Flexibility Training Benefits

This type of machine helps to improve flexibility by enabling the muscles to stretch and flex quickly and efficiently than they would without the machines, ideally people who lift weights, dance, martial

“Refiguring Aztlan” means that there is more meaning to Aztlan than just a homeland. It was used as a concept to improve cultural and social issues. It was also used to recover land. It also meant that there were no borders. Aztlan was used to unite the community, but it was also used to separate. It was a concept used as an identity. Some of the issues I read on Chapter 10 on Vigil were that U.S. citizens whine about Mexicans taking away their jobs, but Americans don’t even have jobs similar to what Mexicans have to do for a living. Mexicans are paid very low wages, and have jobs as gardeners, janitors, senior- care workers, day laborers, etc. Americans don’t have those types of jobs, so I don’t see how Mexicans are taking away their jobs.

The first new goal that I would like to set is to further improve my flexibility. In high school, I was able to do splits and other feats of flexibility, but, as time has moved on, I’ve lost this ability through lack of practice. In light of this realization, I like to continue to push myself, within reasonable means, of course, to increase

INCREASES FLEXIBILITY AND CIRCULATION: Providing a gentle stretch to the tendons and ligaments in the

Flexibility is especially important to help with jumps and stunting. Flyers , the people on top of the stunt, should perform different body positions in the air. Some body positions include: heel stretches, arabesques, scales, and scorpions. For jumps, flexibility is required to be able to thrust your legs into the air, pointed and straight. The types of jumps include: toe-touch, hurdler, and pike.

Flexibility can be defined as the capability of something to bend easily without breaking. The flexibility of a person is commonly measured during fitness tests, and the most frequently used test of a person’s flexibility is the sit-and-reach (Jackson and Baker, 1986). Though it is commonly accepted that the sit-and-reach produces an accurate and relative measure of a person’s flexibility, the validity of the test has been examined a number of times (Jackson and

“Being flexible also helps reduce the chance of muscle injury. Ideally, stretching should be done before and after other types of exercise” (http://www.pamf.org). As other activities “if you do it incorrectly you can hurt yourself” (http://www.pamf.org). Exercises that help flexibility are yoga and tai chi. The benefits of yoga are muscle strength and tone, improved respiration and energy, weight reduction, and improved athletic performance.

As a trainer, I have found that clients seeking to improve their flexibility complain about tight hamstrings more than any other muscle group. Time and time again, clients are consistently surprised to find that hamstring flexibility can be improved without stretching at all.

MindBodyGreen.com., 2013. MindBodyGreen. [online] Why Flexibility Is Important To Your Health. Available at: < http://www.mindbodygreen.com

Stretching is not warming up! It is, however, a very nessecary part of warming up. Warming up is the process of "warming up" (i.e.,building your core body temperature). A proper warm-up should build your body temperature by one or two degrees Celsius (1.4 to 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and is divided into three phases:

Stretching allows you to increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion. When your muscles are loosened and relaxed, your body can engage in movement easily without resistance and pain.

Different bodies have different degrees of flexibility and in this case one size does not fit all. For most of the complex yoga posture which require great flexibility to do, there are plenty of modifications which allow you to get the same benefits for those who are less flexible. In fact one of the original reasons I took up yoga because I was not flexible and wanted to improve this aspect of my physical dimension.

Between the 1500s and 1700s in Europe, the use of exercise to treat muscle and bone disorders continued to progress (“History of Physical”). In the 1800s, exercise and muscle re-education were used for a variety of orthopedic diseases and injuries (“History of Physical”). Stretching had become a large part of medical treatments such as: osteopathy, chiropractic therapy and physiotherapy (“History and Benefits”). The polio epidemic boomed during the 1910’s and doctors realized that strengthening and stretching the muscles helped these people to feel more comfortable (“History of Physical”). The new P.T. or Physical Therapy has come along, exercises and stretching have become the fad of helping with orthopedic diseases and injuries, just as it did before. Some exercises now prevent one from having surgery. Stretching and/or warming-up prepare muscles and joints for high levels of stress. It literally warms up the temperature of muscles and joints to make them more flexible. It is very easy to properly stretch. Study almost any cat to learn the fine art of stretching. Their back arches first in one direction and then in other, their foot pads flare and widen and then their eyes squeeze tight (Zumerchick, 276). If one strengthens muscles around specific ligaments, joints and bones it protects the ligaments, joints and bones from tearing, straining or breaking. It is key to remember

It strains and pulls on muscles and joints thus causing tightness or soreness. When stretching one is able to work out all the kinks and get the body ready for movement or cool the body down after a lot of movement. Golde (2015) states stretching before a workout is crucial for preventing injury as well as improving performance. So just think if you are someone that works out in the morning, would you just wake up and immediately go running. No, you would do the necessary stretches to warm your body up so you won’t injure yourself. Not only does stretching allow you to warm up your body, but increase flexibility and agility. The best stretches for promoting flexibility would be static stretches. What is static stretching?  “Static stretching is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest. It is composed of various techniques that gradually lengthen a muscle to an elongated position (to the

And, fellas, do not think that you are excluded from this discussion. Stretching is not just for ballerinas. Many people accept injuries as a normal side effect of playing sports and being very active, but a lot of injuries can be dodged through regular stretching that increases the mobility of your body. Before a workout, warming up your body for 5-10 minutes with some light cardio like jumping jacks or a brisk jog followed by some dynamic stretching helps your joints move through their full range of motion which improves athletic performance and decreases the risk of activity-based injuries. Stretching makes you stronger and improves your endurance.