OK, so you’ve got all your bases covered in regards to your fitness program? Resistance training? Check. Cardio? Check. Core work? Yeah, sometimes. Flexibility work? Huh?

The above is a typical conversation I would have with your average gym-goer. Unfortunately, all too often flexibility is completely ignored for a host of reasons including time constraints, a belief it is boring or a waste of time or not knowing how to improve flexibility.

What is Flexibility?

The simple definition of flexibility in fitness terms is the range of movement possible at a joint or group of joints.

The Benefits Of Flexibility Training

There is more to flexibility than being able to touch your toes. Including flexibility training in your program brings a host of benefits to the trainee including:

• Reduced risk of injury: It is logical to think that if your muscles and joints can move through a greater plane without pain then in the case of a fall or stumble you are less likely to pull or strain a muscle or joint.
• Eliminate or prevent imbalances: When one group of muscles are overworked compared to others they need to compensate. This results in the muscles working in an inefficient manner due to some muscles taking all the load while others are being ‘protected.’ This will eventually lead to injury, bad posture and/or visible differences (eg one side bigger than the other).
• Increased strength and muscle growth: the greater a muscle can be stretched the more muscle fibres are activated in the contraction, leading to increased strength and, eventually, muscle mass.
• Improved athletic performance: While you would not guess it to be true, world class athletes in strength sports often require incredible flexibility. Who are some of the most flexible strength athletes? Olympic Weightlifters.
• Increased recovery from sessions: Stretching brings nutrients to muscles and joints that aid in recovery. It also reduces the perceived tension and stiffness often experienced in the days after a session – known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).

The Types Of Flexibility Training

I’m sure most of you know about the typical ‘hold the stretch and count to 20’ type of stretching. This is called static stretching. For those training for strength static stretching should be performed primarily after the workout. The reason being studies have shown that static stretching can temporarily impair muscle contraction leading to reduced maximal strength.

So what should you do before a session? The type of flexibility work I find most effective, and often most enjoyable, for myself and my clients is a combination of dynamic stretching and mobility exercises.

Dynamic stretching is simply stretching the muscle throughout the range of motion. It includes stretches like arm swings, leg swings and high kicks.

Mobility exercises involve exercises that move the body through motions it doesn’t normally encounter in a typical training session. Side lunges, lunges, sumo squats, and virtually any bodyweight exercise where the resistance is light and the muscles are gently stretched can be modified to work on mobility.

Other forms of stretching include PNF stretching, active stretching and ballistic stretching. Feel free to research these forms of stretching if you are interested but for the sake of this article we need not go into detail on those topics.

When To Work On Your Flexibility

Each form of flexibility training has an ideal time of when it should be used. Used at the correct position in your workout flexibility training can bring significant improvements in workout performance and recovery.

After a short aerobic warm up dynamic stretching and mobility exercises should be performed. The number of these exercises depends on the workout that will follow. If you are about to perform an intense sprint session, then a large number of dynamic stretches and mobility exercises would likely be useful. If the workout is less intense then 1 or 2 stretches and exercises would suffice.

If you feel stiff or tense during a workout it is fine to go back to some dynamic stretching, mobility exercises and even static stretching (for strength athletes, keep the static stretches short at this time of the workout).

After a workout you can go through a series of static stretches, holding each for 15-20 seconds.

Conclusion

People often neglect flexibility training in their routine but it is a significant component of fitness. Include some work on flexibility in your routine and enjoy the benefits it provides.