So what is the deal with flexibility?  Why is flexibility important?  Before we get into why flexibility is important, lets take a look into the factors that makes one flexible.

Have you ever heard of the term “range of motion about a joint?”  Well this is a common term used to define the amount of movement that can be completed at a joint, a joint being a knee or a shoulder.  However far your movement is in these joint areas determines your flexibility.  There are many factors that determines a persons flexibility, including the structure of the joint, muscle tendon attachments, body temperature, pregnancy, and gender.  Your age can be a definite factor in your flexibility too.

Obviously, child years and adolescent years will see the most increase in flexibility and is the best time to develop a habit of stretching in a persons life.  As you reach your mid 20′s and the aging process starts to speed up, you will notice a decrease in flexibility.  The reason this happens is because your body’s connective tissue and extensibility goes through some major changes.  As we get older, we  tend to lean more to the inactive side of life.  Sure we might exercise and lift weights, but our flexibility gets thrown to the side, and as we develop more muscle our flexibility can also decrease.  It is important to perform full motion exercises so that our connective tissue can be protected from becoming less resilient and shorter. We need to make sure that we stretch our major muscles groups’ everyday, especially when we start to age.

Some of the areas to stretch are listed below and can assist in keeping the body flexible throughout your lifetime:

Arm Stretches

Upper Trapezius

Anterior Shoulder

Posterior Shoulder

Tricep

Hip/Lower Body Stretches

Abductor

Hip Flexor

Quadriceps

Hamstring

Calf

Soleus

Torso

Low Back

Outer Hip Rotator

Thoracic and Lumber

Torso