Flexibility and Stretching Part 1: 3 Types of Flexibility

I've been pretty terrible at using this blog lately, but I've been hitting the books for my upcoming CPT test so I have new material for you all if anyone is still here to read it. If not, I can only blame myself, my other blog has been doing much better!

I'm going to be talking about flexibility for a little while because I think that it is a bit misunderstood as far as importance and practice. When we think of flexibility, what first comes to mind? Those girls (and boys) in the olympics for gymnastics doing the splits, the crazy poses figure scatters can put themselves into while they spin (which actually involves their core, but that's not the point here), or maybe it's walking past a yoga studio and seeing the crazy positions the instructors can put themselves and their class into. These are all good examples of flexibility, but they are more extreme examples. Did you know that stretching is what allows these athletes and normal people to be this flexible? When we stretch properly, our bodies become more and more flexible. When we are children our bodies are naturally more flexible because we are still growing and out muscles are looser and replace faster.
There are three different types of flexibility: corrective flexibility, active flexibility, and functional flexibility. These three types of flexibility work together to allow your body to both prepare for and recover from a workout or athletic performance. I will go deeper into the types of stretching involved in these types of flexibility later.
I do want you all to remember something about flexibility training, as well as about every other type of training there is out there. No matter what type of training you choose, there is always a risk of you getting hurt, be it on the football field, in the weight room, on the treadmill, or in the yoga studio, there is no workout that is entirely without risk. I don't mean to scare you, but there is always the risk that if a person were to stretch incorrectly, they would for sure hurt themselves, just like if you were to run head-long into another football player on the field you would risk a spinal injury. Injuries don't take a lot, but they can be prevented if you are careful and take directions from a personal trainer or other fitness professional, they are there not to criticize everything that you do but to help you get to where you want to be while keeping you safe. Use your resources! More information on stretching and flexibility to come!