Why train for suppleness?
Flexibility is defined as ‘the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints that is attainable in a momentary effort with the help of a partner or a piece of equipment.’ Phew! What this means though is that that flexibility is not general but specific to a particular joint or set of joints. In other words, it is a myth that some people are innately flexible throughout their entire body.
Equally this means that being supple in one particular area or joint does not necessarily imply being flexible in another. Or to put it another way ‘flexibility is the suppleness of joints, muscle fibres and connective tissue.’ And that means that unless we train specific parts of the body for flexibility, those parts won’t have it
Does it matter?
If you lose suppleness, which can happen when you strength-train and don’t take time to stretch, you may be impairing your whole fitness regime. As an example, if you’re squatting, whether in preparation for a lift, or as part of a yoga class, lack of whole-body flexibility can cause your heels to come up off the floor and/or cause your lower back to round out, and a rounded back means you’re working with your spine not your stomach muscles – this will hurt and, in the worse case scenario, cause a spinal injury like a slipped disc. Even if this isn’t true, the failure to achieve perfect form means you are not getting the full benefit of your exercise.
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