How flexible are you?

It doesn't matter how strong your muscles are or how efficient your heart and muscles work if your body is not sufficiently supple. Your body will be useless if its joints cannot move freely.

Your level of suppleness depends on the length and flexibility of your muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Unlike strength, females are naturally more supple than males.

Suppleness training

Suppleness is improved in the warm up and cool down phases of exercise. Gentle stretches encourage flexibility. Increasing the length of these periods and doing more types of stretches will help.

Swimming is a great way to improve your suppleness as it uses many muscles over large movements in many directions.

Suppleness training safety

As with any type of exercise, there are no short cuts. Your muscles with stretch when they are ready to. If you try and force them they will tear.

Health benefits of good suppleness

Trying to improve your suppleness through good warm up and cool down periods will be a benefit to you as it will prevent your exercise from causing muscle damage and strain on your heart.

Suppleness can help with everyday tasks by making it easier for your body to bend. You are less likely to get aches or pains when stretching or bending.

The benefits of suppleness to sport

Good suppleness is essential for all sports. It will help prevent getting a strain or rupture from a sudden reach, kick or jump. Gymnastics, dance and martial arts demand and encourage great flexibility. If your are involved in any of these then you should be very conscious of this form of fitness.