Okay, guys, let's take a second here and have a little chat, right?
What comes to mind when I say flexibility? I bet the first thing you think about is as strong as f ** k, right? Not. That's because when people think of flexibility, they think of little gymnasts who are folded in two and just hanging around, or of dancers who are split forever.
Now you're not wrong. The practice of holding a stretch and being pulled in by gravity is a kind of stretch called passive flexibility. Depending on the context, the context is ultimately the right choice because it is king.
But I'll be honest. I am not a fan of passive stretching because I am not a fan of all these additional movement options If you do not make the joints stable or do not develop the strength to support them. Because creating a new area is just part of the puzzle.
The place of greatness
You cannot forget the square of grandeur. (A shitty name I know). The four elements or corners are:
If you only train one of these four elements, the place will go to hell and I'm afraid that's where the injury is, my friend. Each of these elements is crucial for creating a strong, flexible and, above all, versatile body that can adapt to the unexpected.
So how do we build strength, length or flexibility at the same time as stability?
Stretch with weights
Waiting; What? That's right, you heard me. This magical thing I'm talking about is called active flexibility.
Active flexibility stretches on purpose. They use a full combination of things to build this area and above all the strength and stability in that area.
1. Muscles
You use your muscles when you exercise active flexibility correctly, from the procedure and extension to the antagonist's muscles, and you stretch.
If you do it right, you should all be a quiver and then have a pump.
2. Tasks
You are of course flexible. Just look at passed out drunks. Your brain inhibits this natural flexibility.
Your brain won't let you do anything that it doesn't think is safe and that you have a chance to improve. So if you are not strong enough to free yourself from a position, don't get involved.
One way to get around this is to give your brain a job. The brain loves tasks.
When your brain has a job, you can move to deeper areas to accomplish that job.
Every time you enter these areas, cement these nerve tracts and tell your brain that you are not an idiot, that you will not be hurt, and that you are safe in this area.
3. Weights
We can use weights to penetrate deeper areas and build muscle and stability in those areas. This in turn will strengthen neuronal trust. After all, you will always regret not having trained the position in which you were injured.
You need to develop the body-brain connection that says you have the strength to move through these positions.
Front split
I will cover one exercise for front divisions, one for medium divisions and one for a straddle fold. Let's start with the front divisions. We apply the task principle here:
- What we're going to do is take a half-kneeling position with a little ball in front of the lead foot.
- Extend your front leg and push the ball out as far as possible while pushing the ball in front of you.
Here is the task part:
- When you reach the limit of your split, you need to hook your foot and push your straight front leg into the ground.
- Bring the ball with you when you return to the starting position.
Watch the video to see how to do it.
Straddle split
The next step is to use the straddle fold and the principle of the working muscles:
- We're going to start pretty high, so it's perfect to sit on the couch.
- Mix your butt to the edge of the couch.
- Spread your legs as wide as possible. This is your starting position.
- Lean forward and try to bring your torso as close to the floor as possible.
- From there you will use these glutes and adductors to help yourself get up without swing.
- Then you will fall back on the couch under control.
Here is the video to get you started:
Middle split
Finally we will blow out the weights for the middle divisions. I am We all know the attitude of the horse as a conditioning tool. but if not, I'll describe it in the video below.
We get into a nice broad horse position while holding a weight in each hand.
- We need to make sure that we can still get deep enough that our knees are bent 90 degrees.
- We will then alternatively push the weights onto our shoulders and each time we push up we will stretch our legs to get up.
- When the weight falls back on the shoulders, we allow ourselves to be immersed in the horse's posture each time thanks to this additional weight.
- Finally, we continue to expand the horse's posture until it resembles the middle gap.
Here is the full video:
Right for all training
All of these different aspects of active flexibility result in one thing that applies to every training session. Flexibility, movement and muscle activation live in the brain.
When you exercise in the gym, you are not exercising your body. You train your mind. You give your brain a job, and as it does this job, it builds up neural cards and increases the required muscle activation as it sees that this job needs to be done on a regular basis.
To achieve a training goal, you need to convince the brain that the goal is safe and important enough to focus on because after all, your brain's priorities are not necessarily your priorities. Your brain doesn't matter if you want a six pack. You shouldn't fall off this balcony and try to impress Brenda.
Get some flexibility gains and some brain gains by making your workout more neurobiomechanical. Think of the square of grandeur. You will be in less hurry and never look back.