Flexibility and Mobility

To Gain Flexibility you have to train flexibility..

Studies have shown that if you want to get flexibility or mobility for a certain sport you need to do the same unit time stretching as you do actually training. And this is only to maintain your current flexibility status. If you want to improve you need to do be doing anywhere between 6 to 12 hours weekly. (Yes you read that correctly 6 to 12 hours). A good way to improve is to do Dynamic stretching for a half hour before training or Static stretching for a half hour after training. Alternatively on your days off you could take Bikram yoga (heat intensive yoga) or do some sort of stretch class i.e. body balance to oppose the training that you are doing.

When we repeatedly do the same exercise programme, same sport or the same job our body creates a specific pattern or strain. What happens is the same muscles that are being used or over-used in this case become over tightened and glued together. And the opposing muscles that are not being used become over-stretched and weakened.

What you need to focus on is Postural awareness and balance, be it in the office, in the gym or while out for a jog. The biggest concern in all major gyms and sports clubs is there programme design or lack there of! What you usually see is the same programme being dished out to everybody and anybody with no assessment or individualisation to that persons needs.

If you don't assess a person’s range of motion or flexibility you are just guessing what they need and are more likely to cause them an injury than get them fit and healthy. The injury might not happen right away but over time such imbalance patterns will develop. The longer it takes to develop the long it will take to rehabilitate. 

So feel free to call me to discuss you training needs or injury problems and I will do my best to steer you in the right direction.