This second part of the series Mobility – A Foundation for Movement (to Part 1) addresses the question “why?”. Why train flexibility at all? What are the benefits of working on this skill? What effects can you expect – in the short term as well as in the long term? What are the factors that influence flexibility?

Finally, I will clear up myths around the topic, including “stretching as muscle soreness prophylaxis”.

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1 What is mobility?
1.1 Basic concepts
1.2 Physiological mechanisms
1.3 Forms of mobility

2 Why train flexibility?
2.1 Effects and benefits of flexibility training
2.2 Factors influencing flexibility
2.3 Myths

3 How do I become mobile?
3.1 Methods
3.2 Timing of flexibility training

4. summary

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2 Why train flexibility?

2.1 Effects and advantages of flexibility training

In order to answer the question “why?”, it makes sense to start by considering the effects, changes and benefits that flexibility training can bring.

In this article I have divided the effects into the following sub-headings:

Neuromuscular changes, muscular changes and structural changes.

Neuromuscular changes:
As I mentioned in the first part of the series, the ability of the nervous system to tolerate stretching tension significantly determines mobility. If this is now trained regularly, receptors in the muscles, tendons and connective tissue “get used to” the increased stretching tension. As a result, the sensation of pain is gradually reduced.

Muscular changes:
For this point, let’s recall “active mobility” again: the stretching position is taken actively, that is, with muscular strength. Here two terms are of great use: Agonist (the muscle I want to stretch) and Antagonist (the muscle “on the other side of the body” that tenses and brings me into the stretch position). Since active flexibility training is strength training for the antagonist, the antagonist is strengthened. Accordingly, active flexibility improves.

Structural changes:
I have already mentioned the connective tissue in the first part, but I would like to come back to it here. Under normal circumstances, the connective tissue has a neatly arranged, lattice-like structure which has very elastic properties. Due to lack of movement, which is only one of many causes, this structure can change and become “matted”. This felting is accompanied by reduced elasticity and the associated poorer mobility. Stretching and massage methods can counteract this. I will talk about massage and relaxation methods in part 3.

The advantages of flexibility training (only a small selection) are:
– Newly acquired mobility allows many new positions to be adopted and movements to be realised
– Create movement reserves (the difference between required and maximum movement amplitude) which can minimise injuries.

– Improved mobility can avoid compensation patterns due to a lack of mobility in one or more joints

Due to lack of shoulder mobility, the lumbar spine compensates with hyperextension (hollow back).

– Positive effects on strength (mobility and strength are not mutually exclusive: increased mobility can even increase the degree of utilisation of muscular strength capacity, subject of extended acceleration distances!), speed (maximum speed can only be achieved if no joint angle end position is reached. Accordingly, a certain reserve of flexibility is of great benefit with regard to maximum speed), endurance (improved technique economy through flexibility) and coordination/technique (essential prerequisite for sporting techniques: Weightlifting, gymnastics, etc.).

– Regular stretching of muscles that are used for strength or speed can prevent muscle shortening in the long term.

2.2 Factors influencing mobility

Not everyone is equally mobile. Like everything else in the body, the ability to move adapts to internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) factors. In order to better assess oneself and choose a suitable flexibility training programme, it is important to inform oneself about these factors. This can save a lot of time, headaches and effort and lead to better/faster results.

Endogenous factors:

Endogenous refers to those factors that act from within a system (in this case, the human system) to the outside.

Age:
With increasing age, a reduced mobility is observed, what is the reason for this? In general, all structures in the human body are subject to wear and tear. For example, the quality and structure of connective tissue decreases if it is not maintained. Cartilage tissue (cartilage is the substance that covers a bone in the joint area and allows the joint surfaces to move cleanly and smoothly, as well as providing protection for the bone tissue. The structure and other functions of cartilage will not be discussed further in this article) is not properly supplied with nutrients and is more susceptible to wear and tear if the joints are not moved and loaded properly. Muscle mass also decreases with age, which is partly due to a reduced release of the hormone testosterone. In addition, the amount of water in the tissue decreases, which has a negative effect on elasticity. But if you look at older people who have done sports for a large part of their lives, especially disciplines such as gymnastics, dance or other forms of gymnastics, you can see a significantly increased flexibility compared to people who have hardly done any sports all their lives. As described in the first part of this series, our bodies adapt to stimuli such as training or everyday movement patterns and can thus change in the long term. The principle of “Use it or Lose it” applies here again: if you regularly teach your joints, muscles, connective tissue and nervous system to be able to realise and allow large amounts of movement, your mobility will adjust to a healthy level in the long term and even in old age (deterioration cannot be stopped, but it can be significantly slowed down!). The earlier you start the better!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NZ6C6wGpAE]
Johanna Quaas: still very sporty even at an advanced age

Gender:
Gender also plays a role, whereby women usually have better conditions due to hormonal differences (increased oestrogen level) and the associated lower tissue density (increased storage of water and fatty tissue). In addition, muscle mass and muscle tone are usually lower in women compared to men. This is not to say that it is not possible for men to achieve good to very good flexibility – it may just take a little more time and effort.

For the reasons mentioned above, it is appropriate here to address the issue of hypermobility, i.e. too much range of motion in a joint.

Women are more often affected by this condition. Some sports, such as gymnastics (see splits…) even prevent a certain hypermobility. But what is too much mobility? For one thing, mobility is determined by bony structures. If the bone structure genetically allows a joint movement beyond the healthy extent, we speak of increased mobility, which can go hand in hand with increased stress in the joint. The opposite is hypomobility, which can result from joint blockages, for example. On the other hand, mobility is made up of structures and abilities discussed in the first part of this series (muscle, tendons, joint capsules, ligaments and tolerance to stretching stress). In principle, even a split (also induced by hypermobility) can be a healthy joint position IF the joint can still be stabilised by the muscles in the final position. I want to emphasise this point again: It is not enough to passively stretch a muscle or a position to the point of no longer being able to do so, it is imperative to additionally make sure to use this new range of motion! This means training active mobility so that the new joint position can be integrated into a movement pattern and thus be subject to the control of the nervous system.

Martial arts often require very good passive, as well as active-dynamic mobility

Body temperature:
Warmed muscles have better blood circulation and increased metabolic performance. In addition, the muscles’ ability to tense and stretch increases. I am of the opinion that it definitely makes sense to warm up before an intensive flexibility training session. However, in real life, the conditions are not perfect. We don’t think about warming up before a movement that requires a relatively high degree of flexibility. In addition, from time to time we get into situations (for example, falls) for which we cannot prepare. For this reason, I try to take up as many positions as possible throughout the day that require an increased degree of mobility. This way I allow my body to get used to a higher tolerance of stretching tension.

Anthropometry:
Anthropometry is concerned with, among other things, the individual lengths of body parts/segments. Although this can only be minimally conditioned through training, if at all, it is an often neglected factor in relation to body positions. For example, people with long arms and short legs find it easier to perform a trunk bend while touching the tips of their toes with their fingers. Another example would be that people with shorter femurs and comparatively longer torsos can perform a more upright squat. Thus, individual differences in exercise execution or techniques must be taken into account here.

 

Different body segment lengths and their effect in the squat.

Tension states:
This factor takes into account, among other things, stress, discomfort or other influences on a relaxed state. During stress the nervous system is sympathetically active (a “fight or flight” state, the opposite is parasympathetic activation – a resting state) and does not allow for high volumes of movement. Accordingly, it is appropriate to perform flexibility training in a relaxed state.

Exogenous factors:

Exogenous factors are stimuli from the environment, but also contribute significantly to mobility.

Fatigue due to load stimuli:
Reduced mobility can be observed after intense exertion. Here it is advantageous to look at the energy supply in the muscles.
muscles. In order not to go beyond the scope of this article, I will only go into this in schematic form: energy is stored in the body by means of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a universal energy carrier accessible to all cells, and is immediately available in high concentrations in the tissue. In short, the ATP stores in the muscle are pretty much used up after increased exertion. However, a muscle needs ATP to relax (remember: contraction = tension, shortening; relaxation = relaxation, return to the original length). So when the ATP stores are empty, muscle tone is increased. More on the topic of “stretching after exertion” at the end of this part and in the next.

As already described in the endogenous factors, the ambient temperature also plays an important role. As you might imagine, a warm ambient temperature favours a warmed-up musculature – and vice versa. Accordingly: in cold regions, seasons or rooms, it is advisable to place particular emphasis on warming up (this actually applies to all forms of training), because cold stimuli can lead to an increase in muscle tone.

Time of day:
This point is very individual. In general, mobility is lowest after getting up (the body has been in more or less the same positions for the previous hours). The greatest range of motion can often be achieved in the evening, as the body has already been able to move all day and has become accustomed to the joint positions.

2.3 Myths

To this day, there are many myths surrounding the topic of flexibility, both in society and among trainers. Since science is already a bit further along, I will dispel three major myths here.

Stretching as muscle soreness prophylaxis:
Very often you hear after a hard workout: “I’ll stretch now, then the muscle soreness will get better – or won’t develop at all!”. In order to be able to evaluate this questionable statement, let’s first take a look at the mechanisms behind the phenomenon of muscle soreness. As with so many things, science is not yet 100% sure what exactly is going on. The current state of affairs is as follows: as I mentioned in the first part of this series, the individual muscle fibril consists of sarcomeres, a contractile unit. If you look at these sarcomeres, you find that they are made up of several structures, including actin and myosin, which are ultimately responsible for contraction. The sarcomeres are separated from each other by so-called Z-disks or Z-strips. In the case of muscle soreness, injuries, or more precisely tears, were found precisely on these Z-strips.

 

After about 24-36 hours (muscle soreness usually occurs on the second day of a hard workout), water (oedema) penetrates these tears, causing the muscle fibre to swell and stretch. This stretching is often the source of the pain in sore muscles. The tears in the Z-strips are induced, among other things, by new, unaccustomed stresses or extremely strong training stimuli. Above all, however, this does not happen in concentric muscle work (concentric = overcoming; example: getting up from a squat or pulling up when doing a pull-up) but in eccentric muscle work (eccentric = yielding; example: going down when doing a push-up or going downhill). To get back to the actual question: Stretching to prevent muscle soreness? If a hard workout has caused micro-injuries in the muscle, these certainly cannot be reversed with stretching exercises – on the contrary, hard stretching can even make the injuries worse (even extreme flexibility training can provoke muscle soreness)! This also applies to firm massages (also self-massages with Blackroll, etc.).
I will report in detail on the question of when flexibility training makes sense in the third part.

Until then, it remains to be said: After a hard training session, it is advisable to carry out cool-down measures, such as “running out” or relaxation / loosening exercises, in order to bring the body temperature to a normal level, to “flush” metabolic (waste) products out of the muscle and to slowly lower the muscle tone.

Stretching alone is enough to compensate for bad posture:
I am writing a separate article on the subject of “posture” and will therefore only deal with it very briefly here. Poor posture can have many causes, but often there are “muscle shortenings” (rather increased tension) on the one hand and weakened muscles (often without the ability to control them) on the other. It is therefore not enough to stretch only muscles with increased tension – the muscles that are weakened must be strengthened. In this way, a balance between the muscles can be established in the long term (here, it is disregarded where these malpositions come from and whether it is really always necessary to stretch tense muscles).

Static stretching as a warm-up method – What’s the point?
You have to differentiate between the type of exercise for which you are warming up: Before movements or sports that require a certain degree of flexibility (gymnastics, martial arts, hurdling, etc.), it certainly makes sense to use stretching methods before the load in order to prepare for the following positions. However, before sports that require increased strength or fast-acting performance, extensive stretching can even provoke injuries or reduce performance. The reason for this is reduced muscle tone and a reduced ability to stimulate (“paralysis” of nerve cells and receptors) the muscle. If static stretching is nevertheless performed before such a sport/competition, it makes sense to perform submaximal loads before the actual task in order to increase muscle tone again and improve control.
You can find out when is a good time for flexibility training and how best to warm up and “stretch” before sport in part three under the point “Timing for flexibility training”.

I hope you enjoyed this second part and gained new knowledge about flexibility. In the last article of this series, I will address the much sought-after question “How do I become flexible?” and finally give a summary of this complex topic.

Until then,

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