Benefits of Flexibility Training

Importance of Flexibility Training

• Regular flexibility training is essential for overall health and fitness, yet often overlooked.

Benefits of Stretching

• Reduces stress and anxiety by decreasing mental tension, and can help with depression when combined with mindful breathing techniques.
• Decreases pain and stiffness, especially in individuals with chronic neck or low-back pain, and reduces the frequency and severity of muscle cramps.

Improved Health

• Helps to reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate, counteracting the body’s physiological responses to stress and muscular tension.
• Can improve overall health through various types of stretching, such as PNF stretching, static stretching, and stretches from mind-body disciplines like yoga.

Enhanced Range of Motion

• Helps to enhance unrestricted movement of major joints, including the hips and shoulders, through various types of stretching and self-care strategies like self-myofascial releasing using a foam roller.

Improved Function

• Helps to improve overall function by ensuring the body can effectively respond to various types of movement and activity, especially in individuals with poor posture, repetitive movement patterns, improper body mechanics, and those who spend long periods of time seated.

Injury Prevention

• May help reduce the risk of injury, especially when dynamic stretches are used as part of a warm-up to increase core body temperature and functionally prepare the body for movement.

Enhanced Performance

• Can enhance agility, power, speed, and muscular strength when included as part of a well-rounded fitness routine, thanks to regular flexibility training that includes dynamic stretching.

Improved Blood Flow and Circulation

• Helps to improve blood flow and circulation, enhancing the transportation of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout the body.

Minimized Wear and Tear on Joints

• Ensures muscles on each side of a joint maintain an equal degree of pull, allowing for optimal movement and minimizing wear and tear on joints and structures within the body.

Improved Quality of Life

• Can improve flexibility at any age, helping to increase longevity and enhance overall quality of life, despite physiological changes that occur with aging.