"How can I get more flexible?"
The only way to get more flexible is to stretch consistently. There is no magic pill and 'pushing it' is going to get you hurt, not results. And the truth is, I am completely preaching here without practice. The only part of my fitness routine that I abhore is... stretching. It's true. I don't know why I am so bad about doing it; I know that it is important and in a minute I'm going to explain why--- but I hate doing it. And if there is anything that I am going to skip in my routine, it won't be the sweating part, it will be the stretching part. Not that I'm recommending that you do that, I'm definately not recommending that anyone skip stretching (that's a great way to get hurt)--- I'm just identifying my truely greatest weakness in my motivation. I think stretching is boring, it doesn't feel good to me, blah blah blah. Not the words of a perfect fitness professional, but it's true. Feels good to confess. Anyway...
Stretching is good for you. Stretching increases flexibility (duh), range of motion, circulation and alleviates stress. Because it does these things, it also helps to prevent injury when you're working out (or just carrying a basket of laundry up the stairs).
How does it prevent injury? Muscles work by contracting and relaxing--- stretching is an antagonist (opposite) movement to most of the exercises that we do for fitness which are primarily centered around the contractions. Making sure that you get the stretches in helps to avoid ripping or tearing the muscle which can occur when you're working it with contraction activities.
Stretching activities are broken down into two categories: static and dynamic. Static means still--- you're standing still, stretching a muscle and holding it. Dynamic stretching means you're moving while stretching. It is best to do dynamic stretches as you warm up and then static stretches after your fitness activity during the latter part of your cool down phase. You do not want to do static stretching before you're warmed up--- that would be like pulling a cold fruit rollup really tight--- probably going to snap. And a snapped muscle is not as delicious as a cold fruit rollup, trust me.
Some general rules about stretching: even if you are 'not flexible', stretching should not hurt. Stop before it hurts and don't go past that point. When you are stretching the right way, you feel only a little tension (not pain). Stretching is different than exercise because 'pushing it' isn't going to get you results- actually, it's just going to get you hurt and then set you back. If you're looking to increase your flexibility with stretching, you're going to have to be really consistent with stretching and let your body go at its own pace. It really does take time and overstretching is going to cause more problems than not stretching at all- so be patient!
When you stretch you should hold each position (on each side if that applies) for about ten to fifteen seconds (or five slow breaths). If you're working on increasing flexibility, bump that up to 30 seconds but again, if it hurts it is time to stop.
As far as how often- stretching should be a part of your workout routine, so at LEAST stretch every time you work out. I think that the optimal stretch-er (or someone who is actually focusing on increasing their flexibility) would be someone who has the tenacity to do a nice little dynamic stretching routine every morning when they wake up and a static one right before bed. Over time, this person would see an increase in flexibility, though how fast this happens depends on their own body.
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