How to get flexible fast
Do you even stretch?
If you don’t, you aren’t alone.
I used to be a gym rat, believe it or not. And I rarely saw anyone stretching. When they did, it was usually an afterthought. I see it in group fitness glasses (that aren’t yoga), too. Stretching isn’t a priority to most fitness enthusiasts.
I hate when people say “yoga is just stretching,” but as a yogi, I do love stretching. Just like you gym goers are addicted to the high of lifting a new max, I’m addicted to the high of finding new space in my body.
I realize yoga isn’t everyone’s jam. Just like the gym isn’t everyone’s jam. But I feel like “mobility” is getting cool in the fitness realm and athletes are seeing the importance and benefits of it.
Does that mean that the stretching area of the gym is getting crowded? Not even close. And I get it … if you don’t enjoy it and you only have 30 mins to squeeze a workout in, you want to spend every minute doing what you love.
But what if. WHAT IF… I told you that you could improve your flexibility just by stretching for five minutes a week?
It’s not BS. It’s science.
I’m not sure what kind of science this girl is doing but it’s trippy.
Did you see that squirrel?
Anyway…
I recently watched Sofie Dossi’s (AKA “Physics Girl”) YouTube video: “What stretching actually does to your body.” She talked to some smart people … and a crazy flexible contortionist. You can watch the video here and nerd out like me, but here’s one of the biggest takeaways that I got out of it:
Doing static stretches (holding a stretch for at least 30 seconds) for a total of five mins per week per muscle group will improve your flexibility. Frequency is more important than time.
In fact, there aren’t drastic mobility gains in doing over 10 minutes per week per muscle group. So if your goal is to improve your mobility, you’re better off spending just two minutes stretching at the end of every workout than spending one hour stretching once/week.
Fascinating, right?
With all my non-stretching fitness friends and this remarkable science in mind, I created a series of super short videos to help you stretch at the end of your workout and improve your flexibility!
Just remember, frequency is important. So if you want to improve your flexibility, commit to stretching each muscle group you hope to improve for 5-10 mins total per week.
Here’s the first of the series! I asked what you wanted first on Instagram and you chose lower body. This routine is perfect to add in at the end of your leg day. We’ll stretch your hamstrings, glutes, quads and calves.
If you want to improve your flexibility but don’t want to replace your gym workouts with all the yoga, commit to stretching just a few minutes at the end of your workout. I’m asking you for five minutes. Can you give me five? I know you can. :)