3 reasons why you're not making any flexibility gains
Introduction
Flexibility is one of the most important aspects of any movement system. It aids in our ability to move through full ranges of motion, improves circulation and decreases muscle stiffness, and helps us avoid injury by improving our bodies’ tolerance for movement. We use flexibility in daily life when we go down to pick something up off the ground or reach up to get something out of a cupboard. We rely on it, even more, when we pursue athletic endeavors that require specialized positioning, such as gymnastics, and in aerial arts. Flexibility gains can be tough to come by sometimes because we subconsciously protect ourselves from stretching too deeply into positions that make us feel vulnerable or uncomfortable. Sometimes this is due to a mental block or fear; other times it’s because our bodies fear going into positions they haven’t been used to! However, there are many other reasons why you’re not making any flexibility gains at all—or if you are making some progress with your flexibility work already it might just be taking forever! While I can't tell you exactly what's causing your personal lack of progress (especially since I do not have you in front of me), here's my take based on my expertise in movement and on what I've seen with clients and students over the years.
1- You're not being consistent
It's quite common to want to be more flexible, but you find yourself practicing sporadically. The reason for this is that we often lack a clear strategy in place. For example, if you're trying to increase your flexibility as part of your exercise routine and you're not seeing results after several weeks of consistent practice then it could be because you don't have an effective strategy in place. Here are some ways that people commonly approach flexibility training:
They just stretch whenever they feel like it without thinking about any long-term goals or objectives.
They set unrealistic expectations (e.g., “I'm going to do yoga every day until I can touch my toes!") and are disappointed when they fail to meet them.
They try new exercises without researching what those exercises are supposed to accomplish.
Your best bet is to add a few activation exercises before your classes or workouts and a few stretches as part of your cooldown. It does not have to be long-winded but can bring real tangible results rapidly. Including this in your routine, five times per week beats a single hour of intensive stretching.
2- You are being consistent but do not change
If you're not seeing any progress, it could be because you are being consistent but don't change. Having a routine is great for consistency and for building the habit of stretching on a regular basis. However, if your stretching routine does not include all types of stretches, then there's no way that you can make gains in flexibility! The different types of stretches are active, passive, and ballistic or dynamic.
The second reason your flexibility gains are slow is that you do not add progressive overload to the mix. For muscles to grow and get stronger (and therefore more flexible), they need to be stressed by doing them at a higher intensity than before. If this doesn't happen during regular training sessions or with each stretch session itself, then there's no way that muscles will adapt positively as we want them to. It is important to add some stress to your joints in what we call their end range for faster results (we will discuss this in the next blog post).
3- Your technique is poor
One of the biggest reasons for a lack of flexibility is poor technique. If your technique is off, you can't make progress because whatever assistance your body gets from the exercise will be cancelled out by your compensations. Sometimes these are obvious (e.g., bending at the lower back while trying to stretch your hamstrings), but they can also be subtle and hard to detect unless you're paying attention.
Consequently, if you let your compensations take over, your alignment will be off in many movements and your range will not improve over time.
Another reason behind slow flexibility progress is, that if you have poor breathing awareness during stretches or flexibility exercises, then it is unlikely that you will feel much benefit from them because they don't provide enough oxygenation or support for muscles to relax and lengthen fully, and your nervous system is not regulated to let you stretch any further.
Conclusion
In this article, I wanted to address some common mistakes that people make when trying to improve their flexibility. While this list is not exhaustive, it covers some of the most common causes of problems that people have with increasing flexibility. With these tips in mind, as well as a little bit of patience and perseverance, you should be able to start seeing results soon! In the next blog post, I will uncover my 3 best secrets to speed up your flexibility gains so feel free to sign-up to my mailing list to receive all updates or keep an eye out on my socials.
If you are a beginner aerialist and want to speed up your strength gains and flexibility progress, I am launching a programme at the end of June called The Aerialist's Starter Toolkit. It is the ultimate blueprint to help you become strong and flexible for aerial arts.
It will include:
-conditioning exercises to build stamina.
-home and gym workouts to help you fast track your strength.
-flexibility tutorials to create those beautiful shapes.
-carefully curated to maximise efficiency and guarantee results within weeks.
-support from your favourite coach.
AND MORE
All based on my proven coaching techniques used in my classes and approved by hundreds of students.
Since this will be a live launch, you will have to register in advance.
This will also give you access to exclusive pre-launch discounts and extra benefits.
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62963935fcd62d77ac3e4b37
Try one of my flexibility classes here!
