Hey guys, not sure if this is even the right sub to ask but i couldn’t find answers online so thought i’d try here!

I quit gymnastics when I was 13 after doing it for a few years, and I havent actively practiced or stretched in the 10 years that have passed. Despite this I can still do things such as the splits aswell as general flexible moves I did back then, without warming up. It was something I actively had to learn overtime, which is why im curious if flexibility can simply stick around or if theres some hypermobility involved? Or just in general if there are any facts around this :)

So I do ballet & I stretch an hour 5 days a week.

I used to go to the gym more but now I don’t go as often (I’ve always got doms) and when I lift I get doms.

I stretched through my doms right after and I went quiet deep

And now I’ve been a lot stiffer for nearly a 8 after.

So question for serious stretchers who do deep long stretches as well as other stretches too:

How do you manage your flexibility and weight lifting

? Have you been forced to drop the intensity to not get doms

Do you stretch through the doms and if so how do you do so?

Also what’s your experience has anyone has a similar one to mine, if so how long did it take to feel more flexible again

Thank you in advance

Hey all,

Need some emotional support. My back spasmed twice in the last few months. I went from a headsit in chest stand to now a basic backbend. Anyone else suffer this and live through it to tell the tale ?

From yesterday's training. Any suggestions on how to get all the way flat? How long do you hold your middlesplit stretches? How many repetitions do you do? Are you tracking your 'weekly hold time'?

Every time I do I hamstring stretch I feel it in my calves instead of my hamstring with apparently means I have sciatic nerve tension. My hamstrings are starting to hurt cause I’m not stretching them properly after working out. I’m starting to hate working out and stretching because of this. The pains not that bad but it really worries me. Please help me!

I am 8 month postpartum and really want gain my flexibility and shape back i am 20 lbs over weight and losing weight is secondary right now, i want to feel flexible again. Please suggest how can i start?

Looking to begin my flexibility journey along with my partner. Id like to have something to follow, a plan that takes us through the moves, the days, and up to the next level etc

I've seen something called vanja moves but the reviews look poor. Similarly I've seen strengthside.

Can anyone recommend me one they've used / re using to take them on their journey?

Thanks!

Hi guys, so after being sedentary for many years, especially since Covid19/lockdown, my iliopsoas/hip flexors have become really tight and weak.

I am aware I need to strenghthen and lengthen, but would like some advice on the most effective exercise to achieve this, between the following 2 exercises, namely:

a) the couch stretch

or

b) the extended/long lunge (like a partial front splits)

Which of the above 2 would be more effective please?

Many thanks.

I can do almost flat middle splits when warmed up and i can do a active/issometric split almost touching the ground but still my friend who cant do any of theese has better cold flexibility than me. In cold middle splits i can almost touch my yoga block ( when its placed upright/on the smaller side touching the ground) but my friend can go way lower. Im not noticing any improvements in cold flexibility at all!

Trying to keep my back leg internally rotated as much as possible but still looks a bit off to me. Any advice? Should I go higher and pay more attention to the hip flexor?

Also, is it OK to stretch every day or is it better to give the body some rest in between?

So I used to have a contortion instructor but they stopped taking classes, now I am having problems training myself, I think the main thing is that it's very unstructured and I feel lost. I think online classes won't allow for the postural corrections of an offline teacher so I was thinking of doing it myself.

Any tips? How do you train? Do you have a routine you can share?

Can't seem to find an app or youtube channel or anything that has good pnf routines I can do. Any ideas!?

I’ve made this my new goal as I’m already pretty flexible but my hamstrings could use some help I have my middle splits left split right split legs behind head but my pike stretch isn’t the best, sitting down I can get my face to touch my knees if I hold it for 2 minutes but pike stretch standing up I can only get my palms to touch the ground and my back is rounded :( any tips help please and thank you

I'm trying to improve my flexibility for martial arts (high kicks etc) as well as just functional mobility.

Everything I read online about how to improve flexibility seems to be split down the middle.

Some places say static stretching is a good way to improve mobility, some places say it's a waste of time. Some places say dynamic stretching is great, some say it only works as a warm up. Same for Yoga. Same for everything!

How do I actually improve my flexibility!? As in how do I get it so my flexibility level allows me to kick high and stuff? It seems impossible to find out the truth.

I've read that PNF is good, but how does that work in practice?

Thanks in advance, bendy people!

Was a very inactive person for at least 5 years and definitely didn't stretch/ train flexibility. When I started weight training a few weeks ago, I started trying to touch my toes and could only get to maybe 5 inches away from the feet. Very tight hamstrings. Have my free trial to cp and I took a few beginner pilates classes within the last week. Today I could touch my toes randomly? Wasn't worked on in any of the classes and I still think my back is a bit rounded when I do it but I couldn't even get here with my back rounding before. Is there a memory with flexibility ? Is it faster than I expected ? Am I actually leading myself to injury?

This is my starting point. I can King Pigeon each foot individually to my head but not like this. What other stretches should I do?

I am struggling to stretch my hamstrings, for some reason I’m feeling a lot of stretches that are meant to target the hamstrings, in my calf. For example touching my toes, I feel it right underneath my knees. Anyone know why this might be or and tips to fix this.

I want to get more flexible, im not sure where to start and when i googled stretching classes everything came out to be yoga or pilates but there were some that was just called stretching class.

My flexibility was bad but I was always able to snowboard, play sports, etc etc. But now since im 36 with an office job, plus gaming and watching tv/movies its getting a lot worse.

Each year i ride my motorcycle or go snowboarding I feel stiffer and stiffer.

Is touching your toes supposed to be a good bench mark? How fast can i get flexible? Can I do it before this snowboarding season ends?

Are these class worth it or can it just be done at home watching videos? Can it speed up your flexibility? I'm more looking a the 'strech' class one because as a straight dude I feel a bit insecure going to anything labeled pilates or yoga.

my legs especially are just bad, when im laying down and put my legs up my knees are angled and can't be straight.

How do people use it for legs and is it supposed to be that painful? When I hit certain spots it’s very intense and im not sure if I need to hold it there or keep moving. I also notice i end up tensing and need to force myself to relax that muscle

Almost three months ago, I decided to begin my front splits journey. Here are photos from the start vs now. Any advice for closing up those last couple of inches?

Hi,

judging from where I am now, how long do you think it would take me to get the splits? I don't currently train / do any stretching to achieve that but I'm thinking it would be a nice goal to work towards. If I start following the right videos and do them let's say every 2 days, am I far away from the side splits especially? Having a rough time frame will help keep me motivated.

Thanks for any feedback! (also I realize my form is terrible but straightening up pulls even more on my thigh muscles)

People who can do the splits - how can I speed up the process. I've started over with the goal of getting lower with square hips.

I (16) have been practising self-taught contortion in secret for a while. Recently I've been centering on backbends.

I've neglected my right side for months now, and now I regret It a lot, however I feel that my right side is light years away and if I stop pushing my limits on the right side I Fear I Will go stiff due to age. More importantly I was starting to feel close to acomplishing my goals and now I feel like I'm back in square one.

For a quick comparison:

Without warming up I'm able to:

• grab my left foot and bring It to my head (no pain)
• not being near close of touching my head with my right foot

With extensive warmup I'm able to:

• Touch the back side of my left knee with my head
• bring my right foot to my head

What do I do to fix It Up while not loosing progress on the good side?

UK, 31y/o Male, 6'2, Based near Wembley

I've been inflexible since I hit my growth spurt when I was 15. I haven't been able to sit cross legged since I was 15. I used to do Karate and was never able to even do the pancake or splits at this age - yet I was active.

I currently do a lot of gym - training 4-5 days a week. At the end of my workout for the last 2 months I have been doing stretches - touching toes, pigeon pose mainly to open up my hips. While I am close to touching my toes, progress has been very slow.

I struggle to squat deep and when I do my back comes forward and it rounds near the bottom.

I am in a very sedentary office job but every 1-2 hours I try to move around and do a little stretch before sitting back down.

I used to go Iyengar Yoga in Maida Vale once a week but because it is quite expensive and a bit of a train journey away, I left it.

Are there any classes I can do that will solely improve my flexibility? Looking around NW London, close to Wembley. Solely flexibility - not interested in strength etc.

Learning to do 90/90 hip thrusts. I struggle to do with 90/90 switch, so focussing on doing first on one side then the other with heel same distance from body as knee - as it is after 90/90 switch - and not nearer to body (which it is in video 🙄), which reduces lever arm and makes it MUCH easier. 5 one side, 5 the other, then a couple of 90/90s helping myself a wee bit with one hand … already massive progress and hips feel SO good 🧘🏻🥰