28 Aug How Can I Increase Flexibility?
Reagan Kilpatrick on the beach
I’m back with another Q&A!
Someone recently asked me a question on Instagram:
“Hey, do you have any tips on flexibility and hamstring stretches?”
I’ll explain it here, but you can also watch the videos down below!
For flexibility, it’s important to always start warm. It’s best to stretch when you’ve warmed up your muscles, taken class, or it’s in between barre and center.
The word flexibility is a somewhat broad term. One can have back flexibility, leg flexibility, hip mobility, or even hyper-extension. I’ll focus on leg flexibility in this post since I’m also covering hamstring stretches.
Something I love to use is the SUPERIOBAND. A good start is to put each end on your feet and wrap the middle around your back, then put your legs straight in front of you and let the band pull you forward. Then when you feel loose (DO NOT hold these positions for over 2 minutes!!), open your legs into a straddle with the band in the same position on your feet and back. You can lean forward in this position, but sometimes it feels better and like I’m getting more of a stretch when I’m sitting upright.
You can also do partner stretching. This is a very effective way to stretch, I always feel the most stretched out when someone else stretched me. One good way is to lie on your back with your leg perpendicular to the floor. Have your friend push your leg towards your head while you resist. Do this for one minute, 3 times on each leg. You can also do this laying on your side to improve side extensions.
Lastly, against the wall stretches! Lay on your back with your bottom against the wall, then open your legs into a straddle. It’s amazing how quickly you can see your legs drop to the floor! Another one, for psoas, is to face the barre, hold on to it, and slide one leg back into a runner’s stretch. continually push your hips to the floor. Hold this stretch for 2 minutes, your hips will feel very open after!!
Thanks so much for sending in your questions! If any of you have questions you’d like me to answer, you can Instagram message me, or comment on one of my posts!!
Instagram: @journeytoballet
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Facebook: Reagan Kilpatrick (@journeytoballet)
Email: journeytoballet@gmail.com
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