Flex It! the Benefits of Flexibility Training

Flexibility is perhaps the most overlooked area of fitness. The term flexibility refers to the range of joint mobility (ROM) for which a joint is designed. We often neglect flexibility training, which may be because of its lack of visibility as compared to muscle strength, body composition, and muscular endurance. Flexibility is important in order to prevent joint and connective tissue damage and loss of joint mobility. But how do we increase flexibility?

First, let's go over a few concepts you will need to know in order to understand flexibility. The first concept is mobility. Mobility is joint specific. For example, the spine has its own range of mobility, as does each individual joint. The next concept is hypermobility. Hypermobility simply means excessive flexibility. It may be important for some athletes, but is generally not desired because it may result in loss of joint stability, which increases the risk for injury. An example of hypermobility is double-jointedness and/or hyperlaxity. Finally, there is hypomobility, which is a decrease in flexibility. Hypomobility is the most common factor of aging.

There are a couple benefits to improving flexibility. First, flexibility training prevents your muscle tendons from shortening as a result of inactivity, age, disease, and asymmetrical muscles. Second, flexibility training helps prevent injuries from sudden accidents.

Now that you know the basic concepts and benefits, let's discuss methods of training to improve your flexibility so that you can become a better athlete.

The first method of flexibility is static stretching. This is simply stretching and holding a position for a specified amount of time. Static stretching does not involve bouncing or any movements once you stretch. An example of static stretching is bending forward from the waist to stretch the hamstrings and holding the stretch for 10 seconds.

The second method of stretching to improve flexibility is called ballistic stretching. This is stretching with bouncing and movement. Ballistic stretching should only be performed by athletes and people that already possess an adequate measure of flexibility. An example of ballistic stretching may be bending forward at the waist to stretch the hamstrings but bouncing closer to the legs to try to close the gap between the upper and lower body.

The final method deserves its own paragraph. This is called Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation or PNF Stretching. It involves holding a stretch, then relaxing the stretch and it usually is done by a trainer to a trainee. PNF is credited to be "the only scientifically developed stretching system" (Sciffers, 2004). It was initially developed as a physical therapy procedure for rehab patients. How it works is the trainer stretches the trainee's muscle, holds the stretch and then relaxes it. Then the trainer stretches the muscles even further then it was initially stretched.

Types of PNF stretching include the Hold/Relax Technique, Contract-Relax with Agonist Contract (CRAC), the Hold-Relax-Swing/Hold-Relax Bounce, the Rhythmic Initiation, and the Rhythmic Stabilization.

Flexibility training should be performed 2-3 days per week with mild discomfort but NO pain. It should be done with 10-30 seconds for each static stretch, with at least four repetitions per muscle group. When optimum flexibility is reached, muscles have more range of motion, thereby preventing injury to muscles and joints.

Flexibility is perhaps the most overlooked area of fitness. The term flexibility refers to the range of joint mobility (ROM) for which a joint is designed. We often neglect flexibility training, which may be because of its lack of visibility as compared to muscle strength, body composition, and muscular endurance. Flexibility is important in order to prevent joint and connective tissue damage and loss of joint mobility. But how do we increase flexibility?

First, let's go over a few concepts you will need to know in order to understand flexibility. The first concept is mobility. Mobility is joint specific. For example, the spine has its own range of mobility, as does each individual joint. The next concept is hypermobility. Hypermobility simply means excessive flexibility. It may be important for some athletes, but is generally not desired because it may result in loss of joint stability, which increases the risk for injury. An example of hypermobility is double-jointedness and/or hyperlaxity. Finally, there is hypomobility, which is a decrease in flexibility. Hypomobility is the most common factor of aging.

There are a couple benefits to improving flexibility. First, flexibility training prevents your muscle tendons from shortening as a result of inactivity, age, disease, and asymmetrical muscles. Second, flexibility training helps prevent injuries from sudden accidents.

Now that you know the basic concepts and benefits, let's discuss methods of training to improve your flexibility so that you can become a better athlete.

The first method of flexibility is static stretching. This is simply stretching and holding a position for a specified amount of time. Static stretching does not involve bouncing or any movements once you stretch. An example of static stretching is bending forward from the waist to stretch the hamstrings and holding the stretch for 10 seconds.

The second method of stretching to improve flexibility is called ballistic stretching. This is stretching with bouncing and movement. Ballistic stretching should only be performed by athletes and people that already possess an adequate measure of flexibility. An example of ballistic stretching may be bending forward at the waist to stretch the hamstrings but bouncing closer to the legs to try to close the gap between the upper and lower body.

The final method deserves its own paragraph. This is called Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation or PNF Stretching. It involves holding a stretch, then relaxing the stretch and it usually is done by a trainer to a trainee. PNF is credited to be "the only scientifically developed stretching system" (Sciffers, 2004). It was initially developed as a physical therapy procedure for rehab patients. How it works is the trainer stretches the trainee's muscle, holds the stretch and then relaxes it. Then the trainer stretches the muscles even further then it was initially stretched.

Types of PNF stretching include the Hold/Relax Technique, Contract-Relax with Agonist Contract (CRAC), the Hold-Relax-Swing/Hold-Relax Bounce, the Rhythmic Initiation, and the Rhythmic Stabilization.

Flexibility training should be performed 2-3 days per week with mild discomfort but NO pain. It should be done with 10-30 seconds for each static stretch, with at least four repetitions per muscle group. When optimum flexibility is reached, muscles have more range of motion, thereby preventing injury to muscles and joints.