Flexibility//

One of the most important of the ten general physical skills is flexibility. It is often the most overlooked and forgotten. Most people disregard flexibility as a waste of time because they feel like they don't need it.

Wrong.

Flexibility has traditionally been taught as a means of preventing injury, and only to prevent injury. It does this, but that's not all it's for. Short muscles prevent our bodies from using their natural leverage to generate the most power efficiently. Let's look at the hamstrings. Often the shortest muscle with the greatest impact on power, speed, strength, endurance, agility, balance, and getting hurt.

The hamstrings involve two joints: the hip and the knee. This is important because most of the typical musculoskeletal complaints involving the knee, hip, or even back typically have short hamstrings. This is because when you do hip based movements (jumping, skiing, any sport) the consequences will be felt on the knee because the hip is taking up slack in the hamstring and stealing length from the knee, and vice verse.

There's the injury aspect of flexibility. Now think of that stretching and pulling on joints and transfer it to other muscles. Take the quadriceps. They are the muscles that stabilize the pelvis and knees and extend our legs when we do squats. However, this should be the main job of the hamstrings through hip extension. Our quads take over because they are compensating for the shortness in our hamstrings. This is exactly like driving around with the parking brake on.

Here's a quick test: Sit on a table with the back of your knees against the corner. Keep your back straight and raise one leg. Can you get to full extension without rounding your lower back? Can you raise both legs without rounding? Probably not.

Here's the fix:
Stretch often
It's ideal to stretch after the workout
You can stretch anytime, really.
Use the contract and release cycle in all your stretches. Ask me if you don't know

Here are a few great stretches:
Lie on back use a towel, or rope, or partner to bring one leg up (either straight or bent at knee) Athletic range is 80-85 degrees before it starts lifting hip off ground

Samson Stretch
Wall Walk
Weighted Pike
Squat - butt to ankles, jump out from bottom
Romanian Deadlifts
Good Mornings

Ask me if you don't know!

3.2.1... GO!