The most important mistakes when developing flexibility. How often should you do stretching exercises? Stretching the lower back muscles

Few can boast of good stretching, except perhaps those who need it in the field professional activity or personal hobbies. For dancers, gymnasts, yogis, amateurs martial arts it just requires stretching and flexibility. But if you are not a professional (or even an amateur) in areas where you need a flexible body, stretching can be a pleasantly beneficial physical activity.

As we age, our muscles, ligaments and joints lose elasticity and mobility. The result is looseness, poor posture, joint pain, and increased trauma. Therefore, stretching or stretching is quite popular today. If you need stretching to improve your success in your favorite sport, then God himself commanded you to stretch! And if not, then you can simply enjoy your flexible body and incredible benefits for the body.

Let's start stretching from scratch

Stretch can and should be done at any age. Of course, the younger muscle, the better and faster the results are achieved. But there is no age limit for stretching. The only thing you should take care of is to be careful when handling your body if you start stretching from scratch.

Classes with instructor always have an advantage over independent attempts, because a professional can always correctly correct your actions. But sometimes the opposite happens. If you decide to do stretching, but you have no training, then coming to stretching groups with experienced students and working with them immediately at their load level is dangerous.

Be sure to warn trainer about your level, and ask at first not to “help” you stretch. The individual physiology of the body may not accept even the slightest pressure when performing exercises, and you will get injured. Start slowly with the smallest loads, gradually increasing them with each session. In stretching without preparation, it is better not to chase quick results.

Warming up before stretching

Stretching You can practice on your own at home. To get the maximum benefit, result, and not injure yourself, you must warm up your muscles before stretching exercises. Best done dynamic exercises and jumping. Any will do dance moves, or aerobics, the main thing is that it is “lively” and intense, until you sweat and have hot muscles.

Be sure to warm up all groups muscles, starting from the neck and gradually moving down to the feet. Warm-up and warm-up should take 15-20 minutes. If it’s convenient for you to stretch before bed, and you don’t have time to warm up, a hot shower is also suitable, which will also help warm up your muscles, giving them elasticity.

It's better to stretch more often

How much do you need study the stretch itself? If you perform several exercises on different groups muscles, alternating dynamics and statics, then less than 15 minutes of pure stretching will not work. But the secret good result Stretching isn't even about that. You need to exercise regularly, that is, daily. The muscles should gradually get used to the new state, and this should become the norm for them. Otherwise, you will be moving towards your cherished goal for a long time.

The more often you practice stretching, the better, the more effective. You can, of course, exercise consistently once or twice a week, and gradually your flexibility will improve. But if you consistently devote 15-20 minutes before bed to stretching exercises, you will achieve amazing results! When you cross the “zero line”, it will be possible to perfectly combine visits group classes with a trainer 2-3 times a week and your daily fifteen-minute exercises to maintain tone and consolidate the results.

A holistic approach to stretching

Muscle flexibility and elasticity should be throughout the whole body. All muscles are interconnected, and stretching some does not exclude the flexibility of others, but on the contrary, helps. That is, if you want to do the splits, stretching the lateral muscles and abdominal muscles is also necessary.

The rule of an integrated hike also works for the same group muscles: you need to stretch them in several different ways, rather than doing just one. For example, to stretch the muscles under the knee, you can do bends while standing, sitting, one leg, two, and so on. You can choose any sets of stretching exercises for yourself, those that are comfortable for you. at this stage Your flexibility. The more you practice, the more difficult the exercises should be, the higher the stretching bar. Without constantly increasing the load, there is no point in exercising.

Dynamics and statics in stretching

If necessary " spring"during exercises or remaining static? It is best to combine these two states within reasonable limits. The "spring" is easier to perform, so most often they start training with it, and it is used for initial stages stretching classes. But you should remember to be careful and not make sudden movements or large amplitudes.

Statics is more useful and gives the desired Effect, but it’s difficult to do it at first. Add static exercises gradually. Fix the muscle tension in the maximum state for you, and hold it as long as you can. You should reach a limit of 30 seconds in one static stretching pose. But, of course, it will all start in about five seconds.

Relax while stretching

Exactly this The main thing, and the most difficult thing. Muscles, while they are tense, are difficult to stretch. A relaxed muscle is more flexible and less pain is felt. To relax the muscles at the point of tension, you need to practice a little.

First, try it correctly and deeply breathe. Breathing helps you relax as you exhale. Focus your attention on the right muscles, and relax them as much as possible. When you learn to relax this way while stretching, you will begin to truly enjoy the process and noticeably improve your results.

What else should you know about stretching?

During exercises stretching You should always keep your back straight. A slouched back not only does not help, but also interferes with proper muscle function. For example, when bending the body towards the legs to stretch hamstring muscles What matters is not how far you can reach with your arms using your hunched back, but how far you can put bottom part belly to legs. The straighter the back, the more difficult this exercise, the more correct, and the better the effect.

If you want to do the splits, and start almost from scratch; after a few days of doing stretching exercises, be sure to start trying to slowly do the splits. This way you can determine which muscles are “interfering” with you, and, therefore, adjust your course of exercise.

And one last thing. Stretching- it hurts. But the pain should be pleasant for you, not sharp, always at the limit, and always with pleasure. If you feel pain, it means this is where your body is not flexible enough. Which means you need to work on it!

- Return to section table of contents " "

Stretching exercises help make the body flexible, obedient and avoid many troubles associated with physical inactivity and joint diseases. But, like any training, they will only be useful if they are performed correctly. Before you do stretching, you need to understand why it is needed and how to do it with health benefits.

Stretching is used in many sports, fitness, dancing or just home workouts.

The biological age of a person is determined precisely by the elasticity and flexibility of the joints.

Martial arts fighters use stretching to increase range of motion or to reach their opponent's head with their feet. It is also an equally important component in the training of wrestlers who need to make movements and hold grapples in positions and angles that are completely uncomfortable for them.

In dances, such as ballet, stretching takes up almost 80% of the time spent training. It is ballerinas who have the best stretching of the entire body, because on stage they perform a huge number of movements that ordinary people cannot do. Simply raising your second leg vertically to the ground while remaining standing on the other leg already seems like something unrealistic and impossible.

In fitness, many athletes include stretching in their exercise program. gym to increase the range of motion (for example, squatting deeply or doing a good “bridge” in the bench press will not work without it) or to relieve tension from a certain muscle group. Similar exercises are also used during the drying period of the body, when the body suffers from a slight lack of certain vitamins or minerals intended to restore muscles and ligaments.

Many people simply create their own set of stretching exercises and do them solely for well-being on their own at home. Tibetan monks even at a fairly old age, he is able to easily and without unnecessary tension throw his leg behind his head or do the splits.

How to properly stretch at home

So, what should a set of stretching exercises for beginners look like? Enough complex issue After all, the needs of each individual person are completely different:

someone wants to have flexible joints of the shoulder girdle in order to perform acrobatic tricks on the horizontal bar or uneven bars;
someone wants to get perfect split, which will be useful to him in wrestling, taekwondo or, again, for performing acrobatic stunts;
someone really wants to have flexible back to get onto the wrestling bridge without any problems or implement it in the use of wrestling techniques;
someone just wants to make their body more flexible, obedient and healthy.

Create your exercise system thoughtfully, based on your needs.

If you just need to stretch your muscles to recover after training, find the position where the muscle is stretched and do several approaches (2-3) stretching it until it hurts slightly (this is just one of the suggested stretching techniques, we will discuss this in more detail below). It is very easy to find such a position - it is the opposite of muscle contraction, that is: in the exercise “lifting the barbell for biceps” the muscles contract when we lift the barbell up, and stretch when we lower it down. You can horizontally grasp any object with your hand (for example, a door frame) and, as it were, press on it with your palm - thereby you will feel a stretch in the biceps, and if you turn your body in the opposite direction from the object, you can simultaneously stretch the pectoral muscle along with the biceps muscle .

Stretching exercises can be found on the Internet, there are a huge number of them, and one exercise may suit one person and another - so there is no point in listing them here. Try it for yourself, if you feel stretched, then use this exercise, if not, then look for another.

Main types of stretch marks

Now about the types of stretching itself - there are 2 main types:

static;
dynamic.

Static stretching, as the name implies, implies a complete lack of movement during exercise. That is, you simply linger at the extreme point of stretching a muscle or ligament, and sit in this position for some time. It is important not to bring your ligaments to severe pain, you should just feel a pleasant tension.

Dynamic stretching involves any movement that stretches muscles, such as swinging legs or arms. You can also tilt your body towards your legs, thereby developing the hip joint and stretching some ligaments in your legs.

How to do split stretches

How to properly stretch for splits? Quite simple, but there are many methods.

When using dynamic stretching, you can swing your legs at different angles - this method is the easiest, but also less effective. Typically, to achieve a full split, you use static stretching - that is, you move your legs away from each other as far as possible for you until slight tension and pain appear, and sit in this position for a certain amount of time. By the way, the sheer amount of time under load can be either 2–3 minutes or 15–30 minutes – here you need to be guided by your feelings and the amount of free time.

There is also a more extreme option - stretch through the pain to the maximum possible amplitude and maintain this position as long as possible. This option is suitable for more experienced athletes than for beginners, since “those who like to overcome”, who have watched enough films with Jean-Claude Van Damme, risk injuring or, at worst, tearing ligaments.

You can also stretch both “hot” and “cold”, that is, with pre-warming in the form of a warm-up or bathing in a hot bath, or without any preliminary actions. The “cold” stretch is better consolidated, but also takes much longer in progression.

By following all of the recommendations listed, you will certainly be able to answer your question “how to properly stretch your legs at home,” but keep in mind that as you age, the joints “stiffen” and it becomes more and more difficult to develop their flexibility. For some, it will take many months, or even years, to do the splits, so be patient.

It just so happens that all people leading, or just starting to lead healthy image life, pay very little attention to stretching exercises. Perhaps some people believe that flexible muscles are only needed professional athletes(gymnasts and acrobats), some blame their laziness and lack of time, while others have never even heard of this type of exercise.

And, regardless of the reason, all these people are missing out on a lot. After all, stretching exercises, even for beginners, this is a wonderful, and most importantly accessible way for everyone to always stay in good shape. No matter how old you are, whether you've played sports or not, stretching is for everyone. By training flexibility, you increase muscle elasticity and improve joint mobility. Besides, correct stretching allows you to improve blood circulation in the body, help you relax and simply improve your mood and well-being.

As you can see, there are a huge number of advantages to stretching exercises. You may now be waiting for us to talk about the cons. Of course, there are disadvantages: you can damage your joints, get sprained ligaments and simply harm yourself. But all this can be avoided if you approach your training wisely. First, you need to understand what types of stretching exist.

There are 2 types of stretching: static and dynamic. They are further divided into several types, but we will not talk about them. So, static stretching- This is one of the main types of stretching exercises, recommended for beginners use it exactly. When doing static stretching, you should not make any sudden movements. Taking one position, you should remain in it for several minutes, feeling how your muscles stretch.

During dynamic stretching(which is not recommended for beginners) the trainee must perform all kinds of swings, rolls from longitudinal to transverse splits, and vice versa.

Next we will look at the most effective exercises for stretching, which are suitable for beginners. All of them are static and do not require special training. It's important that you warm up before you start your workout: do 2 sets of 25 squats, jump rope, or if you have an exercise bike lying around, ride it for a few minutes before starting your workout.

Leg stretching exercises

We hope you have warmed up and are ready to start leg stretching at home.

A set of exercises for stretching the leg muscles

Serve right leg forward and left back. Place your left knee on the floor (see illustration). Place your hands either on your knee or on the floor. Now slowly lean forward. When you feel a stretch in your thigh muscles, freeze in this position for 30 seconds. Now take a breath and as you exhale, try to bend even lower, freeze in this position for another 30 seconds. Now slowly return to initial position and change your leg. Now straighten your right leg, fully resting on the knee of your left leg. Place your hands on the floor. Now slowly tilt your torso down, while making sure your back remains straight. Having dropped as far as possible, stay in this position for 30 - 40 seconds, and exhale, try to go even lower. Feel the muscles stretch back surface hips, as well as knee ligaments. Now return, slowly, to the starting position and change legs.

Lie on the floor with your back, lift your right leg up, clasp it with your hand just above the knee. Now relax, take a very deep breath and, as you exhale, slowly pull your leg towards you with your hands. At the peak point, hold again for 30 seconds and slowly return to the starting position. Do the same with the second leg. During the exercise, make sure that your leg is straight at all times and do not bend the knee joint. Also try to keep your muscles relaxed at all times; excessive muscle tension can lead to injury.

Sit on the floor, press your feet together, rest your elbows on your knees (see picture). Slowly press your elbows onto your legs and tilt your torso forward. At the same time, make sure that your back is straight at all times. As in the previous exercises, bend down as you exhale, and, having reached the peak of tension, hold in this position for 30 - 40 seconds. Then return to the starting position and repeat these bends several more times. This exercise perfectly stretches the groin ligaments and internal muscles hips

Spinal stretching exercises

Now let's look at what kinds of back stretching exercises there are.

The well-known “dog pose” or “cat pose”, everyone calls this exercise differently. Get on all fours, arch your back and look up. Stay in this position for 15 seconds, then assume position (B) shown in the figure below. To do this, stoop as hard as you can, pointing your chest upward. Also hold in this position for 15 seconds. Do this exercise for 2 - 3 minutes.

Now lie down with your back on the floor, pressing your shoulder belt tightly to the floor. Now cross your right leg over your left (see photo). By doing this, you will rotate your torso in the lumbar region, while trying to lift your shoulders off the floor as little as possible. Lie in this position for 30 seconds, and then do the same on the right side.

Get off the floor and sit on a chair. Stretch your arms forward and stretch your spine behind your arms as hard as you can, without bending your torso forward. Head and also pull forward. This is the final exercise in our complex; perform it for 60–90 seconds. Try to breathe as slowly as possible and feel how your spine is stretched.

Well, in conclusion, I would like to say a little about the frequency of training. Perform these exercises as often as possible, ideally daily. Spend 15 to 20 minutes stretching and your body will thank you very much. If you have any questions regarding the article or exercises for stretching your legs or spine, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

Stretching at home for the splits is an integral part of the workout, thanks to which you will quickly achieve the desired result and at the same time maintain your health. In addition, such exercises will improve the condition of the genitourinary system, spine and intestines.

Also, splits are good preparation for expectant mothers (including those who are just planning a pregnancy).

Psychological preparation

Every person wants to achieve the desired result as quickly as possible. Therefore, a completely logical question arises: how long will it take me to do the splits?

This depends on several factors:

age;
gender (girls are genetically more flexible than boys);
genetics;
muscle coordination;
warm-up intensity;
initial flexibility;
correct stretching exercises.

Also an important factor is the mindset with which you train. To achieve a similar result, the structure of muscles, ligaments and joints must change in the human body. The duration of this process depends on your age and level of preparation. For example, children will do the splits much faster than adults, since their bodies are not fully formed.

Advice! The most important thing to achieve your goal is not to try to achieve the desired result in a day or two. Before each workout, set yourself up for the fact that today you will do all the exercises a little better than yesterday. As a result, you are guaranteed to do the splits.

To achieve success, be sure to keep a training diary. According to research results, this psychological moment, which has nothing to do with physiology, really works. In addition, thanks to the recordings, you will be able to see your progress, which, in turn, will help you not to give up at a crucial moment.

Physical training

To avoid harming yourself when doing exercises, you need to warm up your body and muscles. One of the best ways to do this is a joint warm-up mixed with push-ups and squats at a fast pace. The fact is that such training improves muscle coordination. The effect is so subtle at first, but in the end it will bring enormous benefits.

Let's look at an example. During push-ups, the triceps are involved. However, as you perform, you can feel your biceps tightening. This involvement of other muscles is precisely indicative of poor muscle coordination. The same thing happens during stretching - often it is precisely these “helpers” that prevent you from doing the splits.

To perform a joint warm-up in all large joints, you need to perform circular movements at the maximum possible amplitude. Movements are performed 15-20 times in each direction.

Advice! To achieve maximum effect, you need to perform a joint warm-up from top to bottom: first cervical region spine, then the wrist joints, elbow joints, shoulder girdle, lumbar region, body, ankle, pelvis and knees.

You can also warm up your muscles by running on a treadmill, cycling and jumping (with or without a jump rope). However, these exercises will not improve the muscle coordination needed for the splits. Therefore, it is best to prepare for exercises with a joint warm-up.

What does this look like in practice? At the moment of maximum tension when stretching, take a deep breath and hold your breath a little. As a result, you will feel your muscles giving in and relaxing. When performing the exercises, you must strictly adhere to the written instructions. Follow the golden rule of stretching at home: stretch where it hurts until it stops.

To achieve the desired result, you need to spend at least 30 seconds on each exercise. In this regard, the rule applies: the more, the better. However, every person has a psychological barrier, because of which it is difficult for him to remain in one position (even in the absence pain). To achieve the desired result, you need to fight it.

Advice! To get the maximum effect, you need to train in the morning. One hour of stretching in the morning is equivalent to three hours in the evening.

Stretching exercises should be as varied as possible. Often, beginners cannot do the splits due to a couple of unstretched muscles, while their overall flexibility is above average. Even stretching will help you achieve the desired result faster. If you have stretched one muscle group well, it will definitely help when performing other exercises.

Let's do the splits

There are several types of twine:

longitudinal;
transverse;
sagging;
vertical;
on hands.

For each of them you need to perform certain exercises.

Advice!The best way achieve the desired result and improve your health - move from simple to complex. In other words, you need to first master the longitudinal split, and then begin to study the transverse, sagging, vertical and arm splits. Jumping from step one to step three can cause muscle damage or injury.

Exercises for longitudinal splits

Since the longitudinal split uses the same muscles that work when walking, it is the easiest to sit on. To do this you need to do the following exercises:

Lunge one leg forward and bend your knee so that your foot is perpendicular to the floor. Place your palms on both sides of the floor, keep your head straight, look forward and spring back for one minute. To do this, use your palms and perineal muscles.

While in the pose described above, straighten your body, arch your back, raise your arms and stretch as high as possible. This exercise stretches your legs and strengthens your perineal muscles. Breathing should be smooth and your face should be relaxed.

Place your back leg on your knee while the other leg is perpendicular to the floor. Place your palms (or fists, whichever is more comfortable) on your lower back and bend back. When performing this exercise, you can throw your head back or keep it straight.

Return to the original position (exercise No. 1). Place your palms on either side of your bent knees, with your fingers facing each other. Stretch chest to the floor. When doing this exercise top part the torso should be parallel to the floor.

Take the same position as in the previous exercise, only stretch your chest and chin towards the floor.

Return to the original position. Gradually bring the knee of your “back” leg closer to the floor.

Advice! When performing each exercise, pay attention to your breathing and technique. Each time you do it better and better, and eventually you will do the splits.

We sit on the cross splits

To master cross splits, do the following exercises:

Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and place your hands on your lower back. Slowly bend back, trying to see your heels. If you place your hands on your stomach while doing this, your abdominal muscles will be additionally worked.

Straighten up, place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and restore your breathing. Then lean forward so that your back is parallel to the floor. Your arms should be extended (for convenience, you can close them in a lock). Look ahead.
Spread your legs so that your head and elbows fit between them. Next, bend down and place your palms on the floor. When performing the exercise, do not strain your back or neck. It is also forbidden to bend your knees. Rock back and forth slowly.
Perform the previous exercise, but using your forearms.
Stretch your arms up, turn your toes out and spread your legs wide.
Execute deep squat. In this case, the back should be relaxed and straight, and the knees should be widely spaced to the sides. Start with 8 sets and increase over time.
Take the same pose as in the previous exercise. While squatting, hold for 30 seconds and then rise up. Please note: this exercise may not be easy for beginners.
Perform side lunges. When the exercise becomes easy, grab your ankles and pull towards the floor. Start with 8 sets and increase every 2 weeks.

Place your feet as wide as possible and lean forward so that your back is parallel to the floor. In this case, you can lean on your elbows. Watch your breathing: the muscles should tense as you enter, and relax as you exhale.
Do the same as in the previous exercise. Slowly lower your perineum and stomach to the floor. Once this has been achieved, gradually straighten your pelvis, place your feet on your heels and straighten your back.

Advice! Should not be underestimated preparatory exercises- they also have great benefit for the body. You can start mastering the following types of twine only after you have learned how to ideally sit on the longitudinal and transverse ones.

Nutrition

Proper nutrition will also help you achieve your goals faster and strengthen strained muscles. In this regard, one of the best means is fish oil. It is also recommended to add Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty amino acids to your diet. Consume flaxseed oil, nuts and eggs regularly.

Another important factor is maintaining water balance in organism. You need to drink at least 2 liters of water per day. Add juicy fruits to your diet. To achieve the desired result faster, stop consuming salt. It can be replaced with seaweed, lemon juice, herbs and natural seasonings.

carrot;
nuts;
spinach;
meat;
seafood;
legumes;
citrus fruit;
berries (blueberries, blackberries, cherries and raspberries).

Advice! To prevent inflammation in the joints, add vitamin complexes or foods high in calcium to your diet. At the same time, the body’s recovery should be uniform, so you need to use protein food throughout the day.

Summary

Proper stretching at home will help you do the splits. To do this you need to follow the basic rules:

breathe correctly;
perform exercises technically correctly and smoothly;
stretching each muscle group should last at least 30 seconds;
flexibly stretch;
exercise in the morning.

Also an important factor is proper nutrition. It is necessary to exclude salt from the diet and add calcium-containing foods, berries, citrus fruits, carrots, nuts and spinach to it.

Before you start training, you need to prepare your body well. To do this, use the same joint gymnastics mixed with push-ups and squats at a fast pace. As a result, you will improve muscle coordination, without which it is impossible to do the splits.

Advice! Even with technically competent execution of the exercises, it is impossible to achieve the desired result if you are not psychologically attuned to the training. The best way to fix this is to keep a diary in which you record your successes and achievements every day. As a result, you will be able to monitor your progress.

And most importantly, don't compare yourself to others. The time it takes for you to do the splits depends on many conditions: initial physical training, age, gender and so on. It will be better if you compare yourself with yesterday's self. Such measures will help you focus on the results achieved, and not on what is not yet working.

Also don't forget about good sleep, which is at the base quick recovery muscles. Another important factor is maintaining water balance - you need to drink at least two liters of water every day.

Body flexibility is the dream of millions of people. Almost everyone wants to be flexible, flexible, strong. They dream of doing the splits and almost tying themselves in a knot.

But few people think about simple questions:

How to properly stretch muscles?

Which muscles should you stretch and which should you not? (Yes, yes. There are muscles, stretching which disrupts the balance in the body and leads to health problems.)

Are they ready to pay the right price for what they want? Are you ready to spend all this time and effort?

How to combine strength training and stretch marks? And to what extent should you stretch so that the results of many years do not suffer? strength training?

There are a lot of these questions...

Timely answers to these questions will allow you to avoid many, sometimes very annoying mistakes. Some of these mistakes can easily put an end to sports career and even harm your health. Let's look at the most serious of them.

Flexibility Mistake #1

Expecting results too quickly

You often see promises like “splits in a month, splits in 10 workouts, splits in a week.” And the requests on the Internet are generally amusing: “cross splits in one day”!

If you are naturally quite flexible, it may take up to two months to get the splits without losing your health or damaging your joints.

Most people find it difficult to even take the starting position to perform necessary exercises. That is, they have to stretch their muscles just to start stretching their muscles properly!

For an ordinary person who is not gifted with natural flexibility, a period of six months is quite realistic to do the longitudinal splits. Cross twine may require more time. Moreover, you will need to train at least 4-5 times a week for 30-50 minutes.

Forcing exercises, violating reasonable requirements, artificially increasing flexibility using excessive loads may result in disability or result in extremely unpleasant delayed consequences. Especially in old age.

Be patient, developing flexibility takes time.

Flexibility Mistake #2

Stretching the wrong muscles

A very common mistake! How many backs have been hurt! Pull exactly the muscles you want to stretch. Do not pull the back extensors or stretch them too much hip joints, especially if you are engaged strength exercises. Overstretched muscles are unable to maintain the desired balance and support the joints. Especially under load. Hence the injuries and contortions.

Under no circumstances should you pull your fingers.

Error 3

Stretching not only muscles, but also ligaments

It is the muscles that should be pulled, not the ligaments. Ligaments are strong and almost inextensible membranes of the joints. It is quite difficult to break them, but with due diligence it is possible. As a result, you will have to undergo long-term rehabilitation, or completely forget about training. Particularly vulnerable knee joints. Be sure to follow basic precautions:

Bend your knees slightly when pulling your hamstrings.

When working on transverse or other leg stretches, remove lateral stress on your knees by turning your toes up

just be careful when you stretch small muscles arms or vulnerable shoulder muscles

Avoid severe pain when performing flexibility exercises

Error 4

Doing stretches too often or, conversely, too infrequently

Don't forget that muscles need time to adapt. Don't pull them ten times a day. Stretching is not a case of more being better. Muscles need rest after a serious load, which, of course, is stretching.

On the other hand, too rare workouts will have virtually no effect on stretching. Rare means less than 3 times a week.

The best option is to do muscle stretching exercises daily, once a day.

By the way, you can use changing the intensity of stretching from day to day, that is, training cycles, and be sure to use. Trisets applied to flexibility exercises will also be useful.

Error 5

Do stretches in between

A noticeable increase in flexibility is too serious and important a matter to be dealt with casually, between other things.

Set aside enough time for stretching exercises, make such exercises a full-time activity if you want to become truly flexible. Don't limit yourself to just a few minutes before and after strength training.

In addition, flexibility exercises require a full warm-up at the beginning and general relaxation at the end of the session, which also requires a certain time. I consider a reasonable duration of flexibility training to be 30-50 minutes, no less. More is possible.

Error 6

Few people wonder why they need stretch marks.

The splits are a very serious achievement. It will require a lot of time and effort from you, you can be sure. Are you sure you're ready to spend it? It literally means tens and even hundreds of hours of hard and not always pleasant work.

Ask yourself why do you need flexibility, why do you need splits? Is this goal worth the effort it will take?

Error 7

Many people do stretching in such a painful way that they simply cannot stand it and quit this activity.

I repeat once again that when stretching, you should never endure pain. This is the direct and shortest route to a hospital bed. And for a long time.

But stretching shouldn’t be too pleasant if you want to get serious results in the foreseeable future. Help yourself stay motivated without breaking simple rules security. No severe pain is the first rule when training flexibility.

There are also . Find out more about them and never use them in your classes.

Error 8

Compensatory exercises and symmetry are often forgotten.

The human body is a complex biomechanical system regulated by brain signals. It is impossible to stretch the body in one place without consequences, without destroying the balance. Balance requires stretching opposite parts of the body as well. For this, there are special compensation exercises that should be used immediately after some stretching.

And, of course, the body should be stretched symmetrically, giving equal attention to each limb or half of the body. If you stretch your right leg for 10 minutes, be kind enough to stretch and left leg as many. Nothing less. Only in this case can you count on the benefits of stretching exercises.

Let's sum it up

Don't expect too quick results and don't force the exercises to overcome pain. Remember, people who demonstrate amazing flexibility have spent more than one month or even more than one year doing it.

Don't stretch muscles that you don't want to be too flexible. It makes no sense to be flexible at all. Practical flexibility makes sense when muscles stretch, the flexibility of which determines the results in your sport or the effectiveness of your actions at work and Everyday life. No abstract flexibility!
I argue that being simply flexible is useless and even dangerous in some cases.

Do not under any circumstances allow the membranes of the joints, the so-called ligaments, to stretch. This makes the joints unstable and can lead to disability.

Stretch your muscles neither too often nor too often. Remember that stretching is very similar to strength training in terms of its impact on the muscles and requires sufficient time for the muscles to recover. Stretching the muscles too infrequently is not effective, since the effect of the exercises does not accumulate.

Don't do flexibility exercises casually. Be alert and collected to avoid injury. Fine