How to Boost Flexibility and Fitness

Flexibility is an extremely important aspect of overall fitness. If you want to improve the way your body feels, avoid injury and insure that you are able to move freely for life follow the flexibility tips below...

From eFitness.com:

Today, more than half the population over the age of 74 has difficulty performing activities of daily living, such as standing, walking, bending, reaching, grasping and climbing stairs. Don’t let that be your fate!

Here are some suggestions to help you get limber and balanced.

To improve your flexibility -- stretch. Daily stretching is recommended, but if that isn’t possible, you should at least stretch all the muscle groups worked after each workout. Perform two to three stretches per group and hold each one for 15–30 seconds. Always stretch to the point of mild tension, never pain.

Stretching can also help alleviate chronic pain and discomfort. The lower back is a great example. Most often, lower back pain is caused by tight hamstrings! Tight hamstrings can cause an exaggeration in the curve of the back, which leads to back pain. eFitness provides stretches for every muscle group. Use them often!

Use free weights. Machines provide artificial stabilization of the core muscles. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for machines in your workout. But, if you use them on a regular basis, change it up. Working with free weights forces your core muscles to stabilize your body as you isolate the muscle group you're working on.

Get rid of the weight belt. Yup, that’s right! Unless you're a power lifter in need of additional assistance to offset an extreme load, the weight belt that you've been using for years could actually be doing you more harm than good. Your body has been relying on the belt's external support, and, as a result, your abdominal muscles have not been doing their job in stabilizing the body during your workouts.

If you've been using a belt, don’t just quit cold turkey. Wean yourself off by incorporating core exercises into your workouts, then gradually decrease use of the belt as the core muscles get stronger.

The fitball is an excellent tool for strengthening the abs and lower back. For variety, you can even perform a full-body workout on the fitball.

Try yoga. You guys may think that yoga is only for the ladies, but that isn’t the case. Yoga not only makes you more flexible but also improves your balance, because so much of the work requires core strength.

Learn more at eFitness.com...