Safe and Effective Ways to Improve Flexibility

When it comes to fitness goals, improving flexibility often takes a back seat to building strength or burning calories. Runners who fail to take time to stretch before a workout face a greater risk of injury. Improving flexibility is also helpful for those who suffer from arthritis and other joint problems. Taking the time to perform flexibility exercises brings many benefits, including developing a greater range of motion.

  1. Stretching

    • Stretching can improve flexibility and also help to prevent injury during exercise. To stretch safely, consider a light warm up before you stretch -- or even adding stretching to the end of a workout when muscles are already warmed up. Hold stretches for 30 seconds or more, as opposed to short, bouncing movements that can tear ligaments. Focus on major muscle groups. Stretching can be as simple as touching your toes for 30 seconds.

    Yoga

    • Yoga is a physical and spiritual discipline that offers many health benefits to practitioners, including greater flexibility. By carefully performing various yoga poses, called asanas, the yogi not only increases range of motion in the joints, but also improves flexibility in the soft tissue. The benefits from yoga are reaped quickly. One study showed that after only eight weeks of practicing yoga, participants had a 35 percent increase in flexibility.

    Dance and Pilates

    • Dance lessons, ballet in particular, involve stretching, both when the dancer is warming up and is actually executing the choreography itself. Dancers warm up at a metal bar where they stretch major muscle groups including hamstrings. The bar is used for balance and also for leverage when doing leg and back stretches. Pilates, a form of exercise that lengthens muscles and strengthens the core, also improves flexibility.

    Stretching at Work

    • Employees who work at desks are frequently in the same position for long periods of time. The body is further stressed by repetitive hand and arm movements associated with working on a computer keyboard. Physicians recommend setting an alert to go off once an hour as a reminder to do some stretching exercises, to avoid repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.