Hey everyone, I’m Yiannis Christoulas and
this video's question is what does real science have to say about increasing our flexibility
fast and easily. In this video I will present you the most
effective strategy proven by 32 recent studies, and my personal experience as a coach and athlete. Let’s get started. So the first thing that I want you to understand
is that getting flexible is not about the type of the exercise you’re doing. The exercises that stretch the muscles that
you want, are all over the internet and are very easy to find. Just type the words “flexibility workout” or "routine" and you’ll have millions of results. The thing is, what are you going to do with them. It’s like searching for a good leg exercise
and finding squats. What are you going to do with them? Even though you know the right exercise you
still have to find the right weight, reps, sets, rest between sets and number of sessions per week to get the
results that you want. It’s the same with flexibility, it’s easy
to find the exercises, but they are only one component of your flexibility session. The others are the method that you’re going
to use, the time of stretch per set, the number of sets per session, the duration of rests
between sets and the number of sessions per week. Only if you set all these components right,
you will gain flexibility fast and easily. So without further ado let’s see what science
has to say about all these. So the consensus view of the scientists as
you already know, is that regular stretching increases range of motion. This is supported by numerous studies that
have tested the effects of various types of stretching on flexibility. But which of them is more effective in increasing
range of motion? The 4 big categories of stretching techniques
are: The dynamic stretching where the person moves
dynamically through his range of motion with controlled mobility drills, ballistic stretching which involves a less controlled muscular effort and uses a bouncing-type
movement in which the end position is not held, static stretching where you stretch and hold your position for a specific amount of time and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
or else PNF techniques. These techniques are performed mostly with a partner and are combined
by 3 different phases. A passive pre-stretch, a type of muscle activation
and a passive stretch again. Some of these methods are combined with different
techniques, but we use these 4 big categories to distinguish the main characteristics of
the type of stretching that we are using. If you are new to these terms and want a more
integrated description of these 4 types of stretching, I will have some relevant articles
from my blog linked on the description below. Now, the current literature suggests that static
stretching and PNF are superior in increasing range of motion compared to dynamic stretching
and ballistic stretching. Specifically, in studies that compared ballistic stretching with static stretching, static stretching was superior in increasing
range of motion. In addition, in a recent review from 2018,
where scientists compared the efficiency of all methods in terms of improving range of
motion, ballistic stretching was found to have the
smallest effect in comparison to all the other types of stretching. This doesn’t mean that you can’t increase
your flexibility with dynamic and ballistic stretching but only that you’ll have a smaller
positive effect in comparison to static stretching and PNF. Also, ballistic stretching is considered to
be the riskiest in terms of injury and some scientists suggest that it is no longer recommended. I personally believe that every type of stretching
is suitable for specific occasions and that ballistic stretching could be beneficial for
specific movements. So from the literature it’s clear that both
static stretching and PNF are very successful methods in terms of increasing range of motion. But which of the 2 is the most effective and
suitable for you? Right now there are studies which support
that PNF is better than static stretching, but also others that found no differences between them and
some that found statistic stretching to be better than PNF. A review on this topic from Sharman and coworkers
in 2006 conclude that PNF is the most effective means to increase range of motion by way of
stretching, particularly in respect to short-term gains in range of motion. On the other hand, in a review from Lepke
and colleagues in 2018, the authors came to the result that PNF stretching was not demonstrated
to be more effective at increasing hamstring extensibility compared to static stretching. Finally, in another review in the same year
that compared 23 studies with all stretching typologies, authors conclude that the static
stretching protocols showed significant gains when compared to the ballistic and PNF protocols. What I’m trying to say here is that the
results are mixed but the main point here is that both methods are very close in terms of increasing
range of motion. Slight differences that may have been found
between them will not make the difference on the average person in practice. For me the major difference is that static
stretching can be more easily applied by the person itself and in every muscle group. On the contrast, and as NSCA states in the
fourth edition of the essentials, PNF stretching is often impractical because most of the stretches
require a partner and some expertise. But even if you do it yourself it's much
harder and almost impossible to correctly apply it on some very important muscle groups
like the glutes and the muscles of the lower back. So for this reason and with the data that
we currently have, I think that static stretching is probably the most suitable method for the
average person out there in terms of increasing flexibility. But that doesn’t mean that PNF can’t have
an equal or in some cases greater result in range of motion. I just think that both methods
are very effective and close in terms of results, but static stretching is easier to apply on
yourself and in every muscle group. Now, knowing the right type of stretching
is just the beginning for a successful flexibility program. The next step is to look for the optimal parameters
of your flexibility session. These parameters are:
the time of stretching per set, the number of sets per session,
the duration off rests between sets and the number of sessions per week. Early studies of Bandy and coworkers in 1994
and 1997 showed that the optimal duration of a stretch is 30 seconds. In their study they used 15, 30 and 60 second-sets
and found that stretching for 30 seconds significantly improved range of motion while no increase
in flexibility occurred when the duration was increased from 30 to 60 seconds. On the other hand, a review that I mentioned
before from Thomas and colleagues in 2018 puts the weight on a different aspect of training. In this review the authors found that time
spent stretching per week seems fundamental to elicit range of motion improvements when
stretches are applied for at least or more than 5 minutes, where the time spent stretching
within a single session does not seem to have significant effects for range of motion gains. So the actual goal is to reach somewhere close
to 10 minutes per week total stretching duration while stretching more than 10 minutes per
week will not elicit more gains in your flexibility. If we combine these results with the two papers
of Bandy and colleagues, it would be fair to say that the optimal strategy would be
3 sets of 30 seconds and for 6 days per week. With this training regime you reach 9 minutes
total stretching duration per week and you are in agreement with both the findings of
Bandy and the big recent review of Thomas. If you can’t have so many sessions per week
and given the fact that the total duration is the most important factor,
you should try to make this time in less sessions. For example, 3 sessions with 3 sets of 60
seconds. This is a very effective protocol that I personally
use to my athletes and myself. So the number of sessions per week, the sets
per session and the duration per set are mostly determined by the total stretching duration per week
which is around 10 minutes. To my knowledge the duration of the rests
between sets hasn’t been studied yet. So I would say that anywhere between 1 to
2 minutes should be ok and it’s pretty much what was used in most of the studies I presented. And now, an essential clue for successful
stretching that I bet you didn’t know: This one came from Wyon in 2009. In their study, they had 24 adolescent
dancers in a 6-week intervention program that compared low-intensity stretching
with moderate-intensity static stretching on active and passive range of motion. According to them, Microstretching is a new
modality that reduces the possibility of the parasympathetic system being activated. The main finding of this study was that very-low-intensity
stretching had a greater positive effect on lower-limb range of motion than moderate-intensity
static stretching. If you are familiar with this type of static
stretching just forget about it. A gentle and controlled stretching with low intensity
will produce greater flexibility results as was found by Wyon and coworkers. Last but not least:
Warm up, Breathing,
and Periodization. Should you warm up before a flexibility session? It is common sense that you shouldn’t go
completely cold into a full stretch. For most people the simplest way to warm up
before stretching is to put your flexibility training in the end of your normal workout. That way, your muscles are already warm and
ready to go. But if you prefer to do your stretching separately
from your other workouts, you should take the time to warm up before your stretch. I personally use a 5 to 10 minutes low intensity
physical activity to increase my temperature and after that I do my whole flexibility session
with the Anderson method. In this method, you simply do an easy pre-stretch
of 10 to 30 seconds and then you go on a developed stretch for 30 to 60 seconds which is your
main training. This way I’m already warm in terms of temperature
and also easing into a full stretch. What about breathing? Always make sure that you gently breath out
during your stretch. Calm and slow breathing can help your muscles
relax and decrease the activity of neural reflexes that oppose your stretch. And last, what about flexibility training and periodization? I think is a simple but essential
concept that people forget when it comes to flexibility training. When you try to get more flexible you’re
not just doing a warm up routine or making a quick pass from recovery exercises. You are training your flexibility, so this
can be an independent training session throughout your day. As a training procedure, every 6 to 8 weeks
there should be a rest period of 3 to 5 days or a deload week where you will do 20% to
30% less than your typical training. So what you can personally do if you want to get more flexible, is select the muscles that you want to get more flexible and find the exercises that stretch them. After a 5 minute low intensity warm up get
right into your first set with the Anderson method. Pre-stretch for 15 seconds and then develop
stretch for 60 seconds. Repeat that for 3 sets and for 3 sessions
per week. After a period of 6 to 8 weeks you can test your results. So let's conclude what we know about flexibility training. Static stetching and PNF are both very effective methods in terms of increasing flexibility. Static stretching might have a slight advantage
over PNF because it’s easier to apply it yourself and in every muscle. Time spent stretching per week is more important
than time spent stretching within a single session so if you can, stretch regularly up
to 6 times per week, for 3 sets and 30 seconds every set. If you can’t, 3 sets of 60 seconds 3 times
per week will be equally effective. Very-low-intensity stretching seems to have
a greater positive effect on range of motion than moderate-intensity static stretching,
so don’t try to tear your muscles apart. Make sure to warm up before going to a full
stretch, if you don’t train your flexibility after your normal workout. Keep your breath calm during stretching and
maintain a rest period every 6 to 8 weeks of consistent flexibility training. So that's it guys, these are the general guidelines on how to train flexibility, but also keep in mind that I will make a video
specifically on how to do a split fast and easily. If you found this video helpful make sure to like the video and if you want more content like this, you can
subscribe to my channel. See you next time.
