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[kethae]

Hey there,

I'm looking for good ways to become more flexible! I can't touch my toes or come close to doing the splits or anything. I always did very poorly on those flexibility tests in elementary school. Are there any good exercises that I can do?

[Boss Man]

You can try things like Yoga, Pilaties, Yogalaties, to some extent strength training can help, Plyometrics, (movements that incorporate a jumping or hopping movement), and also making sure your diet is not full of Caffeine, Fats, and you eat right, so you have good body compsition, and less chance of restricted bloodflow from Caffeine or fatty deposits in the Arteries, as that could affect flexibility of limbs, if Blood isn't freeflowing enough, and some human tissues don't get oxygenated as well as could be expected.

You might also benefit from 1-2 weekly massage therapies too, as sometimes you might find some training methods, cause mild irregularities in the repair of broken down tissues, and you get a few kinked or knotted tissues, making your body not as lose and supple as could be, so something like that might be a considration possibly.

[swanso5]

why???

you need mobility before flexibility anyway

[kethae]

Boss Man:

I didn't realize eating right would affect flexibility. But that does make sense when you put it that way. I must admit that I am looking for exercises I can do at home, before bed, that I don't have to purchase videos or books for. I don't have a cash inflow right now and won't until May, so I'm on a budget.

How often should I do these exercises, and how long should I do them for?


swanso5:

As for the why, I'm not sure I can explain. Mostly it seems like a nice low-key thing I can do to start off with, and something that I do need to improve. Also, knowing good stretches would really help me during the summer when I'm back on construction sites. I don't want to hurt myself with lifting improperly and without warming up first.

I'm unclear what the difference between flexibility and mobility is, however. Can you please explain?

[swanso5]

yes you need flexibility to be strong but flexibility by itself doesn't give you strength which is what's needed on construction sites...warming up with stretches is no good either

the easiest way to explain it that mobility refers to joint movement and flexibility refers to muscle movement...if you're joint can't move then it doesn't matter what your muscles can do

[kethae]

So if I were to say that my hips are "inflexible" what that means is that they don't have mobility... and I shouldn't worry about flexibility until they do. Right? How do I fix that? I have plenty of strength for the work I do on construction sites. I built up enough pretty fast. I'm not worried that I don't have enough. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks for the help, by the way.

[swanso5]

exactly...as a side not this is a joint by joint checklist of what joint needs what

ankle - mobility
knee - stability
hips - mobility
low back - stability
scapula - stability
thoracic - mobility
shoulder joint - mobility

so as you go up the body it alternates from a need of mobility to a need of stabililty

if you pop hip mobility exercises into youtube you'll plenty of vid's to look at

[kethae]

Thanks a bunch!