What is an appropriate activity to increase flexibility?

If you consider touching your toes as a farfetched fantasy that will never come to fruition, know this: The exercises in your workout combined with nutrition, hydration, and lifestyle choices can have a huge impact on your flexibility. That’s right. You don’t have to set your body in pretzels or bent-over toe-touches for hours a day to will some flexibility into your limbs.

Improving your bending ability is crucial for more than just preventing injury. In fact, flexibility training is an important aspect of gaining strength and size. The typical lifter spends most of their day outside of the gym hunched forward over a computer further deteriorating any chance at proper posture. Outside of just preventing injury, having better posture helps to show off the muscular physique you worked so hard to build. Proper flexibility also goes hand in hand with full range of motion exercises like squats and deadlifts, which are major muscle builders. Having tight hips and shoulders can inhibit proper form and limit your fitness, so get to work on getting flexible.

The Rules of Improving Flexibility

Rather than taking a haphazard approach to improving your flexibility, follow the rules set below to gain new ranges of motion and prevent poor posture.

1: Dynamic warm-up prior to working out

The days of long holds on stretches before exercise is largely over. Research continually demonstrates that static stretching isn’t as beneficial prior to working out as dynamic stretching. Before starting your lifting or cardio session, go through some bodyweight movements like squats, lunges, push-ups, side lunges, and jumping jacks. Perform three sets of each movement for 20-30 reps to warm up your entire body. This type of warm-up should leave you in a light sweat ready to tackle your workout.

2: Follow a workout with light static stretching

Dying to hold some stretching positions? Throw some traditional static holds in post-exercise. These longer-duration stretches help to lengthen muscles that were tightened up during the lifting session. Along with any muscles hit hard during the workout, also focus on the chest, lats, and hip flexors, as they tend to be tight on most individuals due to daily posture.

3: Prioritize full range of motion

Although partial ranges of motion can be used in workouts to build insane amounts of strength, make an effort to perform each exercise through a full range of motion to reap major flexibility benefits. Going to full-depth on squats, for example, helps to build hip flexibility. Work at full ranges of motion with lighter weights when learning new moves before loading up a bar and dropping into a heavy working set.

4: Incorporate massage

Stretching and training with full range of motion can work wonders with improving flexibility, but massage adds an extra benefit of helping to break up knots in muscles and tissues that restrict movement. Foam rolling pre-workout can help to prepare the body for movement whereas a post-workout roll out can flush away waste products from exercise and help you recover quicker for your next session. Focus on hitting the main muscles like the calves, quads, IT bands, upper back, and lats. If possible, work with a skilled massage therapist a few times a month to compliment your flexibility routine and get some extra relief.

5: Take time to relax

Stress causes your body to tighten up into one huge ball of knots. Combine the normal stress from work and family with a bunch of hard sessions in the gym a week, and you’re looking at a recipe for disaster. Find a few times a week to engage in a relaxing activity to help you unwind. Walking, light yoga, and massage are all great examples, but it could be as simple as heading out on a short walk to unwind from your day. Taking time to de-stress will help to relax your body and prevent muscles from tensing up and restricting movement.

6: Learn to breathe properly

The typical lifter uses their rib cage far too much to breath, which doesn’t engage the diaphragm optimally. Instead focus on belly breaths where the belly button moves in and out with each breath. Spend five minutes a day working on improving breathing for a more relaxed and stress-free posture.

7: Stay hydrated

Water forms a large part of our muscle composition. In order for our muscles to respond to flexibility training, they have to be working optimally. That includes proper hydration. Many individuals are walking around in a constantly dehydrated state. Focus on consuming more water, especially during and after hard exercise sessions to keep your muscles working optimally and steer clear of performance declines due to dehydration.

Different Stretches for Different Folks

The traditional method that comes to mind when thinking about stretching is referred to as static stretching – where a lifter bends forward and holds a hamstring stretch for 20-30 seconds. In fact, there are several stretching methods that each has their own unique benefit.

Static stretching consists of the lifter holding a joint in a stretched position for a designated length of time (usually 20-30 seconds) allowing the muscle to slowly adapt to the new range of motion. This is a passive stretch in that the muscle is relaxed throughout the entire exercise.

Dynamic stretching consists of moving the body through an increased range of motion using bodyweight movements like squats and lunges. By moving the body in multiple planes of motion, dynamic stretching helps prepare your body for a hard training session. Dynamic stretching is considered an active stretch since the muscle is contracting and relaxing.

Ballistic stretching involves forcibly moving your body into a greater stretch usually by performing quick, powerful movements. A prime example would be bobbing up and down in an attempt to touch your toes. In general, this type of stretching increases chance of injury and does little to actually improve flexibility. Rather, it can cause muscles to tighten up significantly.

There are various other advanced stretching techniques that combine elements of both passive stretching and active stretching, typically performed with the help of a therapist.

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Stretching may not be the most exciting part of working out, but doing flexibility work is super important in a well-rounded fitness routine. Incorporating some stretching exercises into your workout schedule can help you improve flexibility, reduce tightness, and, ultimately, make your workouts—whether we’re talking about strength or cardio routines—more efficient and safe.

"Tight muscles can cause undue strain on the neighboring joints during normal daily function, or they themselves can become injured," Sasha Cyrelson, DPT, clinical director at Professional Physical Therapy in Sicklerville, New Jersey, tells SELF. As we age, our muscles get shorter and less elastic, she adds. "We need to take an active role in maintaining and improving the length of our muscles so we can continue to enjoy our abilities without pain."

It's true that stretching isn't exactly glamorous, and it probably won't give you the same rush that a run or HIIT class will. "It is uncomfortable and it takes time, so people don’t like to do it," Cyrelson says. "However, you can’t just do strength training and cardio without putting yourself at risk for injury and pain." By doing a ton of work that contracts the muscles (which shortens them) and never stretching (lengthening) them, your muscles will end up imbalanced. Imbalances in the body increase your risk for injury because they can cause some muscles and joints to overcompensate for other ones that are too tight to engage properly. This leads to strains and discomfort.

That’s where stretching comes in, whether we’re talking about back stretches, upper-body stretches, or leg stretches. Wherever your muscles are tight, stretching and flexibility exercises can bring a huge benefit. Read on for why stretching is so important, and then try some of the 21 best stretching exercises below!

Why is stretching so important?

There are tons of benefits of stretching. For one, stretching boosts flexibility, which can improve both your short-term and your long-term range of motion. That’s important, since a better range of motion can mean better muscle recruitment during your workouts, as SELF reported previously. For example, greater range of motion in your hips and knees will allow you to sink deeper into a squat. Ultimately, having a greater ROM will make it so you're able to do more exercises—and do them properly.

Charlee Atkins, CSCS, creator of Le Stretch class, tells SELF that she likes to use the word mobility instead of flexibility to hammer home how important stretching is for everyday life. "For me, it's about daily things that become harder the older you get, like bending down to tie a shoe, walking up stairs, picking your kid up from the floor, or even just getting up off the couch." Improving your mobility makes these daily activities easier—"you can move more freely," Atkins says.

Stretching can also improve achiness, which can result from the tightening that occurs during workouts or when we’re hunched over our desks for hours on end. It can also alert you to muscle imbalances—say, if one side is tighter than the other when you're going into one of your favorite hip flexor stretches.

When should you stretch?

The type of stretching matters when we’re talking about the best time to stretch. Dynamic stretching, which involves movement, prepares your body for a workout. These stretches before a workout include movement-oriented moves like cat-cow, down dog to runner’s lunge, or thread the needle. On the other hand, static stretching (when you hold a position) helps your body calm down after a workout, which helps jumpstart the recovery process. Ending your workout with static stretches can help your mind relax and signal an endpoint to your workout. We'll be focusing on static stretches in the moves below.

Luckily, improving your flexibility and mobility isn't hard. It just takes a little time. Try adding the stretches for flexibility that Atkins demos below—everything from lower-back stretches and upper-back stretches to hamstring and quad stretches, to moves that loosen up your shoulders—into your routine to help relieve muscle tension and increase mobility across your entire body.

Quick note, if you’re experiencing joint pain or discomfort, or are looking for specific exercises for pain relief or stretches for lower-back pain, you may want to chat with your physical therapist before starting a stretching routine or doing foam rolling exercises. They can let you know which specific moves might be best for your individual needs.