Flexibility Training

We often find ourselves putting more effort towards our cardiovascular fitness and strength training, overlooking our flexibility training. Yes, being physically fit and strong is important…..but then again, as any personal trainer or Pilates instructor will tell you, so is staying limber.

Let’s face it. We are aging. Flexibility training helps maintain a good range of motion in the joints, thus preventing serious injuries.

Pilates and yoga based exercises are great examples of flexibility training. Both disciplines offer dynamic and static stretches.

Dynamic stretches include movements through a range of motion without stopping to hold any single position, whilst to statically stretch you would have to hold the stretched muscle as far as you can whilst still keeping the joints safe and being in a relatively pain free state.

With dynamic stretches the motion should be slow and controlled. When doing a static stretch, you should attempt to hold it for at least 30 to 60 seconds.