r/flexibility Jul 26 '18

! Don't know where to start? Click here.

2.5k Upvotes

Welcome to /r/flexibility! Here are some resources that will answer many of the common questions we get.

Where do I start?

  • Starting To Stretch is a basic stretching routine for overall flexibility. Beginners should start there.

  • Make sure to check out our official F.A.Q.

  • Experiencing pain in your neck/shoulder/back/hips/groin legs/knees/ankles when you run/walk/sit/squat/stretch? Go see a doctor! Stretching may not be the solution to your pain!

Toe Touching

Squats

  • Our own squat routine was created for the 30-day challenge. It will guide you through all the steps towards a deep squat resting position.

Splits

  • This splits routine was created for the 90-day challenge and will give you quick results by stretching every day.

  • If you just want to take it a bit slower, here's a follow-along video for every other day.

  • Hit a plateau in your splits training? Try these brutal but effective loaded progressions. Here and here. Oh, and here.

General Resources

Books


r/flexibility 23h ago

Seeking Advice Been stretching regularly, please give feedback on these, so I can try to fix and progress further.

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83 Upvotes

r/flexibility 23h ago

Best setup I’ve found for passive chest & upper back opening (Chair + Bolster combo)

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47 Upvotes

r/flexibility 1d ago

Finally managed a full reverse Nordic — looking for feedback on my form

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176 Upvotes

finally managed to do a full reverse Nordic, going all the way down and coming back up without using my hands.

I’m pretty happy that I can finally do the full movement, but I don’t think my form is perfect yet. I feel like there are still some things I could improve in terms of my hip position, how straight I keep my body, and the overall control of the movement.

I’d really appreciate any feedback on my form. Is there anything that stands out as incorrect or something I should work on before trying to progress further?

Thanks!


r/flexibility 23h ago

Seeking Advice Most stiff person in the world

14 Upvotes

Been stretching multiple times a week for 2 months now and not even any closer to touching my toes (I’m 24f) I’ve never been flexible and seems that stretching doesn’t even help? In 2020 or so I challenged myself to learn the splits and even after stretching every day or every other day for about 6 months I saw no progress at all and just gave up. What is going on


r/flexibility 1d ago

Seeking Advice whatss the one thing that made the biggest difference to your flexibility?

19 Upvotes

for the peoples who have seriously improved their flexibility, did you follow a strict program, or was it more about incorporating little stretches throughout the day? i often fnd myself chilling in a strech of im watching tv or just relaxing these days rather than having a rigid routine.

would love to hear what actually worked for people rather than just the usual “stretch consistently” advice.I feel like there are so many different approaches to flexibility training, so I’m curious what actually made a noticeable difference for everyone here??


r/flexibility 1d ago

Seeking Advice Working toward Asian squats--with or without heel support?

4 Upvotes

I can't do Asian squats in bare feet or flat shoes and would like to be able to. I have a pair of shoes with a chunk heel about 1.5" tall, which is just enough that I can do the full squat, maybe not perfectly comfortably for hours on end but could probably do a few minutes. I can also squat all the way down with my heels in the air and balance in that position, with great difficulty, for less than a minute. So, should I practice with or without those shoes?

If it matters, I'm early 40s, female, no real history of injuries or issues with the joints involved, but definitely genetically inflexible. I did gymnastics and dance as a kid and could never do the splits despite years of trying. I'm tall and it's all in my legs; my torso is actually pretty short. But there are photos of me doing this squat as a little kid, so I can't help thinking I might not have lost the ability if I'd grown up in China. My gymnastics teachers were all of the old-school mindset that your knees should never be forward of your toes e.g. when doing lunges, and I internalized that and have diligently kept my ankles at no more that 90 degrees until the last couple years when I learned that had long since been debunked. I hope I'm not too late to fix this!


r/flexibility 19h ago

Seeking Advice Tightness in left leg

1 Upvotes

Hello, I am looking for advice for how to improve tightness kn my left leg. It doesnt feel tight unless doing my middle splits or left splits, particularly if I do not square my hips. I used to dance, and had both of them lower than now, but never fully there. It just has not really gone away even after stretching for a few weeks. It‘s a different tightness than usual stretching though, it hurts and its kind of in one area. Any advice or similar experiences? I have also had a minor hyper extentsion of my left knee, but I am not sure if thats related, I was not stretching at the time very much so I do not know if it got worse after or not. Does it just need to be strengthened? I have tried a bit, but maybe not consistently enough to see a difference.


r/flexibility 1d ago

Are these square hips?

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15 Upvotes

I have been told to square my hips so I tried to, the picture where I tried to is the brown pants but is it squared hips or not ?


r/flexibility 1d ago

Why is downward dog so unbearably uncomfortable for me?

38 Upvotes

I’ve been lifting weights and running consistently for a little over a year and I started adding in some yoga recently. I’m the least flexible/graceful person ever, but I want to (hopefully) improve that, work on my mobility, and try something new. Pretty much every beginner yoga video I try includes a LOT of downward facing dog, sustained for what feels like ages every time.

Either I’m doing it wrong or there’s something wrong with my body because it is … not working. It’s a nice stretch for about five seconds. And then my hands start slipping uncontrollably, blood rushes to my face so my head starts pounding and my vision blurs and my face starts prickling with pins and needles, and I start getting sharp, aching pains in my wrist, shoulders, and between my shoulder blades. (Not a “muscles working and stretching” kind of pain - a stabbing/cramping pain). I can’t straighten my legs either, but I do have tight hamstrings, so that’s something I’m working on.

I have very mild scoliosis, and a physical therapist told me years ago not to do high planks or side planks due to issues with my wrists and shoulders. Could that be causing this? Is it just that I’m doing it wrong? Was I not built for this? 😂


r/flexibility 1d ago

Seeking Advice can someone help me with my hip flexibility?

7 Upvotes

There’s something wrong with my hip flexor. I have hypermobility in my entire upper body, but my hip is so tight it’s literally insane. I do the elephant walk and other nerve flossing. I try to strength train (sitting like the position in the bottom right and lifting my legs), but I can’t even stay sitting like that without completely rounding my back.

I am not in any pain or discomfort, but I am a dancer and this limits my progress a lot rip


r/flexibility 1d ago

Trying to do leg lifts but getting quad cramps

9 Upvotes

I've been trying to strengthen my hip flexors, with the goal of increasing my forward fold depth, and eventually my pancake.

I've heard sitting in a seated pike position, and just raising your ankle a few inches off the ground is good for that. But I immediately cramp up in my upper quad after just one or two. The thing is, I'm pretty strong otherwise. I'm a guy and regularly do weighted squats, leg presses, and other quad-heavy exercises. And even for exercises where I am weak, it manifests as not being able to do something. But this manifests as actual crampy-pain that is really hard to do more than 2 or 3, even though I feel strong enough to do more. Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any advice?


r/flexibility 1d ago

Morning Stretching — Why Am I So Stiff After Waking Up?

2 Upvotes

I’ve been on this stretching journey for the past few weeks, and honestly thanks to this group and all the members who keep motivating us on this journey of opening up our bodies.

My body has been really stiff for the past few years. I’ve had massages and PT sessions, and they always recommended that I should stretch regularly, but I never really took it seriously until I came across this group.

I wanted to ask something though. This morning I tried stretching just after waking up and my body was extremely stiff. I could barely stretch properly, even though when I’m at the gym I can stretch quite easily and have much better flexibility.

Is this normal in the morning? Does anyone else experience the same thing?


r/flexibility 2d ago

Form Check What about my form, good?

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37 Upvotes

r/flexibility 2d ago

Seeking Advice Normal to be sore after stretching?

6 Upvotes

I been weight lifting for about half a year and i just been so stiff with constant muscle aches.

I decided to do stretches and yesterday was my first time doing a full body stretch after YEARS following a YouTube video.

Im so sore today it feels like my first day at the gym.

Is this normal? Should i be doing it everyday?

My goal is mainly to get rid of the tightness feeling in my muscles and to lower the aches.


r/flexibility 2d ago

Question Stretching with sliders

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21 Upvotes

Interested to know who uses sliders in their stretching program? Why did you start using them? Do you find they help? What programing do you run with them and how do you integrate them into your stretching program?


r/flexibility 3d ago

Question What is this pose called?

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201 Upvotes

I often sit like this (though usually with a smaller angle) ever since childhood, so I got curious whether there's a name for it. The internet tells me it's the "W pose," but it seems to me that it looks more like the letter T.
My feet are fully flat on the floor, my knees are together, and my legs form a 90° angle.


r/flexibility 2d ago

Seeking Advice Looking for app/program that will help me achieve flexibility in long term

1 Upvotes

Hi im looking for app or flexibility program that i can buy to follow along. Im beginner in flexibility subject and dont have a clue what to do so I prefer to spend money on program rather than creating my own even tho its plenty free stuff online, any suggestions?


r/flexibility 2d ago

Jefferson Curls

3 Upvotes

I have always had tight hip flexors and hamstrings. I can Jefferson Curl with considerable weight but 3-4 inches past my knee I turn the move into a RDL/Jefferson hybrid. I need more flexibility to do this the right way. What is the process i should do to improve this?


r/flexibility 3d ago

Sharing flexibility YouTubers!

30 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I thought I’d share some of favourite YouTube channels I practice along to: feel free to add your own below or ignore:)

- @MovementbyDavid

- @HannahMartinRG

- @BodyweightWarrior (Tom Merrick)

- @SophieCrane

- @CirqueduSoleil - they have 2 full body workouts, Flexibility sculpt and Flexibility & Strength

- @KerriKresinski

- @JourneytoMobility

- @AnnaMcNultyStretches and some on her main channel

- @GenevieveMason

- @Fitbymik

- @ZoharYogaFlex


r/flexibility 2d ago

Question Why do my inner thighs ache when I hold a reclined butterfly position at my maximum range?

0 Upvotes

When I’m lying flat on my back, I sometimes let my legs fall outward basically as far as they’ll comfortably go, similar to a reclined butterfly/lotus position.
If I stay there for a while, my inner thighs/groin start aching and I eventually have to bring my legs back together.
Is that simply what happens when the hip adductors are held near the end of their range for too long? And is being able to comfortably maintain this position mostly something that improves with hip/adductor flexibility?


r/flexibility 2d ago

Seeking Advice Getting My Flexibility Back As A Former Dancer. How Long Will It Take?

1 Upvotes

I'm (26F) a former dancer and took my first dance class in 10 years. I was a dancer for 9 years and stopped dancing seriously at 17. I was very quickly humbled during stretching. I already have a stiff back and it was already hard for me to reach down to my toes. But wow...today, stretching was *rough.* I can't even do regular leg extensions anymore, let alone the splits. My right splits aren't terrible after not doing it for a long time, but the military ruined my flexibility. Will I be able to get it back? How long will it take if I stretch every day?


r/flexibility 3d ago

Trying to find an old dynamic stretching program

4 Upvotes

I'm looking to retrieve a flexibility program I purchased. Don't remember much about it, but hoping it will ring a bell to someone here.

- This was years and years go. Don't know if even still active now.

- Female trainer with a Russian-sounding name.

- Dynamic stretching

- One-time purchase. Advertising heavy on "worth $$$$$, now on sale for $$."

- She sent videolinks via some third party platform, not very well known (aka NOT ladder or youtube)

- Offered a training split per focus (ie back/hips) and number of days

Nothing spectacular about it. Just found her easy to follow along with and I *did* pay for it (lol) so hoping to find the site again.

Thanks!


r/flexibility 3d ago

Question Is this normal with siblings?

2 Upvotes

I tried a flexibility test today with my sister, she can do the Vulcan sign and she can let the middle finger stay upright while i cant do both . Then i tried putting my legs behind my head, and managed to do that easily, but my sister cant put even one leg behind her head


r/flexibility 3d ago

Seeking Advice Pressure/pain in shoulder during back bend

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41 Upvotes

Hi all, 3 years ago I used to be able to push into my back bend until my arms were perpendicular to the floor. Now I feel pressure/pain on my right shoulder when I am about 70% until its parallel. What am I doing wrong??