For many of us with an active lifestyle, chances are we often overlook our flexibility.
Think about it, when’s the last time you actually took the time to stretch your muscles? Unless you’re someone who regularly stretches, chances are, you probably don’t even remember.
There’s no shame in this though, so many people don’t prioritize or even consider flexibility training as part of workout routine.
And why would they? Especially if you don’t know why you should increase your flexibility, it seems like there is really is no reason to. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
As a lifter myself, I used to feel the same way. I didn’t see how flexibility would have any correlation to lifting, so I didn’t think I needed to train my flexibility.
However, regularly neglecting flexibility can start to become problematic, no matter who you are.
It wasn’t until I learned why I needed to increase my flexibility that I decided that I needed to add flexibility training into my workout routine.
Here’s everything you need to know about why flexibility is essential for everyone.
In this post you’ll find:
Why is it important to be flexible
Even though many people tend to overlook flexibility, myself included, there are still many reasons why flexibility is important for everyone.
The main reason is that flexibility helps to keep our bodies mobile and healthy. By gently engaging and stretching our muscles we’re able to increase and maintain mobility throughout our entire body.
Think about it, as people are designed to move and be active, doesn’t it make sense that the more we’re able to move, the better our lives will be?
Flexibility helps keep our bones, joints, and muscles healthy, flexible, and able to move how we need and want them to move.
Improving flexibility allows us to move better and easier, no matter what we’re doing.
Some of the benefits of increased flexibility
Once you start doing some of the best exercises to improve your flexibility, you’ll start seeing results in no time.
Here are some of the biggest benefits that you’ll see once you start seriously training to increase your flexibility.
Decreased risk of injury
Injuries from working out are all too common. And chances are, you want to do everything in your power to prevent them.
Well, one way to help prevent injuries is by increasing your flexibility.
Tight muscles can cause all sorts of problems for anyone who’s active, and even people who aren’t active. If your muscles are tight, you’re at a much greater risk of injuries like muscle strains and tears.
Think about it, when we workout, or do anything really, our bodies need to move, bend, and stretch. However, if you’re muscles are super tight and restrict your range of motion, even a simple movement can cause them to extend too far.
This is because your muscles are so tight that they physically can’t move past their constricted, limited range of motion.
Whereas the rest of your body is designed to move through your normal, extended range of motion. As a result, when the rest of your body tries to move as far as it’s designed to but your muscles are constricted, this can cause pulls and tears in your muscles.
As a result, if you find yourself having random muscle pains, knots, strains, tears, or anything like that, chances are you lack flexibility.
Improved performance
Greater flexibility improves your performance in all areas of life. When your muscles are able to comfortably move through their normal range of motion, this allows you to perform better.
Not only that, but it will also make it easier to perform better.
Flexibility is essential for almost any activity that you do. Especially if you’re someone who lifts weights, or really does any kind of physical activity.
Think about it, when you lift weights, moving your muscle through it’s normal range of motion is the main idea.
To stimulate the most muscle growth, you need to move the muscle through it’s maximum, safe range of motion. Of course, without pushing it too far, which would increase your risk of injury.
However, when your muscles are tight, you decrease your maximum range of motion by a lot. This is because your muscles are tight and constricted.
As a result, tight muscles prevent you from getting a maximum stretch on your muscles that you’d otherwise be able to get.
Not only that, but the tighter your muscles are, the more they pull on surrounding areas. Because of this, not only do tight muscles restrict their own movement, they also restrict movement in surrounding areas.
In terms of performance and results, none of these are a good mix. As a result, you want to do everything you can to make sure your muscles and joints are flexible. This will allow them to be much more mobile.
Improved posture
The tighter your muscles are, the more they constrict and shrink up. They don’t actually decrease in length, they just pull together causing them to sit in the shorted position.
Whereas the more you stretch your muscles, the looser they are and easier they can sit in their lengthened position. Both of these play a key role in your posture.
When your muscles are tight, they pull and constrict. This is usually what causes you to have poor posture.
The tighter the muscles are in your neck and shoulders, the more they’ll pull your head down and forward.
As this happens, you’re muscles keep becoming tighter and your posture keeps becoming worse.
On top of that, you might also start developing tension headaches. This is because as these tight muscles pull, they increase tension on your surrounding bones and joints.
In turn, by stretching these muscles and increasing your flexibility, you can get your muscles back to their proper length-tension relationship.
Allowing you to fix any problems that may have arisen from their tightness. Things like poor posture or headaches.
Make daily tasks easier
Almost everything we do everyday requires us to be able to move our bodies. It makes sense that the easier you can move your body, the easier the everyday tasks become.
Because improving your flexibility allows you to move your body easier and more efficiently, this is a great way to make everyday tasks feel like a breeze.
Not only that, but the more mobile you regularly are, the easier it’ll be to complete everyday tasks.
Think about it, if your body is used to lifting, bending, and stretching, it’ll make everyday tasks seem like a piece of cake in comparison.
For example you might be someone who experiences back pain. Even if it’s just from simple tasks like bending down to tie your shoe. This is likely the result of tight muscles in your legs and back.
These muscles do not want to move, so when you try to move them to do something simple, like tying your shoe, they resist and fight back. This is what causes you pain.
However, if you continually practice stretching the muscles in your back and legs, tying your shoes will soon be easier than ever. This is because your body will be used to the stretching movements.
The more you stretch, the more you allow your body to regain flexibility, mobility, and work out any tight muscles that may be causing you pain.
Improve your mental and physical health
Not only is flexibility good for you physically, it’s also important mentally.
This is because stretching is an extremely calming activity. When we stretch, our body releases serotonin, improving our mood and decreasing stress and anxiety.
As a result, yoga or any other type of stretching is an excellent activity to calm your mind and improve your mental health.
One of the greatest things about stretching is that it doubles as a mindfulness activity and a physical health activity. And, practicing mindfulness is critical for anyone looking to improve their overall health and well-being.
Allowing yourself the time each day to stretch your body can be extremely beneficial. Doing this would allow you to slow yourself down and calm your mind, body, and thinking.
Some things to keep in mind when increasing flexibility
When stretching to increase your flexibility, there are some important things you’ll want to keep in mind. These tips will help you maximize your results while also preventing injuries.
Stretch to the point of discomfort, NOT PAIN
The first thing to keep in mind when you’re stretching is to never stretch to the point of pain. Doing this could cause you to injure yourself very easily.
Instead, it’s better to stretch to the point of mild discomfort. Then, hold the stretch there for anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute, where 30 seconds is the sweet spot.
Hold you stretches, don’t bounce
Another way to increase your risk of injury is by bouncing into the stretch. Some people think this will help them get more out of the stretch and become more flexible. The truth is, all this would do is increase your risk of injury.
Instead, try holding the stretch nice and steady once you reach the point of discomfort.
Increasing flexibility takes time
Increasing your flexibility can be a long and slow process. It’s important to realize this before you begin.
Otherwise, you might think that the stretches aren’t working and end up quitting.
Instead, try to be patient with yourself and celebrate even the smallest progress you see. Increasing flexibility, as with most things in life, takes a lot of time, hard work, and consistency.
Takeaways
Flexibility is a critical aspect of anyone’s life. Not only can it improve your physical health, but also your mental health.
Among many other benefits, flexibility has the potential to improve your performance in the gym, make everyday life easier, and reduce anxiety!
However, keep in mind that increasing flexibility is a slow process, but with patience and persistence, you’ll be seeing the benefits in no time!
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