Unlike other physical abilities such as stamina or strength, flexibility begins to decrease in the early stages of life. This, of course, has consequences for your muscles and joints. But don’t worry, here we will share with you some simple exercises that will allow you to increase the flexibility of your legs.
Remember that physical training is not only good for looking good, but also for maintaining good health. Getting the body moving offers many benefits and, over time, it allows for better ageing.
What is flexibility and what advantages does it offer?
Flexibility is the ability with which the muscles of the body stretch and adapt to different degrees of joint movementas broad as possible. However, each body has its particular limitations and competencies.
Obviously, flexibility is a quality that develops, not a gift you get while watching TV series. Nor is it a skill that improves with time spent complaining of stiff joints and muscles. It is achieved by acting!
The importance of this ability lies in the fact that it allows the person to move in a functional way and therefore to be able to carry out the tasks he wants or needs. The problem is that, as explained by a study published by National Association for Strength and Conditioning, a person loses between 20% and 30% of their flexibility after age 30.
For the sports population, flexibility is also crucial. according to study published by bmjperform stretching exercises before and after training Helps reduce the risk of certain injuries and prevents post-exercise muscle soreness.
However, in some research Keep in mind that the idea of flexibility training is not to become a contortionist. What is important is that the mobility of a joint is achieved within an optimal range.to avoid injury and to perform actions efficiently.
warm up before starting
As indicated by A Mayo Clinic publication, stretching shouldn’t be thought of as a warm-up in itself, as you could be injured if you stretch a cold muscle. That article recommends following these guidelines:
- Go for a 5-10 minute walk, jog or bike ride before stretching as part of a pre-workout or race warm-up.
- Focus on the major muscle groups and in those you will ask for more.
- Make smooth movements without bouncing.
- don’t stress too much muscle; stretching shouldn’t hurt.
- Finally, keep one controlled breathing it is soft.
Stretching exercises to improve leg flexibility
Next, we offer you a few suggestions to improve leg flexibility through seven easy-to-perform and effective stretching exercises.
1. Touch your feet without bending your knees
- Take a deep breath, stand up and bring your heels together. You can have them slightly separated if you prefer. Do it in the way that feels most comfortable to you.
- Contract your abdomen. Inhale through your nose and stretch your arms vertically towards the sky. Then, gently arch your back, always taking care of your posture.
- Straighten your back again and exhale through your nose as you lower forward.. He tries to bring his hands to his feet while keeping his knees straight. If you don’t understand it, don’t worry, over time you will gain elasticity.
- Hold the position for at least 30 seconds, while working on the breath. Inhale again and return to the starting position.
This exercise, while strengthening the hamstrings in the back of the thigh, can also help heal chronic low back pain.
2. Butterfly exercise
- Sit on the floor, preferably on a yoga mat or towel.
- Bring the soles of your feet together in front of you and use both hands to hold them together, as shown on the cover.
- Gently raise and lower your knees, like the flutter of a butterfly.
- Keep your torso straight and let your hands continue to surround your feet to keep them together.
- For five seconds, lower and raise your knees as you breathe.
If you feel more comfortable, you can tilt your head down as your knees drop. Try to get your forehead as close to your feet as possible.
3. Stretching the quadriceps and hamstrings
The quadriceps is a muscle found in the front of the thigh; consists of four segments. And the hamstrings are in the back; They are the ones that allow us to bend the knee.
Is noteworthy the latter are widely used in sport, especially during running; so it’s not surprising that they occur hamstring injuries Often.
We can get flexibility in these muscles by doing some exercises:
- Lean back in a chair or against the wall;
- Bend your right leg back and grab the heel with your right hand;
- Helps keep the heel glued to the corresponding buttock;
- Hold the position for ten seconds and switch feet;
- Repeat four times for each side.
This stretch not only helps with leg flexibility, but also it also improves the mobility of the joint from the knees.
4. Stretch your legs sitting on the floor
- The first thing you should do is spread your legs to the sides, as far as possible, and leave them alone.
- Inhale with your right torso and stretch your arms towards the sky.
- Then exhale as you bring your torso towards one of your legs; reach as if you are trying to touch the foot.
- The main thing is not to bend your knee or bend your head sharply.
- Take a deep breath and gently come back to center..
- Now repeat the whole process with the other leg or with the other side of the body.
5. Scissors stretch
- It is done lying face up on a mat.
- Raise your right leg, without bending the knee.
- Place your hands behind your calf (or thigh, if that’s what you can reach).
- Bring the leg as close to the chest as possiblewithout removing the back of the carpet.
- The other leg should also remain on the floor.
- Breathe and count to three
- Switch legs and repeat five to ten times for each.
- The idea is to stretch until you can open it all the way, like a pair of scissors..
6. Elongation of the obstacle
This exercise It is similar to the previous one, with the difference that it is performed standing upleaning against a fence or low wall (about 1.20 meters).
- One leg remains on the ground while the other is raised.
- The foot, more precisely the heel, rests on the fence.
- Neither knee should be bentneither the one with the leg up nor the one who is on the ground.
- Lean your body forward slightly, bringing your face closer to your raised knee.
- Your hands should reach your feet or heels.
- Count to five and switch legs.
- It costs a bit at first; if you find it difficult, use an inferior mount (80cm), but do not bend the knee. Surely, to the extent that you repeat it, you will be able to improve.
7. Leg opening with support
This is a group of exercises that it can be done to gain flexibility in the legs and also to help improve circulation. We see:
- Lay the exercise mat down, so you can do it raise your legs, lean against the wallwith your body forming a 90° angle.
- Now bend your leg and rest your left heel on your right knee, as if you were sitting cross-legged; and he tries to push the flexed knee a little bit, to open the hip.
- Switch legs and repeat this three times. With each rep, stay in the position for five seconds.
- Next, bring your heels together and open your knees, so your legs form a diamond shape. Hold for ten seconds.
- Finally, place your heels against the wall and bend your knees a little, opening your hips; hold the position for ten seconds.
Be consistent to get flexibility in your legs
The body adapts to the stimuli we present little by little. Therefore, we shouldn’t expect flexibility to improve overnight. Although this is also not important; Rather The idea is to keep it to maintain functionality and mobility over time.
As you can see, the proposed exercises are very simple and are inspired by several yoga positions. This, in addition to increasing the flexibility of the legs, it will make you feel more relaxed and with greater vitality. It’s a good opportunity to meditate a bit and get out of stress and routine!
The post 7 Exercises To Get More Flexibility In Your Legs first appeared in research-school.