How to Improve Flexibility? Stretches You MUST Do

Hello Ziddis! We often focus so much on our gains that miss out on a golden aspect of fitness. Flexibility! Making sure you are flexible enough can reduce your chances of getting injured and also help you build yourself sustainably. Know more about the flexibility exercises.

Why Is Stretching and Flexibility Important?

Stretching and Flexibility are the ability of your muscles and joints to move through their full range of motion. Stretching improves this range, helps maintain a good posture and reduces muscle tension. If you are working towards your fitness goals do not skip the stretching and flexibility warm up because that is going to keep you safe from injuries and help you recover faster after the workouts.

How Do Flexibility Exercises Help?

Why should you invest time in flexibility exercises? Here are 4 reasons for that:

• It reduces the stiffness and soreness.
• It strengthens the joints.
• It allows a greater range of motion.
• Flexibility exercises improve balance and coordination.
• It helps boost circulation which leads to better endurance.

Flexibility Stretches as Warm-Up

How can you incorporate flexibility stretches into your workout routine? The best way to do so is by doing flexibility stretches as a part of your warm-up. Try some of these flexibility stretches and see the difference in your productivity at the gym yourself:

• Leg swings to improve lower body movement.
• Arm circles to warm up shoulders and avoid any lock-ups in the workout
• Torso twists to help stretch your spine and core

Stretching Exercises for Flexibility

You can also use stretching exercises for flexibility. These could be a small part of your entire routine. A lot of these can be covered if you do yoga regularly. Holding each of these poses for about 30 seconds can give you a visible difference in the way you feel during and after your workout.

• Hamstring stretch
• Butterfly stretch
• Chest opener
• Cat and cow pose
• Lord of the Fish pose

These stretch exercises for flexibility are more complex than your workout. The best stretch exercise of all is Suryanamaskar. The benefits of Suryanamaskar are unmatched.

Beginner Flexibility Exercises

If you are just starting your fitness journey, you can start with the easier beginner flexibility exercises to level up eventually.

Seated side straddle stretch: You need to sit on the ground with your legs wide apart and touch each of your hands to your toes by bending sideways.

• Child’s Pose: You sit with your legs tucked backwards and bend forward till your face touches the ground. Use your hands as a cradle for your face. This resonates with how a baby sleeps.
• Bhujangasana or the Cobra pose: This is an effective stretch for your spine where you lie flat on your stomach and lift yourself only through the strength of your back and supported by your arms. You will look like a cobra with its hood up so it is called a cobra pose.
• Forward Lunge: This is just like lunges but you hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Inchworm: If you are standing on your yoga mat. Bend forward and reach the opposite end of the mat just by letting your fingers crawl up to there and let your body go along. Now get back to your feet the same way.

All these exercises can be done during your rest day to help you get a good stretch which is ignored if it is a part of only the warm-up.

How to Improve Flexibility Routine

It is not a cakewalk to improve flexibility routine but it is also not as difficult or time-consuming.

• Make sure you do not skip warm-ups and cool-down sessions of a workout 
• Dedicate at least 10 minutes each day to improve flexibility routine.
• Focus on different muscle groups
• Hold the stretches.
• Enroll for a yoga or pilates class.

Exercises to Improve Flexibility During Workouts

If you are seasoned in your fitness routine, these few exercises to improve flexibility could help get maximum benefits.

• Deep squats
• Lunges with a twist
• Dead hangs

When all three are done together, gives your body a good stretch and also works on your core strength as exercises to improve flexibility and strength.

Mobility and Flexibility Exercises to Add to Your Workout Routine

Mobility is the by-product of flexibility. This allows for better control and coordination of the movement. By using these mobility and flexibility exercises in your workout routine you could achieve a full range of motion.

• World’s greatest stretch: Just like the name it helps stretch your entire body in one go.
• Hip flexor stretch: Any exercise that helps mobility and flexibility in your hip region can work. 
• T-spine rotation: When you use your spin strength to stretch like in cobra pose or cat and cow those are for your spine mobility and flexibility exercises it needs.

Takeaway

By improving your flexibility you can change your fitness game to better. These poses can give you benefits to help you strengthen your spine, give you more mobility and reduce the chances of getting injured. What can help you get better at this is wearing comfortable gym wear to give you a full range of motion. Jogger pants and a quick dry t-shirt are the comfiest to wear for your gym routine. It is time to stretch your limits and touch the possibilities of better flexibility and mobility.

Sources:

https://www.onepeloton.com/blog/worlds-greatest-stretch

https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/yoga/yoga-poses/bhujangasana-cobra-pose

https://greatist.com/fitness/beginner-stretches-for-flexibility#arm-stretches

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20546848