How to Increase your Flexibility

Your flexibility comes into use every day of your life, from picking up the paper in the morning to tossing a baseball with friends. The benefits of having good flexibility are numerous: greater freedom of movement, increased physical performance, decreased risk of injury, and decreased recovery time. Use the following tips to increase your flexibility!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Work-out clothing
• Wrist watch

1. Make sure your muscles are warm before stretching. A great time to stretch is between warm-up and workout, and right after your main workout.
2. Stretch until you feel a slight discomfort, then hold it for 30-60 seconds.
3. Stretch all parts of your body for maximum gain.
4. Give your muscles a day or two to recover before doing an intense stretch again.
5. Drink plenty of water to keep your muscles hydrated, as muscles are consisted mostly of water.
6. Eating a good diet is important to give your muscles good fuel for recovery. It is easier to gain flexibility when
7. Repeat the above steps often. Be patient, it takes time for your muscles to adapt and increase your flexibility.

Tips & Warnings

• It is better to hold a light stretch for longer than a hard stretch for a short period of time.
• Consider engaging routinely in an activity which requires your stretch a certain part of your body, so that you do it without extra effort.
• Do not "bounce", only stretch to where you feel a light discomfort.