Flexibility Training

As part of the Excelsior Sports Training Programme, I did a joint workshop with Sarah Marshallyesterday on flexibility training. We had 30 young athletes doing 90 minutes of stretching.

The format was:

• Warm up- squats and multi directional lunges.
• Back stretches on the floor- rotational, flexion, extension.
• Back stretches in standing- using a wall.
• Hamstring and quad stretches in kneeling.

The major objective of the session was to get the athletes to go away with their own individual stretching programme.

They had to write down in their training diaries the various stretches we were doing and mark the ones that suited them.

The key points were:

• Move slowly.
• Breathe 5- 6 times deeply whilst holding a stretch.
• Find the ones that work for you- if you aren’t getting a stretch, move to a different one.
• Variety of stretching is important, don’t just do the same 2-3 exercises and expect different results.
• Take note the differences between front and back and left and right side and work on that.

(Pictured is me doing the scorpion stretch as requested).

Stretching works

Setting out the flexibility plan is relatively easy. Getting the athletes to do it regularly is more difficult. Having  a variety of stretches, and for different events helps.

Those of our athletes who practice do get more flexible.

This video shows a fun example of a stretch routine. You may wish to start with something simpler.

Further reading:

• How to move like an athlete
• How an athlete screening helps prevent injury
• Are girls more flexible than boys?