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Let's Get Flexible
- Kelsey Kaiser
- Apr 16, 2020
- 4 min read
There is a certain "cool factor" that comes along with being able to do the splits. On the playground in elementary school, it always seemed like the kid who could do the splits was putting on some kind of show. Even as we get older, it seems so impressive when someone admits that they can do the splits. People stand in awe of those who are flexible.
Is there more to being flexible than just being "cool"?
It is clearly important for those whose sport or career depend on their flexibility, like gymnasts and dancers. Flexibility is a part of the beauty and skill of what they do.
One of the first sports that my sister and I participated in as kids was gymnastics. While we didn't stick with gymnastics, my sister and I continued to play sports. My main sport shifted to basketball while hers shifted to softball, and my mom always said that the strength and flexibility that my sister and I gained while in gymnastics helped us as we began playing other sports. To this day, my mom still says that putting us in gymnastics was one of the best things that she did.
By the time I hit middle school, the flexibility from my early years of gymnastics began to wear off. I found myself doing a quick 5 minute stretch before practices or even starting workouts and practices without really stretching at all. I can't help but wonder how my athletic career would have been even slightly different if I had maintained more flexibility and reaped its benefits.
There are proven benefits that come from stretching regularly.
According to the American Council on Exercise, there are four components that make up a person's physical fitness: muscular fitness, cardiovascular endurance, body composition, and flexibility. I will be the first to admit that I never considered flexibility to be one of the big components of my physical fitness, and I sure didn't treat it as such. I spent plenty of time on those first three components, but I greatly overlooked the importance of stretching regularly.
Flexibility is generally defined as the quality of bending easily without breaking. In terms of physical fitness, it refers to the range of motion of our joints. The range of motion that our joints have has been proven to be important for both exercise and day-to-day activities.
Here are 6 benefits of flexibility according to Healthline:
1. Fewer Injuries
2. Less Pain
3. Improved Posture and Balance
4. A Positive State of Mind
5. Greater Strength
6. Improved Physical Performance
Intuitively, it started to make sense to me with I read a post from Harvard Health Publishing.
"This improves athletic performance — imagine an easier, less restricted golf swing or tennis serve — and functional abilities, such as reaching, bending, or stooping during daily tasks."When we stretch regularly and improve our flexibility, we have less restriction in our joints, and less restriction leads to more freedom in our movement. I don't know about you, but having freedom in my movements during exercise and day-to-day activities sounds like something I want.
Where do we start?
The best advice I have is to make a plan and commit. Everyone's plan will look different, and that is okay! There are many resources available online if you need to look up stretches for different parts of the body. From there, I encourage you to pick a few and commit to doing 5-10 minutes of stretching each day, holding each stretch for 30 seconds to 1 minute. It won't be a comfortable 5-10 minutes because your muscles will resist the stretch. However, I can tell you from personal experience that there will be payoff in the end.
I started stretching regularly approximately 2 weeks ago, and it has made a significant difference in that short amount of time. I have had 4 knee surgeries, and after the last one, I pretty much started to assume that running would no longer be an option for me. I tried it out again a couple weeks ago, and I barely made it through .25 miles with a significant limp. I was proud of myself for trying again, but I came to the same conclusion: running would probably never work for me.
Then I started stretching regularly. A little over a week into this new routine of stretching, I found that the flexion and extension of my knees were greatly improved. I thought about it and decided to give running one more chance. I made it .5 miles with significantly less pain than the previous attempt. There was still pain and some limping, but I was amazed at how much smoother this attempt at running was than the one a little over a week prior.
I had gained freedom in my movement!
I am not stretching for the "coolness" of achieving the splits, but for the health benefits that stretching brings to me. I encourage you to join me on this journey!
Let's get flexible!
10 for 10 Stretching Challenge
Want to jump in? Don't know where to start? Need some accountability?
Join my 10 for 10 Stretching Challenge that starts on April 20th!
I will send a 10 minute stretching routine for you to complete for 10 days!
Sign up at this link!
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Resources:
**There are just a few that I found online. Search around and find what works for you!!
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