50 tips and tricks to improve flexibility

50 Tips & Tricks To Improve Your Flexibility

amandanicolesmithFitness, Flexibility Leave a Comment

Let’s go over 50 different tips and tricks to help you improve your flexibility.

  1. Find or create a consistent flexibility routine. Try the flexibility challenge routines.
  2. Start with an aerobic or cardio warmup that includes joint rotations.
  3. Create a schedule; 4 days a week, 1 hour per session is a good place to start.
  4. Find a local flexibility class or private instructor to help you with form and to build a routine.
  5. Always acknowledge and practice good form to avoid misalignments and long term damage.
  6. Take pictures of yourself to see your form and progress.
  7. Breath deeply during your entire routine; more oxygen equals more blood flow, which is required for greater flexibility.
  8. Balance your routine, ex: after a backbend do a forward bend; child’s pose, pumpkin rolls, happy baby. etc.
  9. Find a stretching buddy and try partner exercises.
  10. Watch videos and tutorials to gain inspiration and insight. 
  11. Make a flexibility goal list.
  12. Take rest days to repair.
  13. Eat nutritious food to help rebuild your muscles.
  14. Drink lots of water before, during and after your practice.
  15. Make sure to warm up properly every stretch session.
  16. Incorporate dynamic stretches in your routine.
  17. Practice muscle isolations in your static stretches.
  18. Take your time with each stretch, understand which muscles are being over exerted and/or underused.
  19. Try to mentally relax the muscles that are overly tight.
  20. Learn as much as you can about your body and how to perform a stretch.
  21. Try using different stretching tools; yoga blocks, yoga wheels, resistance bands, etc.
  22. Try adding these stretching tools.
  23. Strengthen muscles in flexible and non flexible positions to eliminate shakes and cramps.
  24. View diagrams of the muscular system to get a better understanding of muscle groups.
  25. While driving, sitting at your desk, cooking, etc. try doing simple muscle isolations.
  26. When in a deep stretch, inhale, engage all you muscles and slightly come out of the stretch; then exhale, relax your muscles and go further into the stretch. This technique give you a chance to catch your breath, regroup and go back into the hurt so good feeling.
  27. Cross train with activities such as yoga, aerial acrobatics, acro yoga, weight lifting, hiking, running, gymnastics, etc.
  28. Practice poses that make you balance and get comfortable using your little muscles to keep you balanced.
  29. Try this handstand and forearm balancing routine.
  30. Make sure to always balance out flexibility with strength, to much flexibility can cause muscles strain and too much strength can cause muscle tension.
  31. Try 2 hour stretching routines to build your endurance and recognize your maximum pliability. Pliability is the rate at which you achieve your maximum flexibility.
  32. Try doing each pose; such as side splits, middles splits backbends etc. 4 times each with 10 deep breaths each time to reach maximum pliability.
  33. Share your progress to keep yourself motivated and to inspire and others.
  34. Try stretching outdoors in a peaceful, fresh air environment.
  35. Create a hypnotic music playlist to stretch to, or follow my favorite playlists. Playlist 1 Playlist 2
  36. Keep consistent with your stretching routines, but always rest when needed.
  37. Don’t overstretch or you run the risk of pulling  muscle which could take months to heal, if this happens focus on other goals that don’t utilize your pulled muscle.
  38. If a stretch just plain hurts and doesn’t hurt so good, make sure your form is correct and do corrective posture/form exercises.
  39. Don’t forget to stretch your neck, fingers, hands, wrists, feet, toes, and calves.
  40. Also don’t forget to strengthen your neck, fingers, hands, wrists, feet, toes and calves.
  41. Try this hands, fingers, feet and toes stretching routine.
  42. Try focusing on either upper body or lower body routines so you can target specific areas more thoroughly in 1 hour.
  43. Read this stretching guide to get a more complete understanding of flexibility and suggested routines.
  44. Try different stretching techniques as suggested in the stretching guide.
  45. Always remember to cool down which is basically a light warm up.
  46. Practice self massage to help relax muscles and reduce lactic acid buildup and cramps.
  47. Get a massage from a professional, even better is a masseuse that can massage you in different positions rather than just laying down.
  48. Practice mindfulness, visualize yourself in good form, mindfully breath deep into the muscles you are stretching, and mindfully engage and relax your muscles.
  49. Follow your instinct, if a particular stretch doesn’t feel good for you, don’t do it, or find a variation that works better. Our bodies are all different and respond differently to movement.
  50. Take your time, move slowly, and mindfully. Absorb strength with each breath, release tension with each exhale, and enjoy the process.

To help you even further I created The Flexibility Challenge, a community based program that includes practical ways to incorporate many of the tips and tricks mentioned above.

A membership includes: 

30 days, 100 days, or 1 year access to consistent warmups, dynamic & static stretches, poses, and more!

  • Make a profile.
  • Write out goals, schedule, and strengths & weaknesses.
  • Follow 1 hour or 2 hour suggested stretching routines.
  • Warmup, dynamic stretch, and static stretch routines .
  • Organized poses and tutorials from around the web.
  • View progress posts from the community to get inspired.
  • Add new progress posts to the community.
  • Create new topics or reply to existing topics in the community forum.
  • Stretching guide with tips.
The Flexibility Challenge

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