Let’s go over 50 different tips and tricks to help you improve your flexibility.
- Find or create a consistent flexibility routine. Try the flexibility challenge routines.
- Start with an aerobic or cardio warmup that includes joint rotations.
- Create a schedule; 4 days a week, 1 hour per session is a good place to start.
- Find a local flexibility class or private instructor to help you with form and to build a routine.
- Always acknowledge and practice good form to avoid misalignments and long term damage.
- Take pictures of yourself to see your form and progress.
- Breath deeply during your entire routine; more oxygen equals more blood flow, which is required for greater flexibility.
- Balance your routine, ex: after a backbend do a forward bend; child’s pose, pumpkin rolls, happy baby. etc.
- Find a stretching buddy and try partner exercises.
- Watch videos and tutorials to gain inspiration and insight.
- Make a flexibility goal list.
- Take rest days to repair.
- Eat nutritious food to help rebuild your muscles.
- Drink lots of water before, during and after your practice.
- Make sure to warm up properly every stretch session.
- Incorporate dynamic stretches in your routine.
- Practice muscle isolations in your static stretches.
- Take your time with each stretch, understand which muscles are being over exerted and/or underused.
- Try to mentally relax the muscles that are overly tight.
- Learn as much as you can about your body and how to perform a stretch.
- Try using different stretching tools; yoga blocks, yoga wheels, resistance bands, etc.
- Try adding these stretching tools.
- Strengthen muscles in flexible and non flexible positions to eliminate shakes and cramps.
- View diagrams of the muscular system to get a better understanding of muscle groups.
- While driving, sitting at your desk, cooking, etc. try doing simple muscle isolations.
- 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.
- Cross train with activities such as yoga, aerial acrobatics, acro yoga, weight lifting, hiking, running, gymnastics, etc.
- Practice poses that make you balance and get comfortable using your little muscles to keep you balanced.
- Try this handstand and forearm balancing routine.
- Make sure to always balance out flexibility with strength, to much flexibility can cause muscles strain and too much strength can cause muscle tension.
- 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.
- 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.
- Share your progress to keep yourself motivated and to inspire and others.
- Try stretching outdoors in a peaceful, fresh air environment.
- Create a hypnotic music playlist to stretch to, or follow my favorite playlists. Playlist 1 Playlist 2
- Keep consistent with your stretching routines, but always rest when needed.
- 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.
- If a stretch just plain hurts and doesn’t hurt so good, make sure your form is correct and do corrective posture/form exercises.
- Don’t forget to stretch your neck, fingers, hands, wrists, feet, toes, and calves.
- Also don’t forget to strengthen your neck, fingers, hands, wrists, feet, toes and calves.
- Try this hands, fingers, feet and toes stretching routine.
- Try focusing on either upper body or lower body routines so you can target specific areas more thoroughly in 1 hour.
- Read this stretching guide to get a more complete understanding of flexibility and suggested routines.
- Try different stretching techniques as suggested in the stretching guide.
- Always remember to cool down which is basically a light warm up.
- Practice self massage to help relax muscles and reduce lactic acid buildup and cramps.
- Get a massage from a professional, even better is a masseuse that can massage you in different positions rather than just laying down.
- Practice mindfulness, visualize yourself in good form, mindfully breath deep into the muscles you are stretching, and mindfully engage and relax your muscles.
- 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.
- 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.