Best Practices for Flexibility Training - How to Maximize Progress
Best Practices for Flexibility Training - How to Maximize Progress
I’ve written before about how there are a zillion things from your genetics to how much you slept last night that can impact how long it takes to make progress with your flexibility training (which is also why if someone promises they can “get your splits fast!” you should know they’re full of crap). While there are some things you can’t control (hypermobility disorders, bone structure, etc.) there are plenty of things you CAN influence to optimize your flexibility training:
1. Include active flexibility exercises to strengthen while you stretch
When people think “flexibility training” they often think of holding passive stretches for a certain period of time, waiting for their body to just relax and get more flexible - but that is a rather outdated model. Active flexibility training is a much more effective approach because it focuses on strengthening your muscles to support lengthened positions and properly protect your joints. Not only does it literally make your muscles stronger, it also helps train your nervous system to feel safer in these more “end range” positions, allowing you to safely stretch deeper. I love how Britta Remes describes it as being “the metaphorical ‘save’ button on your flexibility gains.”
Active flexibility exercises look a lot more like strength training: often they involve doing things in reps, or contracting and relaxing your muscles for a brief period of time. Classic examples I’ve talked about before and use frequently with students are things like back extensions, high pyramid good mornings, contract-relax for front splits, contract-relax for middle splits, hip extension on a block, half frogger slides, block sandwich lifts … the list goes on and on!
This doesn’t mean you have to throw your passive stretching out the window - passive flexibility still has an important role to play in your training, but be sure to include plenty of active stretches to compliment your passive work.
2. Focus on form
Trying to imitate a stretch or an exercise isn’t going to do you any good if you aren’t using the proper form. Often this means tuning in to your body and focusing more on what you feel and less on what your stretch looks like. For example, if you are doing a forward fold, the goal is often to feel a hamstring stretch, not to actually touch your toes. Many people can touch their toes by rounding their back and reaching with their arms, but this does virtually nothing to actually help stretch your hamstrings, and can even lead to back pain (here’s a quick primer on proper hamstring stretching technique if this sounds like something you’re guilty of ;) ). Instead, you should focus on initiating the stretch from your pelvis, using your sits bones to lengthen your hamstrings. And if you have tight hamstrings, you may find it more comfortable to bend your knees, which could make “your” version of the stretch look quite different from someone else’s - that’s OK!
3. Never push through pain
Stretching should never be painful. Period.
I like to use the phrase “comfortably uncomfortable” to describe the maximum intensity we want to ever feel in a stretch. This can be a challenging concept for beginners and advanced students alike who aren’t used to differentiating levels of discomfort, which exist on a spectrum. Some people associate any discomfort with “this hurts” - which isn’t going to be very helpful if you’re trying to understand OK vs not-OK pain.
I love how Dr. Jennifer Crane likes to ask:
Does this discomfort feel productive, like if you continue to hold the stretch it will ease up and lighten, OR
Does it feel unproductive like continuing to hold the stretch will make the discomfort worse?
Sharp pain is a red flag from our nervous system that our joints are not supported enough in the current position, and pushing through this can lead to injuries like muscle sprains.
Other red flags to be cautious of when stretching are:
Tingling or numbness in the extremities (hands, feet, fingers, toes)
Sensations of hot or cold
Back pain
Nausea or lightheadedness
Any of the above sensations are signals to stop your stretch because you could be putting pressure on a nerve, and dial back the intensity. Never push through pain or tingles!
4. Set goals & pick drills that make sense for your goals
Without specific goals, it’s hard to plan an effective training program that focuses on the right muscles/movements you need. If your goal is to be able to push up into a bridge, all the stretching in the world won’t help you get there unless you also include exercises to strengthen your arms and shoulders to help with the push off the ground.
Helpful goals are specific and measurable in some way (either visually or by sensation), like:
be able to touch my toes
do a flat front split
be able to comfortably sit cross-legged on the floor
get a higher roundhouse kick
be able to grab my foot in king pigeon
Unfortunately, “get more flexible” is a crap goal because it’s too broad! So if you’re just interested in general flexibility training and don’t care about being able to do things like the splits, you can still break down that goal into smaller chunks that represent flexibility gains in some of the major muscle groups. If you’re super nerdy, you can even do an informal “self evaluation” of your range of motion in the major joints and compare it against the average range of motion to identify some areas where you could focus on.
5. Take actual rest days!
I almost considered making this one #1 on the list because it is so freaking important and one of the most often overlooked parts of training. The good news is you don’t have to stretch every day to see progress (in fact, stretching every day may be counter-productive).
Just like with weightlifting or marathon training - your muscles (and nervous system!) need time to recover from exercise (especially if you’re incorporating Best Practice #1 and including lots of active flexibility strengthening drills in your training!). Muscles can take 24-48 hours to go through their “repair” cycle, so it’s best to avoid stretching the same muscle group 2 days in a row.
For beginners, starting with 20-40 minutes 2-3 days a week is plenty. For more advanced students who need a higher volume of training, I suggest using an upper body (back and shoulders) and lower body (hips and splits) split, alternating Leg Day, Back Day, Rest Day (which results in training “just” 4-5 days out of the week).
Related Post: How Frequently Should I Stretch?
6. Fuel your body
Now we’re getting into the part of the list that should just be obvious as “general advice to keep your body happy and healthy” - but these are still helpful reminders!
Do your best to try and eat “healthfully” - eating a variety of foods to ensure you’re getting the various nutrients you need. I think Michael Pollan said it best in In Defense of Food: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Make sure you’re consuming adequate protein for muscle recovery. No need to go chugging protein shakes, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends around 0.35 grams of protein per pound of body weight (or slightly higher if you are looking to gain muscle mass).
You do not need any fancy dietary supplements to enhance your flexibility training. Unless you have a nutrient deficiency specifically identified by your doctor, there’s no need to supplement.
7. Stay hydrated
This is another “no duh” tip worth re-iterating: drink more water. Staying hydrated keeps your muscles, fascia, and joints moving around happily (Kristina Nekyia explains this wonderfully in her blog post over at Fit&Bendy). Dehydrated bodies simply don’t move optimally, which makes flexibility training a challenge!
If you’re doing a lot of backbending (ex. contortion training) and you don’t want the feeling of a bunch of water sloshing around while you’re trying to fold yourself in half, make sure you hydrate plenty before you practice (and after!).
8. Address stress
While managing stress comes with a whole host of benefits, let’s take a moment to specifically address how stress impacts flexibility.
When we are stressed, our sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system is basically on high alert, and our nerves sending signals to our muscles to tense ever-so-slightly to be ready for action. When our muscles are “high tone” like this, they’re resistant to stretching. So you may notice that when you try to stretch or perform skills that require flexibility on a day that you’re feeling particularly stressed, you may be tighter than normal!
Short-term, doing something as simple as one or two minutes of breathing exercises before your training can help down-regulate that sympathetic fight-or-flight stress (and up-regulate your parasympathetic rest-and-digest response!). Long term, finding a way to help manage your stress in a way that works for you (meditation, journaling, etc.) can be beneficial for not only your flexibility training, but your health as a whole! Personally, I’m a big fan of guided meditations from apps like Insight Timer (which is free!) or headspace (paid, but fabulous nonetheless).
9. Measure your progress
Tracking your progress, whether that’s with a workout journal or by taking progress pics, is a great way to identify what parts of your training are working well, and what might need some adjusting. Plus, being able to see progress over time can be a great motivator! Generally, you should be able to see or feel progress over the course of 4-8 weeks.
I’ve always been pretty diligent about taking progress pics because I like being able to see what’s improving, and what’s still a little stuck. But be aware that progress isn’t always linear! It may be helpful to take pictures from a couple of sessions over the course of a week and pick the “best” one to represent your personal best for the month.
10. Adjust as needed
This is the most important rule of all - if you’re not seeing progress after about a month of consistent training, then your training program isn’t really working for you. This is the time to play the science card and hypothesize and test a different approach. Review the best practices above and adjust your training for the next month to see if you can find a more effective routine for yourself:
Have you only been taking 1 rest day a week? Consider scaling back, taking 2 or even 3 rest days
Have you been doing mostly passive stretching in your training sessions? Add in some more active flexibility exercises
There’s a lot you can safely trial-and-error by yourself as you learn how your unique body responds to different training styles. But this is also where working with a flexibility coach can help. Just like a personal trainer at the gym, a coach can help tailor a routine to work toward your goals, and adjust as needed over time to progress over plateaus.
What tips do you have to share?
Would you add anything to this list? Let folks know in the comments below!
