Any training program should include Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners.
In fact, every person should incorporate flexibility/mobility training into their self-care routine.
Here’s why.
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Importance of good posture
Good posture is often underestimated.
If you start paying attention to the people you come around in a day, you’d be surprised how many people have poor posture in various degrees – rounded shoulders, forward head, overarched or flat lower back, etc.
It’s not surprising, given today’s lifestyle and how much time we all spend sitting in front of screens.
Sadly, it’s the new normal.
This is not only physically unappealing (let’s face it), but of course, it triggers a lot of health issues and chronic pain.
I promise I avoid putting any “fancy” terms in this type of article but here’s a term that can explain a lot – neuromuscular efficiency.
Neuromuscular efficiency simply means the ability of the nervous system and musculature system to communicate well and produce optimal movement patterns.
Good posture means that the muscles are properly aligned which also allows for optimal joint motion without putting extra stress on them.
In short:
good posture -> proper movement and healthy joints -> no pain -> less injuries.
To understand how to get or to keep your good posture, keep reading.
(Brace yourself – it’s a long one!)
Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners:
Lower back stretch routine plus Anterior pelvic tilt advice
[Update 2023]
Benefits of regular flexibility training:
1. Correcting muscle imbalances
2. Increasing range of motion (ROM) and muscle extensibility
3. Relieving joint stress
4. Supporting normal functional length of muscles
5. Reducing excessive tension in muscles
6. Decreasing the risk of injury
So, if you thought that Flexibility Training for Beginners to improve posture only applies to you if you’re eager to learn the split, you’re mistaken.
Flexibility is simply the ability of all soft tissue to extend in order to allow the full range of motion of a joint.
Long hours of sitting, moving in a repetitive fashion, or even training on a regular basis without adequate recovery can impair the extensibility of soft tissue (muscles, tendons, fascia, etc.) and, with time, cause muscle imbalances.
Stiff and imbalanced muscles lead in turn to what we call relative flexibility – the body’s way of finding the path of least resistance during functional movements.
An example of relative flexibility is the very common overarching of the lower back when performing an overhead shoulder press.
More often than not, the reason for that is tight lats, inhibiting the movement of the shoulders.
The body quickly adapts and compensates by overextending the lower back.
Continually moving through an altered range of motion (ROM) slowly but surely leads to injuries.
Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners:
7 Corrective Exercises To Fix Your Anterior Pelvic Tilt
How can you prevent muscle imbalances and relative flexibility
Flexibility training and mobility work is a continuum.
Simply put – your flexibility will be only as good as the effort you presently put into it.
1. Stretch daily for 10-15 minutes focusing on stiff areas.
2. Avoid sitting/standing in the same position for too long.
3. Be mindful of your posture throughout the day.
4. Do regular strength training focusing on good technique.
5. Always take the time to warm up well before a workout.
6. Always take the time to cool down after a workout.
Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners
Methods of flexibility training
I know stretching is the obvious answer here, let’s start with foam rolling.
Self-Myofascial Release
You should practice SMR (Self-Myofascial Release) to get rid of any fascia adhesions that might inhibit the normal extensibility of soft tissue.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, SMR is a self-massaging technique using tools such as foam rollers, trigger point balls, or massage sticks.
You’ve certainly seen people do it at the gym.
Watch the short video on top to see some of
my favorite foam rolling exercises. (turn the Adblock off)
You know those tight, painful points that you feel in your neck or back sometimes (the ones you can literally feel with your fingers – ouch!)?
Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. The painful ones are active trigger points.
It’s possible to be able to feel “knots” in your soft tissue without them being painful – these are latent ones.
As mentioned before, such trigger points can cause dysfunction in your soft tissues and make them less “extensible”.
So, to get the most out of your stretching exercises, it’s a good idea to preface them with a session of foam rolling.
What is fascia?
Fascia is a thin layer of connective tissue that surrounds and holds in place every organ, muscle, and bone all the way down to blood vessels and nerve fibers.
A sedentary lifestyle or repetitive movements may lead to the buildup of fascia adhesions that will restrict mobility.
If you’re new to SMR, you might want to start with a softer foam roller without any texture.
This will let you ease into it although it won’t give the deep massage a firmer foam roller would.
Of course, as you get more used to it, you might want to progress to denser foam rollers with various amounts of ridges and bumps on them.
There are tons of foam rollers out
there to choose from.
The most interesting one I’ve come across is the Morph Collapsible one from Brazyn which, as the name suggests, can “collapse” and flatten, in order to save space.
Makes it ideal for travel or packing in your gym bag. Especially in today’s situation, I’m not so keen on using the foam rollers at the gym. Honestly, it’s such a clever idea!
Few important things to keep in mind when foam rolling (or using a lacrosse ball):
Do it slowly, stay focused, and be mindful. (I see too many people mindlessly rolling back and forth while on their phones.)
Once you find a painful trigger point, stay there for at least 30 seconds. This will inhibit the process of creating these inelastic knots and will help to return the soft tissue back to normal.
Some extent of pain is absolutely normal and to be expected. However, the pain shouldn’t persist for longer than a few minutes after you’re done.
If that’s the case, you could be either doing it wrong, too intensely or you might have an issue that shouldn’t be subject to this type of massage.
Don’t foam roll directly on bones or joints.
After SMR we can then move on to the most popular type of flexibility training – stretching which is a big part of the Flexibility Training for Beginners to improve posture.
Stretching can be static, active, or dynamic and you should incorporate all types into your flexibility routine.
Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners:
8 Lower back stretches to relieve tight and painful back
Static stretching
Well, we all know what static stretches are – holding a position for at least 15 to 60 seconds, sometimes even minutes.
In other words – combining low force with long duration to relax and elongate the muscles.
For decades now there’s been an ongoing debate on the efficiency and benefits of static stretching.
There’s been research showing a slight decline in muscle power and performance in the minutes after static stretching. It’s even argued that static stretching prior to high-intensity activities can increase the risk of injury.
At the same time, there’s mounting evidence to suggest that static stretching can improve ROM (range of motion) and thus reduce the chance of an injury in the long term.
Furthermore, it’s important to mention that static stretching has not only physiological but psychological effects as well. It has been shown to reduce the concentration of stress-related hormones within the saliva and decrease feelings of sadness and anxiety (1, 2).
In my opinion – a pretty big plus point!
Based on everything said so far, static stretches are recommended post-workout as a cool-down or as a routine on their own on a rest day.
Another option is to start your warm-up with static stretching (no longer than 30 seconds) and follow up with dynamic stretches. That’s usually my personal preference.
Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners:
7 corrective exercises for anterior pelvic tilt.
Dynamic stretching
Dynamic stretching means moving through full ROM, doing sport-specific, full-body movements without holding the position at the endpoint.
As we already mentioned – dynamic stretching is great for a warm-up, especially before high-intensity workouts, and is a big part of the Flexibility Training for Beginners to improve posture.
As a general rule, you should perform each dynamic stretching exercise for 10-15 reps, 2-3 rounds.
Here are some examples:
1. Hip hinge -> Squat
2. Spiderman stretch with a chest stretch
Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners:
8 Lower back stretches to relieve tight and painful back
Percussive massage guns
This type of device has become pretty popular in the last few years.
Massage guns were (and still are) widely used by physical therapists and fortunately, they are now accessible to every health-conscious person to use at home.
We’re getting a little more high-tech here and using a powerful hand-held device that employs percussive therapy to manipulate the soft tissue.
Massage guns are designed to help with muscle recovery (Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners), reduce muscle pain, and muscle fatigue, and get rid of lactic acid build-up.
It’s truly like getting a massage on a daily basis.
We’ve been using ours for over 2 years now and truly love it. Muscle soreness goes away much faster and any muscle pain is promptly “punched away” by the gun.
The first massage gun we got was the very popular Hypervolt by Hyperice. If you’re interested, you can read my review of the Hypervolt here. (Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners)
We were also very fortunate to receive the Deep Tissue Massage Gun addsfit MAX and be able to compare both.
So far it’s hard for me to see any major difference in the way both massagers perform and I was really pleasantly surprised by the addsfit gun, given that it comes at half the price.
It’s quiet, has nine-speed levels, and has a pretty long battery life.
It’s amazing to see that kind of quality at such a reasonable price.
Additionally, if you decide to purchase, you can use the code “workoutfrolic” at check-out to save 20%.
Final thoughts
I know it’s a cliche but cliches are often true – our bodies are amazing and do so much for us.
Taking good care of them pays out big time.
Roll out, stretch daily, train hard, and always take the time to warm up.
The recipe is pretty simple.
Whatever your fitness level, whatever your daily activities – you’ll surely benefit from some flexibility training if you implement this Flexibility Training for Beginners to improve posture.
Related read to the Flexibility Training Techniques for Beginners:
10 Abs exercises better than sit-ups {6 for back pain relief}