The Secret of Flexibility Training Methods

According to your innate skeletal structure, training goals, and current mobility level, you can combine the four core methods of static stretching, dynamic stretching, PNF stretching, and fascia relaxation to avoid the misunderstanding of "the more you stretch, the more you will get injured." You can efficiently obtain the mobility that suits your needs without paying IQ tax.

A while ago I met a marathon runner who had been running for three years. He got up early every day and pressed his legs for 15 minutes. After half a year of pressing, his lower forks were still about a punch away from the ground. Instead, the inner side of his knees always hurt. I went to take a X-ray and found out that he was born with a greater anteversion of the femur than ordinary people. Others have practiced useful hip external rotation leg presses. When he did it, he was just grinding his joints, which was a waste of effort and hurt his body. Many people just follow the bloggers and practice without even knowing whether they have tight muscles that limit their range of motion, or whether their natural bone structure is stuck and unable to move. It is normal for them not to get results from practice.

Many people have asked me before that the Internet said that static stretching is useless. Is this true? In fact, this controversy has been going on for almost ten years. Early research in the field of exercise physiology indeed found that static stretching for more than 60 seconds will instantly reduce muscle strength by 10%-15%. Therefore, it was once required that all competitive events were not allowed to do static stretching before competition, and all were replaced by dynamic activation such as high leg raises and side lunges. But new research in the past two years has filled in the loopholes: if a single static stretch is controlled within 30 seconds, the impact on strength is almost negligible, and it can relieve muscle tension before competition. If you go to a yoga class just after get off work, it’s perfectly fine to do a few minutes of static stretching to loosen up the stiff shoulders and back that have been stiff all day. But if you’re about to run a hundred meters and you still hold off on leg presses for half a minute, you’re really holding yourself back.

If you want to increase your range of motion faster, such as during recovery or in preparation for a competition, you need to open your hips and shoulders for a short period of time. You might as well try PNF stretching. You don’t need to remember the complicated scientific name "Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Technology". To put it bluntly, it is the logic of "pull - retract - pull again". The operation is very simple: than For example, if you lie flat on your back and stretch your hamstrings, find someone to help you lift your legs to the limit of soreness and swelling that you can bear. Then you push back with your feet and resist his resistance for 6 seconds. When you relax, he will help you lift 5-10 degrees more, hold for 20 seconds, and repeat two or three times. The effect will be more obvious than deadlifting for ten minutes by yourself. I used this method when preparing for several cross-country running enthusiasts before. I was able to increase the activity of the hip flexors by about 15 degrees in one week, and they no longer got stuck when going uphill.

As for whether foam rollers and fascial guns, which are now popular among everyone, count as flexibility training, there is still no unified opinion in the industry. One group believes that fascial adhesion will limit muscle extensibility, and relaxing the fascia itself is part of improving mobility. The other group believes that this can only relieve muscle tension, but cannot fundamentally increase the range of motion of the joints, and cannot be regarded as serious stretching. My own habit with members is that after strength training or sitting for a long day, they should foam roll for 5 minutes to loosen the tight muscle fibers and then stretch. This can be much more efficient. However, if you are born with a hard frame and expect to be able to drop your forks just by foam rolling, then don’t waste your efforts.

By the way, don’t believe those bloggers who say “it hurts just because it has an effect.” It’s true. Last year, I treated a little girl. In order to make a circle of friends, I forced a yoga teacher to press her legs, which directly pulled and tore the medial collateral ligament. It took me half a year to recover. The normal feeling of stretching should be soreness and swelling, and a bit of panic, but there must be no tingling or numbness. If the latter occurs, stop immediately and don't force yourself.

In fact, most people don't need any shoulder opening or hip opening at all when practicing flexibility. They just end up with soreness in the back from sitting and standing for a long time, can't reach their feet when tying shoelaces, and strain their waists when playing ball. This kind of demand is very easy to meet. You don’t have to take time to go to yoga classes. When you are fishing at work, sit on a chair with one leg straight, slowly lean your upper body forward, hold for 20 seconds, change legs, and do 3 groups. ； When you come home from get off work and stand checking your phone, grab your ankle with one hand and put it on your butt, and pull your quadriceps. After a week, you will find that you no longer have to hold your breath when bending down to pick up things.

To be honest, there is really no need to worry about flexibility. I have seen children who are naturally flexible and can put their legs on their heads in the first yoga class. I have also seen fitness instructors who have been practicing for three years, but their lower forks are still ten centimeters from the ground. As long as your range of motion is enough to support what you want to do, whether it's running, playing ball or square dancing, without pain or lag, that's enough. After all, training is to make your life more comfortable, not to compete with others who can lift their legs higher, right?