| Flexibility
Do not overlook the importance of having an optimal level of flexibility. If you desire to have optimal fitness, you can not do it without addressing your flexibility. Flexibility is defined as the normal extensibility of all soft tissues that allow the full range of motion of a joint. All workouts should include a complete and general flexibility program, but we all know that we spend very little time stretching. If your muscles are shortened from lack of flexibility you will have an immediate reduction in your mobility in your upper and lower body. You will notice stiffness in the joints, limited range of motion in your movements, and on some even pain. Once you have a flexibility restriction in your body it is going to create a compensation in another areas such as your low back, upper back, knees, feet, shoulders, upper back, and neck. These will start to show up as distortions in your posture, rounded shoulders, excessive low back arch, protruding neck, pronated feet, and a round thoracic back. If there is an imbalance between the right and left side, you might start to have pain that is directly related to these specific imbalances. This can start out as acute pain that comes and goes, but if it is unresolved, it will become a chronic pain that stays with you for a very long time. This can become a sciatic problem, slipped disc, rotator muscle tear, knee pain, and back spasms. Once it has reached chronic pain, you are forced to stop working out and to rethink what is going on with your body. This is a general explanation of how lack of flexibility can affect how you feel and move.
There are a number of methods utilized to improve flexibility. The most common is static stretching where you hold a stretch for a specific time and release it. It is mainly done after a workout when you are warmed-up. This is the least effective stretching principle but when combined with other flexibility modalities and it is maintained consistently it becomes very effective. We have incorporated four different flexibility formats to help our clients reach an optimal level of flexibility. They are static, myofascial, active and functional flexibility. Each one offers a unique advantage that improves flexibility. The myofascial is the base of our flexibility program. The loss of flexibility in any muscle or joint will effect your posture, mobility, reduce maximum muscle contraction, reduce muscle development, increase joint stiffness, increase risk of injury, and chronic pain. All of this can be fixed with a sound flexibility program. We can drastically enhance your workout results by incorporating AFC flex 4 program. Contact us for more details.
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