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
So you have probably seen the infomercials of the Slendertone Ab Belt and it probably looks to good to be true. Well…it is! The Slendertone Ab Belt is a complete scam, and any other ab belts that promise you six pack abs are also scams. It would be nice to live in a world that we can sit around on our butts, watch TV and lose fat by putting on the Slendertone Ab Belt, but unfortunately we do not live in such a world. Instead we live in a world where people get taken advantage of in there desperate state to lose weight.
The two biggest bones are connected at the knee, the femur (thigh) and the tibia (shin). These bones meet up a hinge, and that hinge is made up of Ligaments, Cartilage, fluid, and bone. All of this makes of your knee joint. Let’s break these parts down one by one.
