Flexibility: Gained and Lost

You know how you go to a good yoga class and just feel nice and loose? The next day, however, you sense that the flexibility you gained has simply disappeared like one of Kate’s peanut butter banana cream pies left in the fridge. The reason for this is because not only do we need to stretch into the newer ranges, but we have to use our limbs in those new ranges. In other words, we need to practice passive flexibility in conjunction with active motion.

When I took Tae Kwon Do as a kid, the structure of the class was always: warm-up, stretch, kicking and punching practice and finally, form practice. A client of mine who used to be a ballet dancer told me her dance routine was stretching for 20 mins and then dancing for the rest of the class time. Sommer’s program is laid out in a similar manner where passive stretch is always paired with active movement. For instance, in his middle split stretching routine, he matches side to side squats (warm-up for the adductors) with Frog stretch.

The rule for flexibility training should be this:

1. A good warm-up to increase body temperature
2. Stretch the targeted joints and muscles
3. Practice movement in the new range