How To Regain Flexibility Over 50
You can start stretching and improving your flexibility any time in life! You lose it because you don’t use it!
In fact it might even be safe to say that flexibility is MORE important the older you are. So let’s take a look at how to regain flexibility over 50!
The Benefits of Being Flexible
Have you ever noticed how many elderly people shuffle? They take such tiny steps that you wonder if they are trying to keep their balance or are perhaps experiencing muscle loss in their legs.
The truth is that most people end up shuffling due to loss of flexibility.
When your hip flexors (the muscles that connect your torso to your legs in front) get short and tight, they limit the range of motion your legs can take.
Instead of a nice long stride, tight hip flexors cause you to shuffle. This is just one of many reasons it is so important to stay flexible as you age.
Here are some benefits flexibility provides:
- Improves your performance in physical activities
- Improves performance in daily activities
- Decreases your risk of injury
- Decreases nagging pain
- Improves your workouts due to better muscular performance
- Improves posture
- Helps you keep a more youthful appearance (think shuffling or hunching over!)
With all these amazing results, why don’t you take the time to stretch? How can you make it part of your life?
Reasons We Don’t Stretch: Problems and Solutions
Stretching is probably a little like flossing. Deep down you know it’s good for you, but in the moment, it’s easy to skip.
In the same way, you fully understand that flexibility training is important and yet you don’t do it.
Problem: Lack of Time
Flexibility training takes extra time: time you don’t think you have. In a perfect world, you would stretch before and after every workout, but busy lifestyles make us pick and choose what we do with our time.
The short hours in a day don’t accommodate everything you want or know you need to do. And when it comes to committing time to a workout, flexibility is usually put at the bottom of the list.
For some reason we don’t think stretching gives us as many benefits as the other things we do. Cardio burns fat and calories. Strength training builds muscle and strength and makes us look better.
The benefits of stretching, on the other hand, are not quite as immediate. Over time, however, lack of stretching begins to catch up with you very quickly.
Aches and pains become normal and injuries pile up quickly.
Solution #1: Swap It Out For Another Workout
If you love to work out, then the solution for you is to replace part or all of a couple workouts a week with yoga.
Yoga comes in many styles and forms, but there is definitely a yoga for those who like to move. Choose something in a vinyasa style and you’ll get your fix of cardio, strength and flexibility all in one place!
And you don’t have to go it alone. Find a yoga class at the local community center, gym or try one of our many yoga workouts with our awesome team of Get Healthy U TV Trainers.
Solution #2: Just Take 10 Minutes
Not ready to give up your cardio? Then shorten it a few minutes and try our 10 Minute Vinyasa Flow Sequence.
You can accomplish all you need for better flexibility in 10 minutes or less!
Problem: It Hurts To Stretch
So you haven’t stretched in a while and the first thing you do is get down on the floor and stretch and stretch hard! Go big or go home, right? Wrong!
A big turnoff to stretching is pain. When you go too deep or too far into a stretch, it can cause pain and make you not want to revisit that stretch again.
This over-stretching is not only painful but it’s not effective either.
What happens when you overstretch is something called the “stretch reflex”. You go too deep, it hurts, and the muscles surrounding the area you are working on tighten up to mask the pain you feel in the stretch.
Solution: Be More Gentle
When you begin stretching, go easy on yourself. The expression “less is more” is true here.
Start with just a gentle tug and go from there.
For example, let’s say you want to be able to do a seated toe touch. Instead of trying to grab your toes right off the bat, set your hands on your knees and relax.
Take a few deep breaths and on the next exhale, reach below your knees. Relax and take a few more breaths. On the next exhale reach once more but closer to mid-shin.
This technique brings you in gently without the pain you get from over-stretching.
Problem: I Don’t Know Where To Start
So you get off the treadmill and head over to a mat. Now what?
All you remember about stretching is that brutal gym class in 8th grade when you sat on the floor, straddled your legs, and felt too embarrassed to do anything else.
Don’t make up your own stretches. Not only will you have a hard time finding it effective but it can actually be dangerous to reach and twist in ways that aren’t meant to be done.
Solution: Find A Teacher Live or Online
One of the greatest things about living in this time is the plethora of free help you can get via the internet.
When it comes to better flexibility, you can certainly hire a trainer, find a good yoga teacher, or search out some local stretching classes at the gym. On the other hand, you can also pull up your web browser and search for “hip stretches” or “best hamstring stretches”.
You’ll have more than you know what to do with. But even more fun and effective is to search out a good stretch routine or yoga class online that you can follow along with.
We have a great 10-Minute Total Body Stretch that is the perfect place to start!
There is absolutely no reason you can’t regain flexibility over 50. Find a few good routines and make them part of your weekly activity.
Commit to something you know will be for your best interest in the long run.
And if you’re ready to get started: here’s a stretching workout we designed to get you going in the right direction!
Flexibility Over 50 Stretch Workout
Try each of the below stretches, holding for about 30-60 seconds each (and on each side if unilateral).
- Make sure to breath slowly and relax as much as possible. Do not stretch to the point of pain.
- Standing Side Bend
- Pyramid Pose
- Yogi Squat
- Downward Dog
- Cat Pose
- Cow Pose
- Runner’s Lunge
- Pigeon Pose
- Reverse Table Top Pose
- Happy Baby Pose
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