Flexibility is a term that describes your relative ability to use your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. Proper development of this ability can help you prevent certain types of injury and improve several aspects of your quality of life. You can increase your flexibility by adding a stretching routine to your personal training program.
Basics
While many people realize that aerobic fitness and muscle strength are vital to their health, the essential value of flexibility is frequently overlooked. In addition to helping you treat or prevent an injury, you can use increased flexibility to combat age-related stiffness, improve your ability to maintain proper body alignment during everyday tasks and movements, increase your body awareness and promote muscle relaxation. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you perform a series of stretching exercises for your major muscle groups two or three times a week.
Personal Training
A certified personal trainer can help you develop a stretching program that will effectively improve your flexibility, strength and conditioning specialist Deborah L. Mullen reports at SpineUniverse.com. While performing a more general routine can provide you with some benefit, the exercises in this type of routine may not address the specific needs of your body, including previous damage from various forms of injury and imbalances between different muscles or muscle groups. If you don't establish a customized program, you can easily overwork some muscles or neglect working others.
Common Features
While your personal trainer will direct the specifics of your stretching program, certain areas of the body commonly hold significant tension and need work. These include the hamstrings and quadriceps muscles on your legs, as well as your hips, chest, lower back, calves, groin and shoulders. Before you begin any session in your stretching program, your trainer will ask you to perform some sort of warmup activity to prepare your muscles for the stress of exercise. Typically, you will perform each stretch in your routine slowly and gently while avoiding any type of bouncing motion. Your trainer will also ask you to breathe during your stretches to reduce or avoid any unwanted muscular tension. In most cases, you will hold each individual stretch for anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds.
Considerations
When choosing a personal trainer or flexibility class, you potentially have a wide variety of options. While some classes or instructors limit their focus to improving your flexibility, others incorporate flexibility training into a larger framework of aerobic exercise and/or strength training. Consult your doctor before you begin a new routine and review resources in your areas such as fitness clubs, private trainers and sponsored programs to get a better sense of your available training options.
References
- The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: Fitness Fundamentals; Guidelines for Personal Exercise Programs; January 2010
- SpineUniverse: Flexibility Training Tips; Deborah L. Mullen, C.S.C.S; December 2009
- Sports Fitness Advisor: Flexibility Training Section
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Warm Up, Cool Down and Be Flexible
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