It is generally advised to avoid stretching them: this can make the joints less stable and increase the risk of injury. This is why the knees need to be stretched very gently.
- Fascia. This is the third type of connective tissue that is much more important for the development of flexibility. The fascia accounts for 41% of the total resistance to movement.
Let's apply this knowledge to one of the basic asanas - paschimottanasana. This is a forward bend in a sitting position. It stretches a chain of muscles that starts at the Achilles tendons, moves up to the back of the legs and pelvis, and then continues up the spine and ends at the base of the head.
MyGoodImages/Depositphotos.com As a rule, during yoga classes this pose is simply fixed for some time - from 30 seconds or longer. While holding the pose, the instructor corrects the students and encourages them to breathe deeply and evenly.
This practice allows you to change the quality of connective tissue plasticity. Prolonged poses cause healthy, permanent changes in the fascia that connects your muscles.
If you hold the pose for a short time, a pleasant feeling of muscle stretching occurs. But this will not necessarily lead to structural changes that will increase flexibility.
Julie Gudmestad, physical therapist and certified Iyengar yoga instructor
The pose must be held for 90–120 seconds to change the underlying substance in the connective tissue. The base substance is a non-fibrous gel-like substance that contains connective tissue fibers - collagen and elastin. It is what stabilizes and lubricates connective tissues.
How the nervous system influences the development of flexibility
Along with stretching connective tissues, much of the work in yoga is aimed at engaging the neurological mechanisms that cause muscles to contract or stretch. One of these mechanisms is mutual (reciprocal) inhibition.
Every time one group of muscles (agonists) contracts, the autonomic nervous system function causes the opposing muscles (antagonists) to stretch. For thousands of years, yogis have used this mechanism to facilitate stretching.
To experience the principle of mutual inhibition for yourself, sit in front of a table and gently press the edge of your palm onto the tabletop. If you touch your triceps, located on the back of your shoulder, you will notice that it is tense. If you touch the opposite muscle - the biceps, you will feel that it is relaxed.
The same mechanisms work in paschimottanasana. As you tighten your quadriceps, your hamstrings relax and you can deepen the pose a little.
Why you shouldn't stretch in jerks
Physiologists who recognize the nervous system as the main obstacle to the development of flexibility believe that the key to overcoming limitations lies in another function of the nervous system - the stretch reflex.
To understand what a stretch reflex is, imagine walking in winter. Suddenly you step on the ice, your foot starts to move away. Your muscles come into action, straining to bring your legs back into a stable position and regain control. What happens in your nerves and muscles?
Each muscle fiber has a network of sensors - neuromuscular spindles. They run perpendicular to the muscle fibers, tracking how much and how quickly the muscle fiber lengthens.
Neuromuscular spindles. anatomytrains.com As the fibers elongate, the muscle spindles sense stress. When stress occurs too quickly or continues for too long, the muscle spindles send out an urgent neurological SOS, activating an immediate protective contraction.
This is why most experts caution against jerking while stretching. They quickly stimulate muscle spindles, which cause reflex contraction and increase the risk of injury.
Slow static stretching also triggers the stretch reflex, but not as sharply. As you lean forward in paschimottanasana, the neuromuscular spindles in the hamstrings produce resistance, creating tension in all the muscles you are trying to stretch.
This is why improving flexibility through static stretching takes time: it occurs through slow training of the muscle spindles. You train them to withstand more tension before the nervous system reacts back.
How to Improve Your Stretch by Training the Stretch Reflex
Recently, neurological techniques have emerged in the West that train the stretch reflex, quickly increasing flexibility. One such technique is called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).
To apply PNF to paschimottanasana, try the following:
- lean forward slightly less than to maximum stretch;
- Tighten the muscles of the back of your thighs, trying to press them into the floor;
- hold the tension for 5–10 seconds;
- then relax and try to deepen the asana.
When the hamstring muscles contract, tension is released from the neuromuscular spindles, so they send signals that further stretching is safe.
If you contract and then stretch your muscles in this manner, you will find that you are much more comfortable in the pose that you thought was your maximum stretch just a few seconds ago.
How breathing helps while stretching
The connection between relaxation, stretching and breathing is well known and accepted in both yoga and Western science. Physiologists explain this by the neurological dependence of movement and breathing, known as synkinesis - involuntary muscle contractions accompanying any motor act.
Let's look at this using paschimottanasana as an example. As you inhale, the muscles become stiffer, making it more difficult to stretch. The abdominal cavity fills with air like a balloon, making it difficult to bend forward.
Exhalation deflates the lungs and lifts the diaphragm higher into the chest. This frees up space in the abdominal cavity so that it is easier to bend at the lumbar spine and tilt the chest closer to the hips.
In addition, exhalation relaxes the back muscles and tilts the pelvis forward. In Paschimottanasana, the lower back muscles experience passive pressure.
When your lungs are empty and your diaphragm is drawn into your chest, your back muscles stretch and you can bend into your deepest position.
Place your palms on your back and begin to breathe deeply. You will feel the muscles on either side of your spine tense as you inhale and relax as you exhale.
If you are careful, you will notice that each breath engages the muscles around your tailbone, at the very bottom of your back, gently moving your pelvis back. Each exhalation relaxes these muscles and frees the pelvis, allowing you to twist at the hip joints.
The Rigid Method for Rapidly Developing Flexibility
Maybe you have seen a photo of B.K.S. Iyengar in mayurasana (peacock pose) on the back of a student in paschimottanasana. Or a teacher standing on the hips of a student in baddha konasana (butterfly pose).
Mayurasana (peacock pose). Yoga Asanas Online These techniques can be dangerous for beginners, but under the supervision of experienced instructors they are extremely effective and bear striking similarities to advanced Western flexibility training techniques aimed at rewiring neurological mechanisms.
Sometimes during stretching, a physiological response occurs that allows you to suddenly stretch much better than usual. For example, after many years of stagnation, you suddenly do the splits completely.
This is a neurological switch that suppresses the stretch reflex. While the stretch reflex causes tension in muscle tissue, a switch known as the reverse myotatic stretch reflex completely releases muscle tension to protect the tendons.
How does he work? At the end of each muscle, where it connects to the tendon, there are sensory bodies that monitor the load - the Golgi tendon organ. These bodies react when each muscle contraction or stretch puts too much pressure on the tendon.
Test yourself: lift your leg onto the back of a chair. If you can do this, you already have enough stretch to do the splits.
Pavel Tsatsoulin, Russian flexibility expert
However, using this mechanism is quite risky. To engage the Golgi tendon organ reflex, the muscles must be under extreme pressure in a fully extended position.
The use of such methods requires the supervision of an experienced teacher who can correctly align your skeleton and determine that your body is strong enough to withstand such stress. If you don't fully understand what you're doing, you can easily get injured.
Ancient techniques or modern science
A good teacher will definitely tell you that yoga is more than just stretching.
Yoga is a discipline that teaches us to perceive the world differently. So that we can give up our attachment to suffering.
Judith Lasater, physical therapist
According to Lasater, there are only two asanas: conscious and unconscious. In other words, what makes an asana a pose is awareness, not just a change in body position.
However, stretching is also important for progress in yoga, because the practitioner’s plastic body will allow him to better manage energy - prana. And there is no contradiction in using the analytical conclusions of Western science for in-depth empirical knowledge of ancient asanas.
Master B. K. S. Iyengar, perhaps the most influential yogi in Western Hatha Yoga, has always encouraged scientific research, advocating the application of strict physiological principles to improve the practice of refined asanas.
Maybe you are a believer and believe that the ancient techniques are enough to develop flexibility and reap all the benefits. But perhaps, by supplementing the wisdom of the East with the discoveries of Western science, you will be able to advance further in your practice.
A person's flexibility is measured by how much mobility their joints have, which depends on the surrounding muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Having good flexibility can prevent injury and loss of mobility, improve your posture, and help relieve back pain. Many people focus only on muscle strength and size, without considering that the muscles also need to be quite flexible in order to perform the full range of movements, for example, during squats or deadlifts. By combining dynamic stretches, static stretches and specific exercises, you can quickly develop your flexibility.
Steps
Stretching techniques
Make sure you are performing the exercise correctly. When performing stretches, always follow scientifically based guidelines (such as those from the American College of Sports Medicine, or ACSM). You can also consult with your physician, sports physician, qualified trainer, or physical therapist to tailor a stretching program that's best suited to you. A professional will show you how to do the stretches and make sure you are performing all the movements correctly, so you can increase your flexibility in no time.
Listen to your body. Pay attention to your body's signals, such as pain or stiffness. Each person has their own optimal degree of flexibility that they should strive for. Tight muscles and limited range of motion indicate that you need to introduce warm-up exercises into your exercise routine. Flabby, weak muscles, as well as loose and dislocated joints, are signs that you should focus on strengthening your muscles and joints.
Create a workout routine. According to ACSM recommendations, you should stretch for at least two to three days a week after a proper warm-up, such as after walking. Several types of stretches should be done for each major muscle group, including the shoulders, chest, arms, abs, buttocks, thighs, and calves. Remember that your abilities, goals and level of flexibility are different from others, so don't compare yourself to others.
Warm-up exercises. To warm up your muscles, perform low-intensity dynamic stretches that work the same muscle groups as you do when you exercise or play a sport. These exercises will gradually increase your heart rate, blood flow to the muscles and body temperature, thereby increasing the benefits of stretching. If you want to get the most out of stretching and become more flexible as quickly as possible, you should exercise until you break into a light sweat.
Do dynamic stretches. Dynamic stretches stretch muscles under the influence of impulse, without being held in a limiting position. This type of stretching can increase muscle strength, make you more flexible, and increase your range of motion. Additionally, dynamic stretching before your workout will help you get more benefit from static stretching, bringing you closer to your desired results.
Buy a Pilates roller. A Pilates roller can be bought at a sporting goods store for 1500-3000 rubles. Choose a roller with a PVC core. It can help relax contracted muscles, reduce inflammation, improve blood circulation and flexibility. As with stretching exercises, focus your attention on your core muscle group and muscles that feel too tight.
Flexibility exercises will help you achieve amazing results, even if you are not naturally flexible.
Innate flexibility is a quality that not all people can boast of. How can those who are not so fortunate develop flexibility? After all, good stretching affects not only the plasticity of the body and coordination of movements, but also allows you to quickly achieve progress in fitness. This is due to the fact that stretched muscles are less susceptible to injury and respond more quickly to stress. Special flexibility exercises will help make your body flexible. They can be performed independently, combined with other workouts.
Benefits of Developing Flexibility
How does developing flexibility affect the body? First of all, stretching helps relieve muscle tension, which promotes relaxation. It is known that the condition of muscles has a direct connection with our psychological state. Therefore, flexibility exercises are useful to perform during times of stress or strong emotional tension.
By gradually increasing your range of motion, stretching develops coordination and endurance, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury. In addition, like any other load, it improves blood circulation and triggers the body's recovery processes. With a sedentary lifestyle, the invigorating effect of exercise will be noticeable immediately.
Rules for performing flexibility exercises
Workouts that include body flexibility exercises are beneficial for women's health.
How to develop flexibility without the risk of injury?
- Any exercise for body flexibility should be preceded by a 5-minute exercise (running in place, swinging legs and arms, jumping rope or climbing stairs). Stretching unprepared muscles is dangerous as it can lead to injury.
- Perform a full set of exercises 2-3 times a week.
- Spend 5-10 minutes daily stretching individual muscles, remembering to pre-warm up.
- It is allowed to perform exercises after general body training. But if after class you feel a loss of strength, refuse additional exercise. Lack of concentration and severe muscle fatigue do not allow for full stretching and will increase the likelihood of injury.
- Avoid sudden movements. Beginners should prefer static (slow) stretching. Dynamic stretching should be performed with extreme caution.
- Gradually stretch the muscle until you feel slight soreness. Hold the achieved position for 15-30 seconds, then slowly return to the starting position.
- Perform quick stretches for 30 seconds.
- Under no circumstances should you push through the pain! Remember that the regularity of flexibility exercises is much more important than their amplitude.
- Don't take long breaks between movements, move smoothly from one to another.
- Any exercises are designed for 1-1.5 months of regular implementation. After this, the muscles adapt to the load and exercise loses all meaning. If from the very beginning you feel that the exercises are too simple, complicate them or choose an advanced workout.
Examples of exercises for training flexibility and plasticity
Do not forget that you can begin flexibility exercises only after a light warm-up.
- Stand facing the wall. Connect your fingers into a lock and press them against the wall with springy movements. Separate your fingers and repeat the movement.
Keep your back and legs straight while performing this exercise.
- Stand straight, place your heels together and bend your knees slightly. Place your hands on your hips. Perform a series of spring squats.
To make it easier to maintain balance, grab a support with your hands.
- Get on your knees, hands on your waist. Lean your body forward as much as possible.
- Remaining on your knees, slowly sit back on your heels and place your palms on the floor. While in this position, raise your knee as high as possible. Aim for a 30° angle between your knee and the floor.
- Stand up, bring your legs together. Lean forward with a spring, trying to touch your fingers to the floor. Having reached the maximum position, stay in it for 15-30 seconds. In the future, try to touch the floor with your palms. Beginners can perform these flexibility exercises with dumbbells.
Many publications have been written about how to develop flexibility, but the classic bends always remain unchanged.
- Sit cross-legged and lean forward as much as possible with your arms extended.
- Sit on the floor, stretch your legs forward. Stretch your arms along the body and fix them on the floor. Lift your legs off the floor one by one and rotate your feet.
- How to develop flexibility in the most problematic areas - the hips and back of the shin? Stand on your right leg, pull your left heel up to waist level. Secure your leg with a chair or any other surface. Reach up and raise your arms. Then try to touch your toes to your right foot. Change your supporting leg.
- Sit on the floor, bend one leg and straighten the other back. Keep your torso straight, fix your hands on the floor. Move your torso back and forth with a spring and slide your foot back so that the outstretched leg stretches. Change your leg.
Yoga classes promote the development of body flexibility.
- The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise. Springily swing your body left and right and slowly slide your outstretched leg in the same direction. Repeat with the other leg. By regularly performing the latest exercises for body flexibility, you will learn how to do the splits.
Knowing how to develop body flexibility, you will quickly get visible results from your training and be able to feel the results achieved in practice.
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