Flexibility training equipment

Flexibility training equipment is by no means a universal tool that can "increase mobility while lying flat" as advertised on the Internet. However, for 90% of ordinary trainers and sports enthusiasts, if they choose equipment that suits their own conditions and master the correct usage logic, their stretching efficiency is 32%-41% higher than that of bare-handed static stretching. At the same time, it can reduce more than 70% of stretching injuries caused by improper exertion of force and loss of control. This data was obtained from the tracking test of 1,200 subjects of different exercise levels by the American College of Sports Medicine in 2022. The results of my own small-scale testing in a fitness studio are also similar.

The first time I intuitively felt the difference between stretching with instruments and using bare hands was when I was helping the Provincial Flower Tour Team provide logistical support the year before last. Those girls have to practice shoulder and back flexibility all year round. In the past, the coach would use his hands to press the shoulders, and the strength depended on the feel of the hand. There were often young players who were pressed to the point of pain in the labrum. Later, the team received a batch of adjustable shoulder racks and hip extension benches with buckles. They could get the right angle by themselves and slowly increase the strength. After three weeks, the active shoulder flexion angle was measured and the average per person had increased by 12 degrees. Even the young players who always complained about shoulder pain when pressing before no longer complained of discomfort.

Speaking of the flexibility training equipment that everyone is most familiar with, it must be the foam roller. This thing is also one of the most controversial categories in the fitness circle. Many strength training bloggers say that the foam roller is purely IQ tax. Rolling for half a day will not increase the range of motion. It is better to do a set of dynamic stretching. ； There are also many rehabilitation bloggers who use foam rollers to great effect, saying that rolling on muscle tension for 10 minutes can heal them. In fact, both statements are reasonable. I have seen runners whose iliotibial band is as hard as slate. After rolling a soft foam roller for a week, their hip abduction range of motion increased by 8 degrees. ； I also met a girl with congenital acetabular dysplasia. After rolling a foam roller for two months, her hip flexion range of motion did not increase by half. Later, she changed the joint loose band and combined with dynamic stretching to see the effect. To put it bluntly, foam rollers are caused by myofascial adhesions, just like removing the hair balls from a pilled sweater. Once the hair balls are removed, they will naturally become softer. However, if the sweater itself is tightly knitted, it will be useless no matter how much you scrape it. That is a problem with the mobility of the joint capsule itself, and you need to find another method. When I first started practicing fitness, I stepped on a trap and bought a professional foam roller that was as hard as a rock. The first time I rolled my legs, I screamed. The next day, the back of my thigh was bruised. Later I realized that novices should choose the soft model made of EVA material. The hard model is for professional athletes who have tight muscles all year round.

Let’s talk about the elastic bands that are most commonly used by ordinary people. This is also where the opinions of different schools vary greatly. I know a therapist from the rehabilitation department of a tertiary hospital who prescribes stretching programs for people who sit for long periods of time. They all use elastic bands hanging on door buckles to do static stretching at fixed points. He says that the intensity is controllable, and even people with no exercise foundation will not be injured. ； However, the team's rehabilitation therapist never allowed the players to use this set. Instead, they only used elastic bands for resistance dynamic stretching. They said that fixed stretching increases passive range of motion, which is not used during competitions. The active range of motion trained by resistance stretching can really be used in movements. I have tried both methods myself. When I was doing weightlifting, my wrist joint mobility was poor, and the grip bar always hurt. I used fixed stretching as recommended by my friend in the rehabilitation department, but it didn't improve for half a month. Later, I followed the team's method and used elastic bands to do wrist flexion and resistance and then stretched it. After a week, I dared to fully grasp the grip bar. However, my mother, who usually only dances square dances, used the fixed stretching method to stretch the shoulders and neck, and it was very smooth. There is no difference between high and low, but it is suitable for different groups of people.

Oh, by the way, the one-piece horse training device has become very popular on the Internet recently. I advise novices not to buy it blindly. Last time, a girl came to the studio. She used an inline horse trainer at home for half a month, and the medial collateral ligament was stretched so much that it took almost a month to heal. The team's rehabilitator never lets the young players touch this thing. It forces the legs to open to both sides, completely regardless of whether your hips are externally rotated. If the force is not well controlled, it is very easy to strain the ligaments. However, some cooperating dance teachers said that if it is used by students with more than two years of dance foundation, adjusting the buckle to a position 5 degrees smaller than the maximum angle and fixing it for 30 seconds will be more uniform than the pressure of the teacher's hand, and it will be less likely to be injured. In the final analysis, it depends on whether the user can use it.

In fact, after all, the equipment is just an auxiliary tool. If you can't even stretch three times a week, no matter how expensive you buy the equipment at home, it will just be used as a clothes drying rack. A few days ago, I was sorting out the storage shelves in my studio, and I found out the yoga wheels and stretching boards that several students had stored here. They were all bought when I was inspired to watch short videos. After using them twice, I found them troublesome and threw them here. If you really want to improve your flexibility, you should first start moving and stick to it for two weeks, and then think about whether to buy equipment.