As you get older, you may notice that your body is stiffer and less flexible than it was when you were younger. Old injuries and the natural loss of fluid in your joints can cause your body to be less flexible. However, you can regain some flexibility by doing the right exercises.
It’s More than Stretching
Although stretching is a good start, maintaining your flexibility requires more than routine stretches. Doing more focused flexibility training will have better benefits for your body. Seek out personal training in order to learn a better flexibility routine to help keep your body limber.
What is Your Routine?
If you are a weekend warrior when it comes to sports and spend your weekdays at a desk at work, your flexibility training can be customized for your activity level. Your personal trainer can teach you “functional flexibility” to help provide more stability and mobility geared toward your environment. A stretching routine can be individualized for your needs.
Tend to Tight Areas
Stress, your history of injuries or imbalances in your body may mean that some muscle groups are tighter than others. Many people tend to have tight shoulder and neck muscles when they are stressed out and tight calves or leg muscles are common for others. It is important that your flexibility routine speaks to your strengths and weaknesses to work out under trained areas of your body.
Try Other Things
Doing the same routine over and over gets old pretty fast. Vary your flexibility training to keep it interesting by using resistance balls, rollers and try new exercises like taking a yoga class. Breaking up the routine will keep it interesting and help keep your motivated.
Be Smart and Pay Attention
Your body will let you know when you’ve stretched it too much. To avoid an injury while stretching, don’t bounce to help your muscles stretch further, it can result in an injury. Start your stretch nice and slow, then take it as far as you can comfortably. Hold the stretch for about 10 to 30 seconds before stopping.
Be Consistent
Don’t just stretch a few times and then forego it, you could easily injure cold muscles that way. Instead make it a normal part of your workout regimen.
Stretching with your personal trainer is a good way to work the kinks out of your body after getting up in the morning or after a hard day at work. It can also help relax your mind after a tough day.
