Flexibility Archives - Page 2 of 3

6 Resistance Band Stretches to Increase Your Flexibility

There’s no question that our favorite things here at 12 Minute Athlete are quick efficient workouts and building new cool skills.

Yet if you want to continue getting stronger, fitter, and increase your athletic skill set, keeping your muscles open and flexible is crucial. Not only will it help you avoid getting injured and decrease recovery time, staying flexible will also help you be able to actually do some of those cool skills you’ve always wanted to do (bridges, anyone?).

I’ll admit, flexibility is one of my least favorite things to work on. So in my quest to become more flexible in the least amount of time possible, I’ve really fallen in love with band-assisted stretching.

Using a band along with your regular stretches can help you get the extra boost that you’d get with partner-assisted stretching, but without having to have another person there.

It helps you get the most flexibility boost in the shortest amount of time, which as you know tends to be what we aim for here.

Although most resistance bands will work for these stretches, I’ve been super impressed with Rubberbanditz bands for both stretching and helping to build up strength for different exercises (for stretching, I like the red and orange bands the best).

Not only are these bands super versatile and nearly impossible to break, they’re just a really cool company overall and play a big part in the calisthenics community that I love. Check them out if you haven’t already!

Of course, if you don’t have a band, you can also do most of these stretches with a towel—don’t let excuses hold you back from reaching your goals!

Here are 6 resistance band stretches to help increase your flexibility:

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 6: Chest, Arms, and Shoulders

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Throughout the flexibility challenge, we’ll be focusing on one or two muscle groups each week. We’ll talk about why these areas of your body get tight in the first place, why you should be working on loosening them up, and also show you some of the best stretches that help you to increase your flexibility and get bendy.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 6, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out the previous weeks: Week 1: stretching hamstrings and calves, Week 2: quadriceps and hips, Week 3: lower back, Week 4: upper back and shoulders, and Week 5: abs and obliques.

How to Finally Achieve a Front Split

I have never considered myself to be a flexible person.

I very clearly remember back in sixth grade when taking the Presidential Fitness Test absolutely failing the v-sit and reach portion—there was no way I was going to touch my toes. Back then, I blamed it on long limbs, but the truth was that I just had very poor flexibility.

So when I first got interested in bodyweight training and gymnastics, the flexibility required to do several of the movements I wanted to do was undoubtedly daunting. I had never worked on my flexibility very much, only doing a very half-ass stretching session post-workout a few times a week.

Yet I figured there was no way I’d ever be able to do a front split—I just wasn’t a flexible person.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 5: Abs and Obliques

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 5, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out the previous weeks: Week 1: stretching hamstrings and calves, Week 2: quadriceps and hips, Week 3: lower back, and Week 4: upper back and shoulders.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 4: Upper Back & Shoulders

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 4, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out Week 1 where we talked about stretching hamstrings and calves, Week 2, where we focused on quadriceps and hips, and Week 3, where we paid special attention to lower back.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 3: Lower Back

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 3, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out Week 1 where we talked about stretching hamstrings and calves and Week 2 where we focused on quadriceps and hips.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 2: Hips & Quads

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 2, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out Week 1 where we talked about stretching hamstrings and calves.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 1: Hamstrings & Calves

The brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge is here! If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

For Week One of the challenge, our focus will be working on our hamstrings and calves.

The Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge Is Here!

July is nearly here, which means that it’s time for another 6 Week Challenge! This summer, we’ll be focusing on improving our flexibility. Let’s get bendy!

If you’ve always given priority to your workouts and mostly avoided any form of focused stretching, I can completely relate. As athletes, we all want to become as strong as possible and kick butt in our workouts, PR our 100 Burpee Challenge times, and bust out handstands, pull ups, and other cool skills. No wonder that stretching often takes the backseat to our workout routine.

Because we’re all pressed for time, we tend to think that we’re good as long as we get our workout done, right?

…Wrong. Here’s why you should start finally paying attention to your flexibility and join us in the Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge this summer:

The 5 Best Stretches for Tight Hamstrings

One of the things that holds a lot of people back from doing moves like L-sits and pistols actually has nothing to do with strength. Instead, it has to do with a lack of hamstring flexibility.

When your hamstrings (the back of your legs) are tight, they may not only stop you from doing these types of fun and advanced exercises, they can also cause unnecessary pain and even injuries. That’s why working on your hamstring flexibility and foam rolling on a regular basis is so important—especially if you work out a lot like I do.

If you hate and/or procrastinate stretching on a regular basis, trust me, I understand. Stretching is not something I look forward to, partly because it just plain hurts! But, it’s incredibly important to do to keep your muscles healthy and injury-free, and will definitely help you improve at certain exercises as well.