Flexibility training requires more than just stretching. For the lucky few, extreme flexibility comes easily. But for most of us, achieving amazing range of motion takes a lot of hard work and dedication.
What determines flexibility?
Let’s clear one thing up to start with – flexibility is not about how long your muscles are. Flexibility is a complex process that depends on a range of factors. However, it is mostly dominated by the central nervous system. When you get to the end of your range of motion, you “feel a stretch”. The stretching sensation is actually your nervous system telling your muscle to contract. The contraction then stops the movement from going any further. This action is a protective mechanism, designed to protect the muscle, joints, and surrounding soft tissue from injury. Over time, our brain and nervous system develop a picture of each skeletal muscle in our bodies. Within this picture, the brain decides a ‘safe’ range of motion for each muscle. So, flexibility training is not about changing the length of your muscles.
Improving your flexibility is about training your nervous system to set a new ‘safe’ limit for each muscle.
Traditional flexibility training relies on static stretching, i.e. sitting and relaxing into a stretch to ‘reset’ the nervous system. Static stretching can work, up to a point, for most people, if done properly. However, most people will reach a plateau that they just can’t break through. Static stretching also leads to weakened, over-stretched muscles, which leaves your muscles, joints, and soft tissue unstable and injury-prone. For most of us, hours of static stretching is one of the slowest and riskiest way to improve flexibility.
Functional vs. passive flexibility training
Furthermore, for real-world dance training, simply having a great range of motion is not enough. Consider this, which position is more likely to get you a contract with a dance company – holding your leg up by your ear with your hand or a developpé up by your ear? This is where functional flexibility comes in. Functional flexibility is the range of movement you can use during active movement. Achieving amazing functional flexibility is what sets apart a good dancer from an amazing, professional-quality dancer.
Perhaps more importantly from my physio perspective, functional flexibility is safe flexibility. Pushing yourself, or worse yet being pushed by someone else, into a static stretch is a very common cause of injury among both amateur and professional dancers. Pushing into stretches causes torn muscles and soft tissue. Stretching injuries can range from a few days of achiness to full-blown muscle tears requiring several weeks off from training. Functional flexibility relies on unlocking your nervous system to allow your muscles to safely and effectively elongate. For example, one of the best ways to reset a determined muscle length is by strengthening the muscle. When the muscle is stronger, the nervous system registers that it is safe for the muscle to move further. A bonus side effect of this type of training is that strength is the key to injury prevention.
So how do you achieve this amazing, and safe, functional flexibility?
In general, functional flexibility requires a combination of targeted stretching and strength training and mobility practice. Unfortunately, there is no magic, one-size-fits-all approach. Everybody is unique, with their own strength, weaknesses, and mobility restrictions. As I mentioned earlier, flexibility is a complex process within the body, involving the nervous system, muscles, joints, and soft-tissues. The key is to figure out what structures are limiting your mobility and work on exercises that target those areas. For example, dancers very commonly complain of tight hamstrings. In fact, pretty much all dancers I have ever met want to improve their hamstring flexibility. Limited range of motion in the hamstrings can be caused by (among other thing) weakness in the hamstrings themselves, weakness in the glutes, poor range of motion in the hip, or ‘sticking’ in the sciatic nerve.
This is where my approach to flexibility training comes in. I use my knowledge and experience as a physio, combined with my years of dance training, to develop a fully individualised program to target your areas of weakness and the structures that are holding your flexibility back.
Overall, my approach comes down to one principle – Spending hours practicing static flexibility will not help you achieve amazing functional flexibility. However, if you focus on training functional flexibility, static flexibility will come naturally.
Flexibility Training Package
- An initial consultation of 1 hour to fully assess your kinetic chain, strength and technique, any areas of aches and pains or particular concern, and mobility restrictions.
- Your detailed, personalised program with pictures, exercise instructions, and video links (if applicable).
- A follow-up consultation to go through the program, teach you the exercises, and discuss any questions or concerns.
- Assessment/re-assessment document – this explains how to test yourself at the start of the program and then retest at regular intervals to gauge your progress in measurable terms.
- A third consultation 4-6 weeks after commencing your program to assess your progress, make any necessary adjustments and progressions to your program (to prevent a training plateau), and discuss any questions or concerns.
- Two further follow-up consultations to continue to progress your program as necessary and discuss any questions or concerns. These can be completed on your own timeframe, there is no expiration limit.
- Unlimited follow-up support via email FOREVER.
- Additional follow-up consultations can be purchased for the discounted rate of £20, with the discount available FOREVER.
Consultations can be either via video call, in-person at one of my two clinics, or through Physio Phoenix. For more information on video call sessions and FAQs, see my Online Dance Physiotherapy page.
The total cost of the package is £250. This can be made by installments with prior agreement.
Alternatively, you can choose a single sessions at £45. If you choose this option, I can assess one area which you would like to improve and provide appropriate exercises. (For example, many clients choosing a single session will request hamstring flexibility or hip mobility.) See my pricing page for full details on single sessions.
Contact me for further details or to sign up now.