Ok the last one of the components of Physical Fitness: Flexibility.
Being flexible doesn’t mean being able to do the splits or wrap your legs around your head. It’s all about the range of motion (ROM) around a joint, for instance whether you can lift your shoulders above your head to reach into a cupboard, or put a jumper on.
There are many factors that affect our flexibility which include the structure of our skeleton and joints, ligaments and tendons, muscles, age, gender, time of day, environmental temperature.
The benefits of flexibility training are improved quality of life, improved sports performance, improved posture and stress management.
There are several types of stretching and the NHS (www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/flexibility-exercises ) has some nice every day stretches for those of us of a certain age. Some exercises are static but others are dynamic (ie moving) such as shoulder rolls and shoulder circles.
Please note that :
Before stretching you should make sure your joints are warmed up.
Never bounce in a stretch (unless your sport or activity requires it).
Only stretch to a point of mild tension, never to a point where it is painful.
Do not go beyond the range of motion.
If you are hypermobile I would recommend seeking the help of a professional.
The American College of Science & Medicine recommends doing flexibility training a minimum 2-3 times a week.
If it is a static stretch hold the stretch for 15-60 seconds (building up slowly to 60 seconds).
As always if you have any joint issues or injuries please seek professional advice or help.
Karen is a qualified personal trainer and nutrition coach living in Cyprus near Paphos with her husband Mal and their cat Dave. She has been a personal trainer for 14 years and a qualified nutrition coach for over 2 years. She is passionate about working with people of any age and fitness level to improve their health and wellbeing.
Click here to see more of her posts.
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