What Is Flexibility?
Moving your joints through full range of motion without restriction demonstrates flexibility. Full range of motion should occur at every movable joint of the body.
Flexibility allows you to move freely, which reduces the risk of injury. Soft tissues will not sprain or strain from being too tight, and body parts can move without compensatory mechanics that can lead to overuse and stress injuries.
Although flexibility is great for unrestricted movement at the joint, it is important to keep in mind that flexibility by itself is not enough, or even safe, in the real world. We have seen many people who can lie on their backs and stretch their legs over their heads, but they cannot prop a foot on a ledge in front of them, because they do not have the strength to use the entire range of motion. Their flexibility while lying down demonstrates great joint range of motion, but much of it cannot be controlled. This is not real-world fitness. In addition to good flexibility, you should also possess good strength and control with what you have! That is what we consider flexibility for real-world fitness.
Another benefit of real-world flexibility is that you can exercise through a greater range of motion. When your muscles move through a greater distance, they burn more calories. This is thermodynamics at work: the greater the movement, the greater the caloric “cost” to your metabolism. Greater range of motion stimulates and strengthens more muscle fibers and helps you to control body weight.
What Are Some Real-World Examples of Flexibility?
Imagine someone who is tight in the shoulder girdle—the muscles and soft tissues of the shoulder joint, shoulder blade, and collar bone—trying to pitch a baseball, perhaps in a game of catch with his nephew. The throw would look awkward, the speed of the ball would not be impressive, and the ball would not travel a great distance. This person is at a higher risk for injury in his shoulder, arm, or any point along the kinetic chain (the parts of the body are involved in throwing, which in this case is virtually the entire body). Real-world flexibility would allow this thrower to move through the full range of motion to wind the arm up, shift the body, step with the leg, throw the ball, and follow through. Flexibility would help the entire kinetic chain from the legs through the torso and out to the arms.
Imagine a tennis player lunging out with one leg while reaching with her arm to return a ball that otherwise would have meant a lost point.
Here is a final example of real-world flexibility: a mom who has her arms full of groceries and accidentally drops her keys next to the car in the parking lot. Not only does she require the flexibility to bend down to pick up the keys, but she must also have the strength to control each of her joints and body parts as she moves down and up while balancing the grocery bags.
How Is Real-World Flexibility Measured?
Physical therapists often measure flexibility in one joint at a time. While this is useful in a clinical setting, it is not useful information for the person who participates in normal real-world activities, in which multiple joints and muscle groups are used simultaneously. A common assessment of flexibility is the sit-and-reach test, where you sit with your legs straight out in front and reach forward to a measuring device. This measures the flexibility in the backside of your body but it does not tell the complete story. There are muscles in the front side of the body as well! We do not often need extreme range of motion while sitting down, so we do not believe that this is the most efficient and functional real-world measurement of flexibility.
Real-world flexibility should be measured while on your feet, and it should involve as many joints as possible. This is why the overhead squat is one of the best ways to measure flexibility.
The overhead squat requires you to be on your feet, where the most demanding activities in life take place. In the real world, when you are on your feet, your arms are taken through ranges of motion that are used for actions such as lifting overhead, throwing, or reaching. This assessment requires the torso to remain upright in a straight position to protect the low back. The overhead squat is a great assessment for determining joint flexibility and the control you have within the flexibility displayed, and this is the single most effective assessment for real-world flexibility!
Why You Want Real-World Flexibility!
- Flexibility allows you to move freely.
- Flexibility reduces the risk of injury.
- Flexibility allows you to move through a greater range of motion.
- Moving through a greater range of motion burns more calories.
- Flexibility allows you to perform exercises with great ease.
Flexibility allows you to do more things in life.
