Easily Increase Your Flexibility
- Tamara Efstratios Swan
- Jul 8, 2020
- 3 min read

Flexibility is a great equalizer when it comes to health and wellness. Nobody really believes me when I say this, but it’s so unbelievably true. Still don’t think I’m right about this?
Here’s a few reasons why flexibility is way more important than you think it is.
Improves mobility
Improves posture
Improves muscle coordination
Reduces the risk of injuries
Reduces muscle soreness.
Just to name a few of the key point behind my love for flexibility.
Convinced? Cool! On to the hard part...
You aren’t flexible. Let's face it, you eat right, drink your water, exercise regularly and are pretty darn healthy. The one thing you’re missing is flexibility. You’re about as flexible as a piece of wood. Don’t worry though! I can help, you don’t need to stay stiff as a board for the rest of your life.
Roll Away!
One of the main things I tell any of my clients is just how important a foam roller is to your growth, health, and progress during a training routine. Foam rollers are great ways to stretch, especially if you don’t like performing an “active stretch”. Foam rollers gently stretch your muscles as you roll across them. This helps your muscles relax and stretch while slowly opening the capillaries in your muscles to allow more blood to flow through them.
The benefit of this is that your muscle is already warmed up, which allows your entire muscle to be worked out while you’re in the gym, and it prevents a tight muscle from continuing to tighten up during your routine.
Carry It All the Way
During your exercise you can aid your flexibility by continuing to work through your entire range of motion. Yes, I know this may make it harder to perform certain exercises at first (Looking at you, squats!) but by sticking with it, you’ll allow your muscles to fully work and that will lead to them becoming more flexible.
It’s important to keep this in mind here.
If you’re going to start working through the entire range of motion, you don’t want to injury yourself. It’s probably a good idea to lower the weight that you’re using up until your body gets used to the full range of motion.
Final Stretch
It’s natural for your muscles to tense up and grow tighter after you’ve finished your routine. Most people enjoy that feeling as it fills them with a sense of pride because they know that they’ve worked hard, so they let the tightness continue to grow.
Hear me out here. THIS IS WHEN STRETCHING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT! Take 10 minutes to slowly stretch after you’re routine. This is a huge step in the right direction for your flexibility. To get the best results of your post-workout stretch, focus on the areas that you just worked with your routine. To aid in the muscle release and take your stretching a step further, you can foam roll again at the end. It makes a difference, trust me.
Slow it Down
Most people have been conditioned not to enjoy the act of stretching, so they have a tendency to try and rush through it. You, being the well-educated individual know better than that, so you won’t be tempted to rush. Will you?
Relax, and take it slow. Focus on getting true and full stretches, but don’t push past your limits. Take your time and allow your body to ease in to stretches. The last thing you want is to cause little rips and tears that your body has to repair.
If you feel a burning sensation that’s truly uncomfortable, back off a tad, to a point just before that uncomfortable point. You can’t increase your flexibility overnight, but by making these slow and meaningful stretches you’ll make far more progress than pushing past limits. Fill out the form below for an exercise plan that consistently challenges your strength, mind, and flexibility while helping you reduce your body fat AND increase your energy!
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