What is flexibility?
Flexibility describes the ability of soft tissue (muscles, tendons, etc.) to allow for movement in pain-free, full ranges of motion. Flexibility, or stretching, is key to removing movement restrictions that impair performance and lead to injury.
There are several types of ways to stretch, including:
1.) Passive Stretching: involves an external force that provides the stretch (via a partner or gravity using your own bodyweight)
2.) Active Stretching: requires you to generate the force to provide the stretch, often through the concept of reciprocal inhibition where you activate one muscle to relax/turn off another muscle thus allowing for a deeper stretch
3.) Static Stretching: involves holding a stretch at the end range of motion for time and is by far the most common form of stretching
4.) Dynamic Stretching: uses movement to go back and forth between the end range of motion with only a brief pause at the end range of motion
There is also a bit of a gray zone between flexibility and mobility. The best way I can describe the difference between the two is that flexibility is a lower intensity version of mobility that does NOT require mobility (or you can say that mobility is a higher intensity version of flexibility that involves stability).
For example, a split kneeling hip flexor stretch focuses on getting enough motion at the hip to allow for a full, pain-free range of motion split squat/sagittal lunge variation. Where the split squat/sagittal lunge variation requires strength, stability, and neuromuscular control, the hip flexor stretch does not.
Some recent studies have been quite misleading in suggesting that stretching before exercise can negatively impact performance and of course there was that immediate knee jerk reaction in the fitness industry where many trainers and coaches jumped on the band wagon and stopped stretching altogether.
While it has been shown that performing static stretching immediately before explosive movements results in a reduction in power output, the drop in performance was so insignificant that it's not even worth noting when you consider that:
a.) if you follow static stretching with proper mobility/activation drills it's been shown that the reduction in performance no longer exists which is why all stretching should be following by mobility/activation work.
b.) that corrective stretching is absolutely essential to long-term injury prevention
c.) that the general population could care less about one time maximum power output compared to feeling and looking better
As I mentioned in the recent post about tissue quality, it's not about PAIN SITE... it's about PAIN SOURCE!!
Knee pain is often caused by restrictions in your quads and calves.
Back pain is often caused by tightness in your hip flexors, glutes and hamstrings.
Shoulder pain is often caused by tightness in your neck, chest, and lats.
In addition, self-massage before stretching allows for a better, more complete stretch by smoothing out the knots and allowing for a complete lengthing of the tissue.
The best analogy for this is if you knot up two resistance bands of different tension levels and then you pull on both ends, what you'll notice is that the only band that moves is the one with less tension and that's exactly how your muscles work when knots exist in them.
In other, words if a muscle is restricted and you stretch it, the only part of the muscle that will stretch is the part that's already loose. Thus you should always precede flexibility work with tissue quality for best results.
Flexibility describes the ability of soft tissue (muscles, tendons, etc.) to allow for movement in pain-free, full ranges of motion. Flexibility, or stretching, is key to removing movement restrictions that impair performance and lead to injury.
There are several types of ways to stretch, including:
1.) Passive Stretching: involves an external force that provides the stretch (via a partner or gravity using your own bodyweight)
2.) Active Stretching: requires you to generate the force to provide the stretch, often through the concept of reciprocal inhibition where you activate one muscle to relax/turn off another muscle thus allowing for a deeper stretch
3.) Static Stretching: involves holding a stretch at the end range of motion for time and is by far the most common form of stretching
4.) Dynamic Stretching: uses movement to go back and forth between the end range of motion with only a brief pause at the end range of motion
There is also a bit of a gray zone between flexibility and mobility. The best way I can describe the difference between the two is that flexibility is a lower intensity version of mobility that does NOT require mobility (or you can say that mobility is a higher intensity version of flexibility that involves stability).
For example, a split kneeling hip flexor stretch focuses on getting enough motion at the hip to allow for a full, pain-free range of motion split squat/sagittal lunge variation. Where the split squat/sagittal lunge variation requires strength, stability, and neuromuscular control, the hip flexor stretch does not.
Some recent studies have been quite misleading in suggesting that stretching before exercise can negatively impact performance and of course there was that immediate knee jerk reaction in the fitness industry where many trainers and coaches jumped on the band wagon and stopped stretching altogether.
While it has been shown that performing static stretching immediately before explosive movements results in a reduction in power output, the drop in performance was so insignificant that it's not even worth noting when you consider that:
a.) if you follow static stretching with proper mobility/activation drills it's been shown that the reduction in performance no longer exists which is why all stretching should be following by mobility/activation work.
b.) that corrective stretching is absolutely essential to long-term injury prevention
c.) that the general population could care less about one time maximum power output compared to feeling and looking better
As I mentioned in the recent post about tissue quality, it's not about PAIN SITE... it's about PAIN SOURCE!!
Knee pain is often caused by restrictions in your quads and calves.
Back pain is often caused by tightness in your hip flexors, glutes and hamstrings.
Shoulder pain is often caused by tightness in your neck, chest, and lats.
In addition, self-massage before stretching allows for a better, more complete stretch by smoothing out the knots and allowing for a complete lengthing of the tissue.
The best analogy for this is if you knot up two resistance bands of different tension levels and then you pull on both ends, what you'll notice is that the only band that moves is the one with less tension and that's exactly how your muscles work when knots exist in them.
In other, words if a muscle is restricted and you stretch it, the only part of the muscle that will stretch is the part that's already loose. Thus you should always precede flexibility work with tissue quality for best results.
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