How to Build Cold Flexibility

What is Cold Flexibility?

"Cold flexibility” is your ability to stretch and move freely without a warm-up. And no, it's not just for gymnasts or contortionists. Why should you care? Because life doesn't always give you a warm-up!

Expectations when training to obtain cold flexibility

When we begin flexibility training as a naturally stiff individual, there tends to be a large discrepancy between the range of motion that we can display when warm vs without any warm up. Proper flexibility training requires hard work and intense training to truly create lasting progress. Training at your end range of motion is stressful on connective tissue (joint capsule, ligaments, tendons, etc) and whenever we are pushing our bodies past what is naturally comfortable, we may feel sore. Feeling sore all the time is not very conducive to expressing our maximum flexibility on command.

However, don’t mistake feeling sore or even more stiff when you are cold as a sign that you are not making flexibility progress. This is a natural response to the body adapting to the stimulus.

The harsh truth is that there is no short cut to turning your true physiological end range into the range of motion you own any time of the day. The greater our flexibility becomes when warm, the better carryover it will have to our cold flexibility. This also works the other way around. If you notice your cold flexibility is feeling more accessible, then you can almost bet your flexibility when fully warmed up will be better as well.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a linear process and it’s more like a rollercoaster.  There will be days where you feel stiffer than normal, and you may go periods of weeks or months where you feel like you aren’t making any progress. But then, out of nowhere you make a big leap in progress and the body finally grants you more range. This is why setting your expectations for progress over the course of years instead of months will keep you committed to the process.

Basically, the better your flexibility gets over time, your cold range will slowly follow behind it. Although, it doesn’t always work out perfectly like that. For instance, say you’ve just achieved the ability to sit in a deep squat butt to heels after training your hip and ankle flexibility for an hour 2 days a week for 6 months. You may have to train this for another 6 months to convince your nervous system to trust you to access it on command.

The most important aspect is that you have a systematic approach to training flexibility and using the right techniques so we can ensure we are making progress in our warm flexibility. From there, we can adjust our training to bridge the gap between what we can display with and without a warm up. And we will go over exactly how to do that in a bit! But first let’s talk science.

The Science Behind It

Your muscles, tendons, and fascia all play a role in how flexible you are. Those that are not naturally gifted with flexibility may have more dense connective tissue and fascia that does not want to budge with regular old static passive stretching. These people require more force and time under tension to make noticeable changes, whereas someone with less dense and more pliable connective tissue will have an easier time melting into their end ranges.

 When we talk about expressing flexibility, there's a difference between dynamic and static flexibility. Dynamic flexibility is when you are actively moving your limb to an end range position in open space (demonstrate leg swing or pike leg raise). Dynamic flexibility can also be your torso moving in and out of a range of motion over a fixed limb position. Think about classic strength training exercises through a full range of motion. This is a form of stretching too if the intent is to go to your end range each rep. (demo an RDL, Deep Squat). We can categorize this as loaded stretching which we will touch on more later. Dynamic flexibility can be done at different speeds as well depending on what you need the range for. For example, martial artists need to be able to demonstrate flexibility at high speeds. This is where ballistic stretching comes into play .

Static flexibility refers to a stretched position where the limbs aren’t moving… at least to the naked eye. When it comes to stretching, it is basically impossible to be truly static, especially if we are sliding deeper along the duration of the stretch. Some examples of static flexibility are relaxed passive stretching (which doesn’t always work for the stiffer type at first), isometric stretching where you are actively resisting the stretch with the muscles under end range, and contract relax methods where you move deeper into a range after contracting the stretched muscles.

Demonstrating your flexibility cold has to do with your ability to be strong in your end ranges so your nervous system trusts you to enter those ranges whenever and wherever. Your nervous system also needs to be accustomed to displaying flexibility both dynamically and statically. Another factor is your ability to tolerate an intense stretch sensation. Basically, you need to learn to be comfortable in a very uncomfortable state. So, what's the secret sauce? It's a cocktail of ballistic or speed focused stretching,  relaxed stretching, loaded stretching, and strength related stretching."

The Techniques Unveiled

• Loaded Stretching: "Ever tried lifting weights while stretching? You should!" Loaded stretching not only allows you to build strength at end range but is the go-to method for stiffer folks to build range of motion. This is because the added load helps assist us into AND beyond our normal end range. The more strength we build at our end range, the longer our flexibility sticks with us. Not only do we get strong, but also… long. There are many methods that fall into this category such as:

•  Isometric stretching- actively tensing the muscles and resisting the stretch. This seems counter intuitive, but actually results in the ability to move deeper into range.

• Eccentric Stretching- lowering into a stretched position that is too heavy to come back out of. We enter a stretched position from a neutral or fully shortened position without support, then use hand assist or support to come back out of it.

• Strength Training- Yup! The same exercises like squats, lunges, and RDLs that you think are making you stiffer can actually make for extremely effective flexibility exercises. You ever notice how your squat with weight on your back or held in front is deeper than your bodyweight air squat? This is an example of how added weight can help assist us into greater depths of a given stretch. The intention is key though. Most people fail to build flexibility long term with strength training because they don’t actually go to their deepest possible range and fight for more range each repetition. This isn’t always the safest method to do with more compound exercises, but your accessory exercises can certainly be looked at as flexibility exercises. Or you can apply this method to more isolated stretches in your warm up.

• Dynamic Active Flexibility- This refers to the range of motion we can actively move into using the strength of the muscles on the opposing side of the stretched tissues known as the agonists. Think about the classic hamstring stretch laying on your back using a strap. You can get to 90 degrees with the strap but as soon as you let go the leg drops to 60 degrees. Or if you stand and try to lift the leg against gravity maybe you only get to 45 degrees. If we want to demonstrate flexibility cold no matter where we are do you bring your strap with you to achieve those positions? Probably not practical. Instead, we have to train the strength of these agonist muscles to bring us into a stretch actively. What’s cool is that the stronger our agonist muscles become, the more it helps the opposite muscle relax. Let’s use the hamstring example: The stronger we can get our quads and hip flexors to lift our leg actively against gravity, the better chance our hamstrings have of relaxing. In scientific terms, this is known as reciprocal inhibition. Over time we can learn to contract our agonist muscles during our stretching to help pull us into end range. This will allow us to use less external support when reaching our end range.

• Dynamic flexibility can also be done under higher speeds. Think about the flexibility that martial artists and dancers display with their kicks and acrobatic tricks, This can be thought of as a larger amplitude and open kinetic chain form of ballistic stretching. By larger amplitude, I mean starting outside of end range and using momentum and speed to propel the leg to end range. Open chain simply means the limb is moving in free space compared to feet staying on the ground

• Ballistic Stretching: Think of it as bouncing into your stretch. Ballistic stretching not only trains our tissues to enter our end ranges with control under high speeds, but also has a profound effect on our fascial system to make long term changes in flexibility. One of the benefits of ballistic style stretching is the fact that it allows you to spend more time under tension at end range because we are constantly bouncing in and out of our deepest position. This style of stretching is why the Chinese monks can do the splits straight out of bed and put there whole foot in their mouth on command.

• But be careful; this isn't for beginners! We want to make sure these pulses aren’t being done uncontrolled. Think about pulling yourself actively into the range with the agonist muscles which are the muscles on the opposite side of the stretched muscles. We are still allowed to use a bit of momentum to facilitate further range, but not so much that we can’t feel the agonist muscles somewhat engaged. Eventually, we will be able to perform these pulses safely without having to worry about consciously engaging these agonist muscles and can just bounce freely. The dynamic repetitions should be around 1 rep per second. People tend to get quite sore with this style of stretching and it can be very strenuous on the tendons and ligaments if you haven’t put in a base level of general preparation with the other methods above.

How do we know we are progressing toward cold flexibility?

- Let’s go back to the loaded stretching example. Say we need 100lbs to pull us into a maximum forward fold using an exercise like a Jefferson curl (show example). Over time if we continue training the Jefferson curl while simultaneously bridging the gap between our loaded flexibility and active flexibility with agonist style dynamic stretching, We might only need 75lb to reach the same depth. That is huge progress toward demonstrating cold flexibility because the goal is to not need any external aid to get you to end range. Stretching shares a lot of similar principals to strength training, however the progression is actually opposite. In strength training we want to decrease weight over time, but with flexibility training we want to decrease weight over time.

 But remember we can’t demonstrate high levels of active flexibility if we do not have it passively first. We also cannot demonstrate impressive cold flexibility unless we have even more impressive warm flexibility.  So say you develop the ability to do the splits, but you can hardly spread your legs past 90 degrees straight out of bed. This is a natural and expected experience, but you still have a lot of work to do in your journey! The next step would be to get more comfortable in your split. Start building up longer hold times at your end range. Over time,  see if you can access the split with less warm up sets, or maybe even using a less slippery surface to slide into the split. More friction on the floor means you now have built enough strength to pull yourself into the split as opposed to relying on gravity and the weight of your body pushing you down. The idea is that you need less and less tricks to get you in to your end range. Your warmed up flexibility and cold flexibility go hand in hand and as one gets better, the potential for the other one does as well.

Here is a splits progression model I like to call the pyramid scheme. This is basically where your progress to high amounts of load with less friction to slide your feet on, then work your way back down to minimal load, and more friction for the feet.

For example:

 Static relaxed split on floor -> Static relaxed split on sliders -> isometric split on floor -> Isometrc split holding weight-> isometric split on slippery surface -> isometric split on slippery surface and holding weight, etc

 Then after spending months/ years working through these progressions with various sets/ reps/ hold times you can begin to work your way back down the pyramid to being able to express the same depth with less load and higher friction.

 This certainly takes long term guidance though to be done effectively.

 Consistency is Key: "You can't just stretch once and become Van Damme.

If you are just beginning your flexibility journey, or stiffer than the average adult it may be a long bumpy road. Once you achieve one flexibility milestone, it may take equal the amount of time to turn that new flexibility fully warmed up to range you can access cold. Luckily if you have a well thought out structured approach and use the right techniques for your body, you’ll get there much faster than most people.

Other Healthy Tips and Tricks

Hydration

Hydration is crucial. Dehydrated tissues do not want to stretch. Try yanking apart some beef jerky… didn’t turn out too well did it? Water and adequate electrolyte saturation is your best friend." Making sure you are well hydrated throughout the day will ensure you will be able to express your maximum flexibility with less warm up.

Nutrition

 Nutrition matters. What you eat affects how you stretch. We want to make sure we are eating in a way that not only promotes recovery and growth, but also doesn’t add any unnecessary inflammation in the joints. There is not a one size fits all approach here and you have to experiment or work with a licensed dietician to see what foods have your body feeling the best.

 Mindfulness

Mindfulness plays a role too, believe it or not. It is extremely important to drop the identity of being “the stiff guy or girl.” What you tell yourself will manifest in your movement quality. Our past experiences shape our brain’s somatosensory cortex. We have gone a life of never expressing end ranges, accumulating injuries, potentially being made fun of because you couldn’t touch your toes, and even told lies about stretching such as it will make you weaker, or slower . Many people’s experiences have prevented them from pursuing range of motion and the story you tell yourself can very well be the limiting factor in your progress. Poor flexibility genetics? Too bad. Past injuries? Understand your limitations, and learn to work around them. We can write our own story no matter the cards we’ve been dealt. If improving flexibility will help you live a less restricted life, then it is important you shift your identity to encompass the goals you want to achieve. 

Stress

The less stressed out you are the more receptive your nervous system will be to displaying maximum range of motion. Think about being face to face with a hungry bear in the forest. Your body won’t respond to this stressful situation by allowing you more flexibility. Almost always the nervous system will tighten you up and restrict excess motion so you can sprint away. Dropping into a middle split will not scare the bear away. Stress doesn’t always have to be mental/ emotional though. Physical stress and lack of connective tissue recovery will halt your range of motion development and may even set it backwards. If your joints are feeling excessively achy of the course of a few weeks then that is a sign that you are not recovering from your mobility training and may benefit from dropping volume, intensity, or frequency. Deload weeks get a bad reputation in the strength training world but I find them to be absolutely essential to making sure my flexibility is steadily progressing. Joint pain has a compounding effect as inflammation builds up and will creep up on you. Connective tissue recovers MUCH slower than muscle, so just because your muscles aren’t sore, that doesn’t mean that your ligaments and tendons are not still recovering. I can’t tell you how often my cold flexibility improved by actually doing less and taking a break from intense stretching. Having Femoroacetabular impingement makes my hips prone to a bit more stress and when I start to notice flare ups that last over a week, that’s a sure sign I need to slight deload.

The Do's and Don'ts

• "Do: Stretch with intensity. Treating your flexibility like strength training will mean that you need rest in between sessions. 1-3 times a week per position may be all you need given that the session had to you stretching into new depths.

• Do : Use your ranges of motion often in your day to day life. Your nervous system will be more inclined to keep the ranges you are building if it knows you will be using it frequently. Spend time in a squat throughout your day, or substitute time in a chair with sitting on the floor in different positions. Better yet, adopt a movement practice that has you expressing end range often such as climbing, yoga, or even a martial art. The point is to use your ranges in less intense ways on the days you aren’t doing your structured “ strength based” flexibility training. This also helps with the mindfulness aspect as well to shift your identity as someone who engages in an activity that requires large degrees of flexibility. This will in turn make it more of a priority to train as well.

• Safety first. Don't go bouncing into a split and blame me if you pull something!" Even though the thought of having cold flexibility sounds cool and will get some solid likes on IG, you will never get there quickly if you injure yourself. Making sure you are properly warmed up, hydrated, and well recovered is how you will want to train your flexibility the majority of the time. Listen to your body as it is very good at sending signals.

• Do not stretch if you are in pain. Muscular discomfort is different than sharp stabbing pain in either the muscles or joints. We want to feel an intense stretch but never feel like something is about to tear if we continue to hold it. Listening to your body is extremely important with flexibility training. If you're injured or new to stretching, consult a pro first.

Your Flexibility Journey

Let's recap. To achieve cold flexibility, you need a combo of different stretching techniques, a proper progressive plan, and most importantly time! If you have read this far, I very much appreciate it. If you would like 1-1 guidance on achieving the sought after cold flexibility you’ve been dreaming of, then please reach out for remote coaching!