Load It!

Flexibility training for an adult is a different process compared to a child. Kids and teens have a much more straightforward process to increase flexibility. A couple months of stretching in gymnastics class, and they got themselves some impressive splits. There’s lots of biological features that work in their favor for a more flexible body such as soft and moldable fascia, highly adaptable nervous system, and more time spent playing in end range.

Fast forward to your 20s where now we've layered on years of sports, injuries, ego driven strength/ bodybuilding training, sedentary lifestyle where end ranges are never exposed, and most importantly...stress. This is a different body and requires a different method for adaptation.

 We are seeing a lot of different methods nowadays for increasing range of motion. From soft tissue work, breathing drills, “developmental” stabilization, isolated open chain joint rotations, and then the "anti- stretchers" who say we don't need to stretch anyways.

What most of these systems lack is an intensity high enough to cause an adaptive stimulus. In my experience, if anyone tells you need to do a drill multiple times a day, everyday of your life, you probably aren't building real strength there. In fact, you’re probably not even eliciting a high enough stimulus to provide any adaptive changes requiring recovery. I’m more impressed with the people who can demonstrate impressive feats of flexibility without much warm up even after not stretching for months! But how do we get there? What are the people that are "walking the walk" actually doing in practice?

 Here's the deal:

We need load and intensity to drive both nervous system (strength) and structural changes. 

 First, let's define intensity in terms of flexibility training. Intensity is not necessarily how much weight we are using or how long we are holding a stretch. Intensity refers to how close to your true end range you are performing the work in. Just like only being able to hit 1 or 2 reps at 95% in a back squat, you can't last long at your 100% max depth of a stretch. Whether it’s our own bodyweight being supported by the stretched tissues or an actual external load, we can use this method of loaded stretching to assist us into deeper ranges while building strength through those ranges so they can stick around over time the next time we train the position.

 In order to make long term structural changes, three things can happen (which need more research to know for certain).

1) Nervous system: Strength (increased motor unit recruitment) is built in end ranges, which decreases apprehension when stretching to end range. This will in turn increase tolerance to stretched positions.

2) Muscle: Longitudinal muscle fiber hypertrophy- sarcomeres laid down in series.

3) connective tissue lengthening/ “creep” – This is most likely what’s happening when you achieve increased levels of cold flexibility and also takes the longest. If you want splits, you’ll need to stretch to a point where you are entering ranges past your current neurological set point. This is the point where connective tissue (tendons/ligaments/fascia) is stretching. To get here you need load and significant time under tension over time. Connective tissue doesn’t get a lot of blood flow so be patient and requires longer recovery then muscle or nervous system biased activities.

Most likely all three of these need to occur to increase flexibility. But what do they all have in common? Load and high Intensity.

 We need load to achieve this level of intensity. Technically all forms of stretching is loaded. However, the amount of tensile load experienced differs from body to body. 

 Lets use a toe touch for example 

Take person A who has never played sports, or strength trained in their life versus person B who is an ex football player and powerlifted after that for 8 years. Both people have the same straight leg raise measures on a table.

 For A- The standing toe touch without external load may be more than enough to assist this person into their end range, after holding a prolonged stretch there.

 For B- good luck getting through those dense, Thicc AF hammies. Gravity alone may not be enough load to assist this person into more range.

They may need more load to allow the Golgi tendon organs to activate and move deeper. These “GTOs” are sensory organs that reside in tendons which sense tension and inhibit muscle contraction s a safety mechanism.

 In contrast to person A, more load may have prevented them from moving deeper. When too heavy of external load is used, the stretch reflex cant be overridden and you'll stiffen up. There's a sweet spot for everyone.

 The amount of loading differs between two people. With the goal always being to need less and less external assistance over time, you may need to load up tissues heavy initially to drive changes both neurologically and structurally.

 If you would like help introducing loaded stretching into your movement practice and building a flexible body that is also strong through that range, please reach out for online coaching!

Thanks for reading, and remember to add load to make stretching more effective!