7 Simple Flexibility Exercises for Improving Your Mobility
We regularly treat our bodies as rigid, not realizing the importance of flexibility. We think having a flexible body is a necessity only for athletes.
The truth is, having strong and flexible muscles is not a luxury but a necessity. Flexibility exercise such as dynamic stretching significantly reduces our chances of muscle damage and injuries significantly.
It is true that some of us are more flexible than others. However, there are many easy exercises that you can try and become more flexible, regardless of your age, body type, and gender.
Most of us don’t go for flexibility exercises because it takes time for our muscles to become flexible. If you want your hips, shoulders, spine, and the rest of your body to have a healthy range of motion even as you age, you shouldn’t think of flexibility exercise as something optional.
Flexibility Exercises: What is Flexibility?
Flexibility refers to your body’s ability to move and extend in such a free way that it doesn’t cause any damage or pain to your muscles. It’s about having healthier and flexible muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, joint capsules, and even skin.
Naturally, there is a range of motion for our joints and muscles. Some of us are able to move our joints and muscles more freely than others. Regardless of individual differences, experts believe that anyone can become flexible.
The more flexible you are, the healthier your joints, muscles, and overall body will be. Sometimes your muscles can become inflexible due to inactivity or injury. Flexibility exercise can help you a great deal in such situations.
Why is Flexibility Important?
Even simple daily life activities, such as running and climbing the stairs, require certain levels of flexibility. You must have seen aged people having a hard time climbing stairs. That’s because their muscles do not stretch, and joints do not bend optimally.
If your job requires you to sit or keep your legs straight for long hours, there is a high chance that you will lose some flexibility along the way. However, if you engage in flexibility exercises and warm up your muscles regularly, you have nothing to worry about.
Benefits of Flexibility
Here are some of the ways in which flexibility can help you:
- Flexibility will improve the health of your joints, muscles, cartilage, and any other tissues or organs involved in motor activities.
- You will be able to enjoy the full range of motion of your body if you are flexible.
- It saves you from muscle fatigue.
- Flexibility is a great way of preventing motor disorders.
- It will help you live a strain-free life and keep both your right and left shoulder healthy.
- Flexibility will help you avoid muscular imbalances.
- It will help you enhance the overall strength and well-being of your body.
Ways to Improve Flexibility
Flexibility Exercises
There are tons of flexibility and stretching exercises, but here we will discuss only the ones that are the most important, easy, and fit for people of all ages, genders, and body types.
Calf Stretch
The calf stretch exercise involves standing in front of a wall with your hands on the wall and bracing against it. At the same time, put the right foot forward, making sure the right knee is bent while the left foot is stretched back with a straight left knee. Both your feet must be pointing directly forward. Keep your belly firm, and make sure you feel a stretch in your back leg’s calf muscle.
Standing Quad Stretch
Stand on a chair in front of you and put one hand on it. For standing quad stretch, keep your feet hip-width apart and gently pull your left foot from behind with your free hand, making sure you feel the thigh stretch with a bent knee (the left knee) that is pointed towards the floor. Keep your opposite leg straight.
Standing Hamstring Stretch
Put your right leg on a chair or any other support while you stand firmly and keep the leg straight. Try to bend slightly forward without bending your toes. The more you bend forward, the more stretch you will feel at the back of your thigh (of the raised leg). Keep the opposite leg straight.
Standing Hip Flexor Stretch
Stretch your left leg back as much as possible while keeping your right leg bent and your torso and spine upright. Try to lower your tailbone and tuck your buttocks forward. You will feel a slight stretch on the inside of your left leg.
Reclining Figure 4
Lay down on your bed with your knees bent and your feet flat. Cross one leg’s ankle over the other leg’s thigh and stretch the thigh towards yourself. Switch legs and do the same again.
>> Related Article: Unlock Your Hip Flexors Review: Does it Really Work?
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to improve flexibility and strength. Anyone can practice Yoga. It just takes time, effort and consistency to master this craft. Here are some of the best yoga programs to kickstart your flexibility journey.
6 Best Yoga Programs for Better Flexibility
1. Top Consumer’s Choice: Yoga Burn
Yoga Burn not only helps you get flexible, but also helps burn fat. You’ll drop some pounds and have a fantastic body that looks and feels amazing.
This program can help you tone your abs, lose weight, and develop a flexible body. Every stage is intended to keep your whole body active during your whole yoga practice.
Shop at Yoga Burn’s Official Website.
Full Article: Yoga Burn Review: Does This Yoga Program Really Work?
2. Best Overall Yoga Program: ShapeShifter Yoga
ShapeShifter Yoga is designed for those who are new to yoga. Besides getting a flexible body, it helps you achieve a leaner and sexier physique.
Shop at ShapeShifter Yoga Official Website.
Full Article: Shapeshifter Yoga Review: Does This Fitness Program Really Work?
3. Best Yoga Program for Women: Yoga Burn Booty Challenge
The Yoga Burn Booty Challenge is divided into 15-minute segments, each of which covers all three steps of the prime, activate, and pump procedure. Even if you have a busy schedule, you can use the quick follow-along yoga practice to burn fat and develop an incredibly flexible physique.
Shop at Yoga Burn Booty Official Website.
Full Article: Yoga Burn Booty Challenge Review: Does it Program Really Work?
4. Best Yoga for Beginners: Body Wisdom Yoga Complete
Body Wisdom Yoga Complete features positions for increasing leg strength and flexibility that works your complete body. It aids in weight loss, belly fat burning, and flexibility. With more than 50 carefully instructed exercises, you can strengthen your body, lose weight, and improve the way you look and feel.
Shop Yoga Complete for Beginners at Amazon.
5. Best Yoga Program for Core Strength: Gentle Yoga Plus Pilates
Gentle Yoga includes simple exercises that enhance flexibility. A mat or towel is the only piece of equipment needed to practice along with this program. To enhance the impact of some of the poses, you can also choose to use a firm chair and a small, plush pillow.
6. Best Program for Lower Body Strength: Yoga Fusion Fix
Poses for strength, balance, flexibility, and stress alleviation are offered by Yoga Fusion Fix. For those who wish to burn fat and monitor their weight growth, the program’s videos are an excellent fit.
Shop Yoga Fusion Fix at Amazon.
>>Related Article: 7 Best Yoga to Lose Weight for Beginners and Expert Yogi in 2024
Flexibility Program – Digital Guide
Addresses All Aspects of Fitness and Flexibility: Hyperbolic Stretch
Hyperbolic stretching is one of the most famous flexibility programs available online. Developed by Alex Larson, this program has helped hundreds of people become more flexible and healthier.
This program is backed by over a hundred scientific studies. It’s a training program that addresses all aspects of fitness and flexibility and works for all people regardless of their body type, age, or gender.
This program contains lessons and therapies related to flexibility in the form of both books and videos. It is trusted by over 500,000 people. The exercises in this program are not boring, long, or tiring like other stretching programs.
How Can HypStretch Help You?
- Make your muscles and joints flexible.
- Feel more relaxed with the help of easy 8-minutes routines.
- Bring your athletic abilities to a whole new level.
- Shape your body the way you want without yoga or any other expensive exercise programs, therapies, or machines.
- Learn the science behind flexibility, and you will also learn why some conventional exercises are counterproductive for your strength and mobility.
- Strengthen your hips with the help of this program.
- Improve your sleep quality significantly.
- Pelvic floor strength will significantly improve with the help of special exercises in this program.
- Teach you how to improve your posture and enhance your ability to lift heavy objects.
- Master advanced yoga poses faster than others.
- Dance. Unlocking your hip flexors and making your hip motions more elastic.
What Does This Program Contain?
This program is divided into a set of 6 sub-programs. These programs target different muscles and serve different purposes. Together all the six programs approach flexibility in a unique and holistic manner.
Here are the six programs in HypStretch:
Program 1: The Front Split
This program contains simple and short routines that can help your hip and back flexibility and relief. With the help of this program, you will be able to get rid of all problems related to your hip and back.
In the first week, you will learn how to decompress your joints. You will also learn how to stretch your back and hip muscles, as well as achieve lower body strength.
By week four, you will practice a routine called “closing the gap” that will help you achieve maximum hip and back muscle relaxation and flexibility.
Program 2: The Side Split
This program focuses specifically on pelvic floor strength and lateral hip opening. The exercises in this program will help your boost the flexibility of your adductors.
Apart from that, you will also be able to enhance your glutes. The pelvic floor strength you achieve will help you with bowel and bladder control as well.
Program 3: The Front Bend
This program targets spinal relaxation and power. You will be able to bend flexibly forward if you follow the exercises in this program. This program is the best for people who want to achieve extraordinary hamstring and back flexibility.
Program 4: The Upper Body
This program is focused on upper body strength and, thereby more suited for heavy weightlifters and golfers. With the help of this program, you will be able to get rid of all sorts of shoulder tensions.
Program 5: Dyna Stretch
This program is more suited for dancing and high kicking. If you want to improve your dancing moves and kicks, this program is for you. With the help of the routines advised in this program, you will be able to strengthen your hip flexors and glutes.
Program 6: The Back Bend
If you are interested in achieving a perfect back bend or bridge, this program is for you. The routines in this program will increase your core strength and improve your posture by 85%.
It will help you strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, upper and lower back abs, shoulders, and triceps.
Shop Hyperbolic Stretching Program at the Official Website.
Full Article: Hyperbolic Stretching Review: Does it Work?
Conclusion
We often underestimate the importance of flexibility. Staying flexible is not just important for athletic performance. The more flexible your body is, the less you will feel tired while doing basic daily activities like chores.
If you are an athlete, flexibility exercises can help you unlock new levels of potential way more easily than others. However, flexibility will improve your muscle and joint health and also your overall well-being, even if you are not an athlete. In fact, if you are not an athlete, you need flexibility exercises more than anyone.
Hyperbolic Stretching is the best flexibility program you can easily practice at home. It is comprehensive and completely based on modern science. All the routines in this program work for beginners, athletes, and people of all ages and genders alike.
Start doing those stretches and you’ll notice a big difference in a matter of days!
Click Here to Get Hyperbolic Stretching at a Discounted Price.
>>Related Article: Simple Sciatica Stretches for Sciatica Pain Relief: Complete Guide 2024
Flexibility Exercises FAQs
What are some foods that can improve flexibility?
Any foods that contain proteins, such as chicken, whole grains, beans, etc., are great for flexibility.
Can flexibility help you with running?
Yes, flexibility exercises that involve stretching leg muscles are very good for improving running.
Can yoga help with flexibility?
Yes, yoga poses are basically flexibility exercises that are really important.
