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Aerobic Fitness -- Felxibility

Flexibility and Stretching

Learn why flexibility complements your fitness routine.
Aerobic Fitness Learn why aerobic fitness is important to your health.
Muscular Fitness Learn why muscular strength and endurance are keys to being healthy.
Flexibility Learn why flexibility complements your fitness routine.
Body Composition Learn why measuring your body composition is important for your health.

More in the Library!

 

Flexibility is basically the ability to move your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. It’s really a measure of how efficiently you move your body, and the more flexible you are, the less likely you are to encounter injuries during your daily activities. Several factors affect your range of motion, including joint structure, age, sex, and activity level.

How to increase flexibility?

You probably remember the sit-and-reach test from your school days, which measured the flexibility of your low back and legs. Nowadays—in order to increase and maintain flexibility—you should stretch all the major muscle groups during each and every workout. This means focusing on all of the following areas:

Upper Body Lower Body
Arms (biceps & triceps) Thighs
Shoulders Hips
Upper and lower back Groin
Chest Calves
Torso

How to stretch?

Two general types of stretching include dynamic stretching, where the joint is moved through its full range of motion, and static stretching, where the joint is held at a specific point within that range. To stretch your muscles, you can either do individual stretching exercises for each muscle group or you can do total body stretching routines.