I am no where near touching my toes. Horrible flexibility. Please help

[ukdeedpoll]

@dejtemplet Take the same total stretching but spread it out so you're stretching the same place daily and you'll see more effect

 

[tee225c]

@arc90901 I accomplished this back in high school by doing a standing bend every morning in the shower. I feel like the hot water really helped speed up my progress, but that could be sheer coincidence, since the bend itself was also something I was doing so consistently, I was not able to even anecdotally isolate the heat element as providing any assistance. It's just a matter of consistency and practice. Give it time, eventually you'll be able to put your hands flat on the floor from a standing bend.

 

[dawn16]

@tee225c I love stretching in a hot shower. Gotta have a strong non-slip game though.

 

[jan7]

@dawn16 Yeah, that could go really badly if you're not careful :O.

 

[whiteladybug]

@arc90901 .

 

[dawn16]

@whiteladybug Molding mobility should be good too (though I don't think the torso twist is very good for your back).

 

[svm9]

@arc90901 I used to be exactly where you are in that photo. Now I can comfortably touch my toes, no problem. I get it, I've been there. As @axoflegend said, Antranik's toe touching routine is excellent. Do it as often as you can and you'll get there too. Don't worry about where you are right now, just be persistent!

 

[mofogx]

@arc90901 Place a yoga block or something similar in size between your thighs. You then squeeze your thighs together as you bend to touch your toes. This will activate your hip more and allow you to bend at the hip instead of through the lower back. To make it more impactful do two sets of five toe touches. One set with your toes elevated about 2-3 inches then the second set with your heels elevated the same height. I found a video on YT about it and it worked really well and taught me how to bend at the hip. I still have flexibility issues but I am now able to touch my toes.

Edit: was on mobile before. Here is a link... also, just googling how to touch toes, and this is literally the first link.

 

[elegy]

@mofogx

Could you post some youtube links?

 

[karlthemuss]

@arc90901 I see there's a lot of the same complicated or time intensive advice that always comes up for this. I don't know why it's so hard for good information to overcome bad information.

You don't need to stretch every day. You don't need to do a bunch of exercises. Both of these guidelines are low compliance and will be hard to maintain, and following this advice is why most people never get very flexible. They will certainly work if you have a lot of time and self-discipline.

When I was a kid I got that President's Council Youth Fitness Award, but the only test I didn't pass was the sit-and-reach. I was embarrassingly bad at this. It makes sense, my dad can barely get his hands past his knees and my mom is very unlimber for a woman, also. One time in PE, my teacher yelled at me for not reaching during warm-ups, and I had to protest that I was reaching! Well into adulthood, I still couldn't come with 8 inches of touching my toes.

However, I was able to touch my palms to the floor within 2-3 months by training once a week:

With a heavy dumb bell or kettlebell from your hands, and straight legs, bend over until the weight touches the ground. You should feel a nice painful stretch in your hamstrings[1]. If you don't feel this, stand on something. I use stackable pads.

I did 1-3 sets in a session, once a week. Each set, I would do as many as many as I could or had motivation for. The next day, your hamstrings should be quite sore.

I use a 53 lbs kettlebell. My 67 year old dad uses 18 lbs. You'll just kind of have to guess at it, but I wouldn't use anything more than 1/3 of your estimated 1RM, and I'd start with well under, to protect back health[2].

Each week, stand on something a little taller. That's how you progress your flexibility.

[1] Don't be an idiot, but actual flexibility performers will tell you that pain during stretches is fine. Almost no one has the pain tolerance to damage anything. Your body will guide you. If you go to "gentle stretch" then you need to do a lot more sets and progress will take longer. I trust my judgment, but I can't speak for you.

[2] By the way, a side benefit of this exercise is strengthening the lower back. When I started training my dad, he'd had chronic back pain for 30 years. Within a few months, his back pain was 100% gone. People will throw a lot of fear your way about shear forces on the back, but you can't make a strong back without stressing it. Strengthening your back for compression forces does nothing for strengthening it against shear forces. Use enough weight to stress your hamstrings and back, but not more than you can handle confidently. Use more reps, not more weight. Use your judgement.

 

[suzannenicole]

@karlthemuss

With a heavy dumb bell or kettlebell from your hands, and straight legs, bend over until the weight touches the ground. You should feel a nice painful stretch in your hamstrings[1]. If you don't feel this, stand on something. I use stackable pads.

I know this is REALLY old, but are you saying just hang out there? Or doing stiff legged dead lifts with a deep stretch?

 

[kns87111]

@arc90901 I was where you are and I thought I'd never be flexible, I started doing yoga videos a few times a week (yoga with Adrienne), and I'd say I was touching my toes within a month. Now I can put my palms on the floor. If you work at a desk, there's probably a lot more tight and weak areas that would be greatly improved by yoga, too. 20-30 minutes a day, or bare minimum 4 times a week, you should see good results.

 

[mallavaram]

@arc90901 Check out the Wim Hof app. He adds breathing exercises with stretching. You will be amazed at how flexible you can become so quickly.

 

[superrnova]

@arc90901 I would suggest you also consider practicing great posture while at work. Sitting (or standing if you have the option) tall with your shoulders back helps to elongate the spine and can go a long way in improving your flexibility. I’d also recommend some “stretch breaks” during the day. Incorporate some deep breathing and you’re not only pausing to stretch but also taking a mental break which can improve productivity!

 

[aneraxium]

@arc90901 stretch your calves and then try to touch your toes again. it's a secret that helps a lot

 

[mitrowicz]

@arc90901 https://g.co/kgs/ccirwp

this book is gold, do a google search for the .pdf

 

[msyue92]

@arc90901 Pavel Tsatsouline’s ‘Relax into Stretch’ gets fast results, you’ll be surprised at how fast. He takes a different approach to most yoga stretching. By focusing on scientific approaches, he finds that optimising tensing and relaxing with inhale/exhale maximises stretches. He improves most yoga poses like the cobra, whilst keeping one or two that are deemed still effective. There’s a book and video and you can probably find some of the videos on YouTube. Tim Ferris recommends Pavel, and I’ve personally found his methods effective. Check it out and good luck,

I would also say that if you’re in an office try to get some body weight exercises in for even a few mins per day several times per day. Your hip flexors get horribly contracted sitting down all day so fInd excuses to go for Walks, take the stairs...use smaller water bottles so you have to refill more. Good luck with your stretching you’ll get there whichever method you choose!

 

[elegy]

@msyue92 Could you post some youtube links?

 

[msyue92]

@elegy This video from ‘Relax into Stretch’ is useful - quite old school but that’s his style and the video is a few years old now.

He also discussed some of the principles in this Tim Ferriss interview .

 

[a7xcncangel]

@arc90901 My advice would be to stretch twice a day ~ 12 hours apart, flexibility actually starts degrading faster than you would think, with only a daily practice I think you often end up having to claw back some of the previous days gains each time.