When I learned about strength training, stretching or flexibility was not spoken in positive note. When the muscle is more flexible, strength decreases is something that I have taught. That was the common belief and I see that trend still there even now.
Over the years, as I got smarter, I’ve learned that strong muscles that cannot be used is worthless, especially for athletic performance or in daily life. We get fascinated too easily by people who has huge muscles and have an image of big muscles means healthy and athletic. However, what is the point of having those kinds of large muscles when the body is so tight that you cannot even scratch your own back or having difficulty tying your shoelace?
When looking at elite athletes, whether it is in soccer, football, martial arts, Olympic lifts, they are typically very flexible. Flexible enough that they can do splits. So, the story about flexibility kills strength doesn’t seem to be true. Some athletes are amazing to the point they are flexible but also has large and strong muscles.
More mobility and flexibility we have, our body seems to have a better mechanics and able to use muscles in its full capability.
Another benefit of being mobile and flexible is you’ll have less chance of getting injured. From training experience, when stretching and strength training is done right, majority of the joint tightness or pain can be minimized. Of course, there are some injuries where mobility and flexibility may not help such as contusion and concussion to name the few. I do understand that there are some studies found that there is no correlation between being flexible and injury. However, I do find from my own training and results I see in my clients that it is better to be flexible and mobile than not.
Here are some videos to show what type of stretching you can do that will benefit your joints.
First video is for calf. All you need to do is hold the stretched position for 60 seconds. In the video, I have my foot on the stairs. Most important thing in this stretch is to keep the knee of the stretching side to be as straight as possible.
Second video is for the hamstring. Again, I’m using slant board to give better stretch, but you can also use step on this one too. You may want lower step on this one. Important part again is to keep the stretching side of knee to be as straight as you can make it. For me, it is better to stretch one leg at a time to learn which is tighter.
Third video is not a stretch but great mobility work exercise for you shoulder blade. Whether you like it or not, we do our work with arms in front of us. Driving, computer work, cooking, cleaning, all the work we do require us to have our shoulder to be rounded forward. To reset, band pull apart is highly recommended exercise. If your shoulder blade is so tight you may want to start this without anything. Few of the key pointers are keeping your chest up and pull shoulder back to squeeze the shoulder blades together. Aim for about 50 repetitions total. This exercise is also good place to start for those who are having a shoulder issue.
It does take time and consistent work to improve your mobility and flexibility just like building muscles, but the return on investment is very high. You can move freely with less or no pain.
There are so many other ways to stretch your body and may be a good investment for your health to find what works for your needs.
Kota Shimada
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