Chapter 4: Flexibility Training Exercise

Flexibility Training Exercise

Flexibility training is stretching—lengthening and loosening muscles and connective tissues to
improve flexibility. You probably know what it means when someone says they are flexible. It
usually means that they can reach down and touch their toes or bend deeply into a squat. But the
definition of flexibility is more complicated than simply being able to do a single stretch. True
flexibility is the ability to move through a range of motion without pain. That means that each
joint and each group of muscles in your body might have a different range of motion (ROM) or a
different level of flexibility. Range of motion is a measurement of how much a joint can move,
both in terms of distance and direction. Along with other factors, your muscles' ability to relax or
contract affects your range of motion. If your muscles are inflexible, then your range of motion
could be less than it should be.

Flexibility training helps improve the range of motion of your joints and muscles. Next, it
decreases your risk of injury. When your muscles are flexible, you are less likely to become
injured during physical activity. It also reduces muscle soreness. Flexibility training can help
reduce muscle soreness post-workout. Stretching after you exercise keeps your muscles loose
and relaxed. Lastly, it improves athletic performance. When your joints and muscles are flexible,
you use less energy while in motion, which improves your overall performance.

Interest in flexibility training has its roots in the early 1900's due to increased orthopedic cases
resulting from World War I. Public attention was heightened with the 1950's publication by
Kraus and colleagues that American children were unable to successfully execute some
flexibility and muscular strength tasks (Kraus & Hirschland, 1954). Those who now proclaim the
worth of proper flexibility training include coaches, personal trainers, fitness instructors, medical
doctors, physical therapists, and health promotion specialists. The following review is designed
to synthesize information, based on past and current flexibility research, for practitioners.

Exercise and Physical Activity guidelines

Physical activity is key to improving the health of the Nation. Based on the latest science, the
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans is an essential resource for health professionals and
policy makers that provides recommendations on how everyone can improve their health through
regular physical activity. Learn ways to help people understand the benefits of physical activity
and how to make it a part of their regular routine.

The Physical Activity Guidelines is an essential resource for health professionals and policy
makers. It includes recommendations for Americans ages 3 years and over — including people at
increased risk of chronic disease — and provides evidence-based advice on how physical activity
can help promote health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The Guidelines serves as the
primary, authoritative voice of the federal government for evidence-based guidance on physical
activity, fitness, and health for Americans.

Evolution and Process

Since 2008, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans has been a go-to resource for policy
makers and health professionals — and served as a foundation for federal physical activity and
education programs.

ODPHP released the first edition of the Guidelines in 2008, followed in 2013 by the Physical
Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity
Among Youth. We released the current version — the second edition of the Physical Activity
Guidelines for Americans — in 2018. ODPHP led the development of the second edition in
collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of
Health, and the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. The second edition builds on
the previous Guidelines, while incorporating the vast amount of knowledge we’ve gained about
physical activity and health since the original’s publication.

Flexibility exercise is one of the four types of exercise along with strength, balance and
endurance. Ideally, all four types of exercise would be included in a healthy workout routine and
AHA provides easy-to-follow guidelines for endurance and strength-training in its
Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults. They don’t all need to be done every day, but
variety helps keep the body fit and healthy, and makes exercise interesting. You can do a variety
of exercises to keep your physical activity routine exciting. Many different types of exercises can
improve strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. For example, practicing yoga can improve
your balance, strength, and flexibility. A lot of lower-body strength-training exercises also will
improve your balance.

Flexibility exercises stretch your muscles and can help your body stay flexible. These exercises
may not improve your endurance or strength, but being flexible gives you more freedom of
movement for other exercise as well as for your everyday activities. It may also help you avoid
discomfort when confined in a space for a long period of time (like a long meeting or a plane
flight).

It's a good idea to do muscle-strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs,
hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on 2 or more days a week. No specific amount
of time is recommended, but a typical training session could take less than 20 minutes. Exercises
should be performed to the point at which it would be difficult to do another repetition without
help.

A repetition is 1 complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing 1 push-up or 1

sit-up. Try to do 8 to 12 repetitions for each activity, which counts as 1 set. Try to do at least 2
sets of muscle-strengthening activities, but to gain even more benefits, do 3 sets. Remember to
start gradually and build up over a period of weeks. There are no specific recommendations for
how much time you should spend on flexibility exercises.

Yoga
Essentially in the tradition, once we attach the word “Yoga” to anything, it indicates that it is a
complete path by itself. We say hatha Yoga, but we will not say asana Yoga. Of course, if you
come from the United States, they say anything! The moment you attach the word “Yoga,” it
indicates it is a complete path by itself. If it is a complete path by itself, how should it be
approached? If it was just a simple practice or an exercise, you could approach it one way. If it
was an art form or just entertainment, it could be approached another way. I am using all these
words because they are in usage in today’s world. People say “recreational Yoga,” “health
Yoga,” people refer to it as an art form – they think they are doing a service to Yoga by saying it
is an art form. No. The moment you attach the word “Yoga,” it indicates it is a complete path by
itself. The word “Yoga” essentially means, “that which brings you to reality”. Literally, it means
“union.” Union means it brings you to the ultimate reality, where individual manifestations of
life are surface bubbles in the process of creation. Right now, a coconut tree and a mango tree
have popped up from the same earth. From the same earth, the human body and so many
creatures have popped up. It is all the same earth. Yoga means to move towards an experiential
reality where one knows the ultimate nature of the existence, the way it is made.

Yoga refers to union not as an idea, a philosophy or as a concept that you imbibe. As an
intellectual idea, if you vouch by the commonness of the universe, it may make you popular in a
tea party, it may give you a certain social status, but it does not serve any other purpose. You will
see, when things come down to even money – it does not even have to boil down to life and
death – even for money, “This is me, that is you.” The boundary is clear; there is no question of
you and me being one. It actually causes damage to the individual if you intellectually see
everything is one. People do all kinds of silly things because they got this idea that everybody is
one, before somebody teaches them a good lesson and then they see, “This is me, that is you. No
way to be one.” If it becomes an experiential reality, it will not bring forth any immature action.
It will bring forth a tremendous experience of life. Individuality is an idea. Universality is not an
idea, it is a reality. In other words, Yoga means you bury all your idea

YOGA AS EXERCISE
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing
sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with
relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has become familiar across the world,
especially in America and Europe. It is derived from the postures used in the medieval spiritual
discipline of Haṭha yoga, but it is generally simply called "yoga". Academics have given yoga as
exercise a variety of names, including modern postural yoga[1][a] and transnational anglophone
yoga.
Benefits of Yoga
1. Yoga improves strength, balance and flexibility.

-Slow movements and deep breathing increase blood flow and warm up muscles, while holding a
pose can build strength.

2. Yoga helps with back pain relief.

-Yoga is as good as basic stretching for easing pain and improving mobility in people with lower
back pain. The American College of Physicians recommends yoga as a first-line treatment for
chronic low back pain.

3. Yoga can ease arthritis symptoms.

-Gentle yoga has been shown to ease some of the discomfort of tender, swollen joints for people
with arthritis, according to a Johns Hopkins review of 11 recent studies.

4. Yoga benefits heart health.

-Regular yoga practice may reduce levels of stress and body-wide inflammation, contributing to
healthier hearts. Several of the factors contributing to heart disease, including high blood
pressure and excess weight, can also be addressed through yoga.

5. Yoga relaxes you, to help you sleep better.

-Research shows that a consistent bedtime yoga routine can help you get in the right mindset and
prepare your body to fall asleep and stay asleep.

6. Yoga can mean more energy and brighter moods.

-You may feel increased mental and physical energy, a boost in alertness and enthusiasm, and
fewer negative feelings after getting into a routine of practicing yoga.

7. Yoga helps you manage stress.

-According to the National Institutes of Health, scientific evidence shows that yoga supports
stress management, mental health, mindfulness, healthy eating, weight loss and quality sleep.

8. Yoga connects you with a supportive community.

-Participating in yoga classes can ease loneliness and provide an environment for group healing
and support. Even during one-on-one sessions loneliness is reduced as one is acknowledged as a
unique individual, being listened to and participating in the creation of a personalized yoga plan.
9. Yoga promotes better self-care.

REFERENCES
https://www.verywellfit.com/flexibility-definition-and-examples-3496108

https://study.com/academy/lesson/flexibility-in-fitness-definition-stretches-exercises.html

https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/flextrain.html

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/flexibility-exercise-stretching

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/how-to-improve-strength-flexibility/#:~:text=Flexibility
%20exercises%20are%20activities%20that,tai%20chi

https://health.gov/our-work/physical-activity/current-guidelines

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286745#history

https://isha.sadhguru.org/yoga/new-to-yoga/what-is-yoga/

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